Thursday, May 15, 2014

AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific’s 2014 football season-opening matchup against Grand Valley State has been selected for a CBS Sports Network national television broadcast and will be played Thursday, Sept. 4.

Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. at Citrus Stadium in Glendora.

The game, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 6, features one of the most anticipated matchups on the NCAA Division II schedule this year.

Azusa Pacific is the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion.  Meanwhile, four-time Division II national champion Grand Valley State is coming off a 2013 season that ended with an appearance in the national semifinals.

“Having CBS on our campus to televise this game to a national audience is exciting news for our entire university,” Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz said.

“Azusa Pacific University is an international difference maker, and being able to showcase the excitement of our community in this type of environment adds even more meaning to a great football matchup.”

The teams met in Michigan last year to open the season, with Grand Valley State kicking off its 12-3 campaign with a 38-17 victory over the Cougars.

Azusa Pacific, meanwhile, bounced back from the opening-game setback to win 10 of its final 11 games, including an eight-game winning streak to close out the year with a 10-2 record, its third 10-win season in program history.

Available to 99 million homes nationwide, CBS Sports Network is the 24-hour destination of CBS Sports.

The network telecasts thousands of hours of live games in high-definition, along with expert analysis and original programming.