MIAMI (Jan. 28, 2016) – The FIU football program announced today that its 2016 season opener versus Indiana at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 1, from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, Sept. 3.
 
"We wanted to ensure that our game would not affect the long Labor Day weekend for our fans and student body," FIU Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia said. "We also wanted to make sure that this game was not subject to an early afternoon kickoff due to TV. The heat and humidity of South Florida, at that time of the day, in September makes it very difficult for our fans and student-athletes. I want to thank Indiana for agreeing to this schedule change."
 
"It's nice to open the season up on a Thursday night," Head Coach Ron Turner said. "It should be a great environment for both our student-athletes and fans. Our guys look forward to playing on Thursday night and the spotlight it produces, nationally. Plus, it will give us a couple of extra days to prepare for the following week."
 
This year's contest versus Indiana will mark the second of a four-game series with the Hoosiers. FIU and IU are scheduled to square off on Sept. 16, 2017, in Bloomington, Ind., and return to Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium on Sept. 1, 2018.
 
For FIU football ticket information, contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
 
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For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at www.FIUSports.com.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.