MIAMI (July 18, 2017) -- Conference USA's 2017 Football Kickoff is set for Wednesday-Thursday, July 19-20, in Irving, Texas.  The league's head coaches and two student-athletes from each school will be on hand to preview the upcoming season. Head Coach Butch Davis along with seniors Alex McGough and Anthony Wint will represent FIU.
 
CUSA TV will present live streaming of interviews with coaches and players on both days via Facebook Live.  Wednesday's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT with the West Division schools.  Coverage continues on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT with the East Division members.  Each school will be on in approximately 15-minute increments, and Ron Thulin will serve as the host.  The show will also be archived on ConferenceUSA.com and the Conference USA Facebook page.
 
2017 C-USA FOOTBALL MEDIA KICKOFF FACEBOOK LIVE SCHEDULE


WEDNESDAY, JULY 19
3:00p ET               LOUISIANA TECH – Head coach Skip Holtz, QB J'Mar Smith, S Secdrick Cooper
3:15p ET               NORTH TEXAS – Head coach Seth Littrell, RB Jeffery Wilson, S Kishawn McClain
3:30p ET               RICE –  Head coach David Bailiff, OL Trey Martin, LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
3:45p ET               SOUTHERN MISS –  Head coach Jay Hopson, RB Ito Smith, DB Cornell Armstrong
4:00p ET               UAB –  Head coach Bill Clark, OL Chris Schleuger, LB Shaq Jones
4:15p ET               UTEP –  Head coach Sean Kugler, OG Will Hernandez, LB Alvin Jones
4:30p ET               UTSA – Head coach Frank Wilson, WR Josh Stewart, LB Josiah Tauaefa
4:45p ET               C-USA –  Commissioner Judy MacLeod
 
THURSDAY, JULY 20
10:00a ET             CHARLOTTE – Head coach Brad Lambert, QB Hasaan Klugh, LB Karrington King
10:15a ET             FIU – Head coach Butch Davis, QB Alex McGough, LB Anthony Wint
10:30a ET             FLORIDA ATLANTIC – Head coach Lane Kiffin, OL Antonyo Woods, LB Azeez Al-Shaair
10:45a ET             MARSHALL –  Head coach Doc Holliday, TE Ryan Yurachek, DL Ryan Bee
11:00a ET             MIDDLE TENNESSEE – Head coach Rick Stockstill, QB Brent Stockstill, WR Richie James
11:15a ET             OLD DOMINION – Head coach Bobby Wilder, WR Jonathan Duhart, DB Brandon Addison
11:30a ET            WKU –  Head coach Mike Sanford, QB Mike White, LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe
11:45a ET            C-USA – Senior Associate Commissioner Merton Hanks
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUFootball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUFootball) for all of the latest updates on this year's C-USA Media Day.
 
Conference USA's social media platforms will provide live updates throughout the day.  Photos, quotes and other information will be posted via Twitter (@ConferenceUSA) and on the Conference USA Facebook page and Instagram account.  Fans may also join the social conversation throughout the day using the official hashtag #CUSAKickoff.
 
Television coverage previewing the upcoming season will be provided by the league's television partners following the C-USA Kickoff.  Stadium and beIN SPORTS will each have crews in Irving to shoot interviews that will be available on various platforms to preview the upcoming campaign.
 
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The 2017 FIU football season will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 31, when the Panthers travel to Orlando, Florida, to take on the UCF Knights.

FIU's 2017 schedule is highlighted with games against Boca Raton Bowl and 2016 C-USA champion WKU, Popeyes Bahamas Bowl champion Old Dominion, AutoNation Cure Bowl participant UCF, Foster Farms Bowl participant Indiana, Hawai'i Bowl participant Middle Tennessee and Gildan New Mexico Bowl participant UTSA. In addition, the Panthers will face Rice, Charlotte, Marshall and Florida Atlantic as well as first-time opponents Alcorn State and Tulane. 
 
For FIU football ticket information, contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
 
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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.