100 Days from Launch: First Three Weeks of Football on ACC Network Released; Announcers Cotter, Herzlich, Riggs and Wood Added to Roster
The countdown to the launch of ACC Network (ACCN), the new 24/7all-ACC national platform, continues with just 100 days to go until its August 22, 2019 debut. At the annual ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., network officials announced the first three weeks of football games and the addition of Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Kelsey Riggs and Eric Wood for various on-air roles for ACCN programming.
ACCN will air 14 live football games over the first three weeks showcasing 11 conference teams, 10 home openers and five conference matchups. All three weeks will feature at least four games on ACCN, with Weeks 1 and 2 carrying five games. Highlighting Week 2 is a four-game slate that features Miami at North Carolina in a Coastal Division clash in primetime at 8 p.m. ET.
Cotter, a familiar face across ESPN programs, will call play-by-play for a variety of ACC sports along with anchoring in studio. Herzlich and Wood will share insights and analysis earned from their time as former ACC football (Boston College and Louisville, respectively) and NFL (New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, respectively) stars, in studio and in the booth. Charlotte sports anchor Riggs is slated for reporter and anchor duties.
The quartet joins previously announced on-air voices for ACCN Debbie Antonelli, Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, Eric Mac Lain, Mark Packer, Mark Richt and LaChina Robinson.
First Three Weeks of Football on ACCN
Kicking off football coverage during Week 1 on ACCN is defending national champion Clemson hosting Georgia Tech on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 8 p.m., marking the inaugural game on ACCN. Next up on Friday, Aug. 30, Wake Forest will open the season against Utah State at 8 p.m., while Saturday’s slate includes NC State’s home opener versus East Carolina (noon) and a pair of ACC matchups. Conference openers during Week 1 include Virginia Tech playing at Boston College (4 p.m.) and defending ACC Coastal Division champion Pitt hosting Virginia (7:30 p.m.).
A quadruple-header highlights Week 2. Following the Friday night contest between Virginia and William & Mary, Pitt welcomes Ohio for the first game on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 11 a.m. The action continues with Georgia Tech hosting South Florida at 2 p.m. followed by Florida State’s home opener against Louisiana-Monroe at 5 p.m. and Miami and North Carolina’s ACC-opener in Chapel Hill at 8 p.m.
Week 3 features four more games and another Friday night contest – Kansas at Boston College on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s lineup includes Virginia Tech hosting Furman at noon and Miami taking on Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m. Florida State and Virginia meet in primetime at 7:30 p.m. to round out the day.
Week 1
Thursday, Aug. 29
8 p.m., Georgia Tech at Clemson, ACCN
Friday, Aug. 30
8 p.m., Utah State at Wake Forest, ACCN
Saturday, Aug. 31
Noon, East Carolina at NC State, ACCN
4 p.m., Virginia Tech at Boston College, ACCN
7:30 p.m., Virginia at Pitt, ACCN
Week 2
Friday, Sept. 6
8 p.m., William & Mary at Virginia, ACCN
Saturday, Sept. 7
11 a.m., Ohio at Pitt, ACCN
2 p.m., South Florida at Georgia Tech, ACCN
5 p.m., Louisiana-Monroe at Florida State, ACCN
8 p.m., Miami at North Carolina, ACCN
Week 3
Friday, Sept. 13
7:30 p.m., Kansas at Boston College, ACCN
Saturday, Sept. 14
Noon, Furman at Virginia Tech, ACCN
4 p.m., Bethune-Cookman at Miami, ACCN
7:30 p.m., Florida State at Virginia, ACCN
*Carriage agreements are already in place with the following video providers among others: Altice, DIRECTV, Google Fiber, Hulu Live TV, Optimum, PlayStation Vue, Suddenlink,TVision and Verizon Fios. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN App to authenticated cable subscribers. Fans interested in learning more about ACCN can visit www.GetACCN.com.
**Duke will host Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 9, on ACCN as previously announced.
ACCN Announcers
Chris Cotter
Georgia Tech alum Cotter, who has been with ESPN since 2012, has served as a studio anchor for SportsCenter and has hosted College Football Live along with his play-by-play duties for college football, lacrosse and basketball over the past four years. Prior to joining ESPN, Cotter was an anchor for Fox Business Network in New York (2009-12), and SportsNet New York (2006–2009), and was a reporter for CNN/Turner Sports Interactive in Atlanta (2003-2005). He began his career at WQXI, 790 The Zone in Atlanta (1997-2005). Cotter earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech in 1993 and received a master’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1999.
Mark Herzlich
Super Bowl Champion and all-American linebacker/tight end at Boston College Herzlich joins ACCN following a seven-year NFL career with the New York Giants. During his time with the Giants, Herzlich was named as a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, and won the United Way Gridiron Community Champion Award and the Ed Block Courage Award. While at Boston College, Herzlich earned all-America honors along with being named the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The following year, Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. In September 2009, after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, Herzlich announced that he was cancer free live on ESPN’s College Gameday.
He rejoined his teammates for the 2010 season, starting all 13 games and collecting the Rudy Award and the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award.
Kelsey Riggs
Riggs joins ACCN after spending the last three years as a sports anchor and reporter at WCNC in Charlotte, N.C. She has covered a multitude of events including Super Bowl 50 and Super Bowl LIII, and the 2017 Final Four. She was also a key reporter of Carolina Panthers news during her time in the Queen City. Prior to joining WCNC, Riggs worked at WBTW in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where she covered Clemson, University of South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, the Panthers, NASCAR and The Masters. Riggs was a former soccer student athlete at Charleston Southern where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication.
Eric Wood
Wood joins ACCN after a 10-year career with the Buffalo Bills (2009-18). He was a first-round draft pick in 2009 and started 120 games for the Bills where he was a three-time captain and 2015 Pro Bowl selection. Wood was also a two-time nominee for the Walter Peyton Man of the Year award.
During his famed college career at Louisville (2004-08), Wood started in 49 consecutive games, was a three-time all-conference selection and served as team captain for two seasons, while helping the Cardinals win the 2006 Orange Bowl. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native started the Eric Wood Foundation, which supports chronically ill children and their families, in 2014 in honor of his brother who was born with cerebral palsy and passed away when he was 11 years old.
Previously Announced ACCN Announcers
Mark Packer and Wes Durham
Eric Mac Lain
Mark Richt
Debbie Antonelli and LaChina Robinson
Roddy Jones
About ACC Network
Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Network (ACCN) is a new 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports set to launch August 22, 2019. Approximately 450 live contests including 40 regular-season football games, 150 men’s and women’s basketball games, and 200 other regular-season competitions and tournament games from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports will be televised annually, plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, the ACCN and its digital platform, ACC Network Extra (ACCNE), will feature 1,300 ACC events in its first year. ESPN has been televising ACC content since 1979 and has exclusive rights to every conference-controlled game across sports and championships.
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