UConn Huskies (0-0, 0-0 American) vs. Villanova Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 CAA) 7:30 p.m. | SNY | UConn IMG Radio Network Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field East Hartford, Conn.
The Coaches UCONN HEAD COACH BOB DIACO UConn head coach Bob Diaco begins his second year as the head coach at UConn and his second overall as a collegiate head coach in the season-opener vs. Villanova. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator from 2000-13 and was the assistant head coach in 2012 and ‘13. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award. He was a semifinalist for the award in 2011. Diaco joined the Notre Dame staff in 2010 as defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach, took responsibility for the entire linebacker position in 2011 and added responsibilities as associate head coach in 2012. His 2012 Irish defense ranked among the top 10 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 12 different categories as the school played in the BCS National Championship Game and posted an overall record of 12-1. Diaco has an impressive coaching resume as he served at Virginia (2006-08) as the linebackers and special teams coordinator and Cincinnati (2009) as the defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach before joining the Notre Dame staff. A native of Cedar Grove, N.J., and a 1995 Iowa graduate, Diaco began his coaching career in 1996-97 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. He then served on the staffs of Western Illinois (1999-2000) as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach, Eastern Michigan (2001-2003) working with the same positions and Central Michigan (2005) as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Iowa as a linebacker under Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry and was named the team’s co-MVP in 1995, starting in all 23 games over his junior and senior seasons. VILLANOVA HEAD COACH ANDY TALLEY
Villanova head coach Andy Talley is beginning his 31st year as the head coach of Villanova and his 36th years as a collegiate head coach. He has an overall collegiate coaching record of 243-146-2 and a 215-128-1 mark at Villanova. The 243 career victories rank him eighth on the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) active coaching list and he rates 21st in career winning percentage at .611. Talley has led the Wildcats to the NCAA playoffs 11 times, including the 2009 NCAA FCS National Championship, last season’s quarterfinals and two other trips to the semifinals. He is a 1967 Southern Connecticut graduate and was a four-year defensive back. He is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame.
UConn Schedule/Results Date Opponent (TV) Score/Time 9/3 VILLANOVA (SNY) 7:30 p.m. 9/12 ARMY (CBSSN) 12 p.m. 9/19 at Missouri (ESPN/ESPN2 or ESPNU) 12 p.m. 9/26 NAVY * TBA 10/2 at BYU (ESPN/ESPN2) 10:15 p.m. 10/10 at UCF * TBA 10/17 USF * TBA 10/24 at Cincinnati * TBA 10/30 EAST CAROLINA * (ESPNU) 7 p.m. 11/7 at Tulane * TBA 11/21 HOUSTON * TBA 11/28 at Temple * TBA *Denotes American Athletic Conference Game
Villanova Schedule/Results Date Opponent (TV) Score/Time 9/3 at UConn (SNY) 7:30 p.m. 9/12 at Fordham 6 p.m. 9/19 DELAWARE * (CSN) 12 p.m. 9/24 PENN 7 p.m. 10/10 WILLIAM & MARY * (CSN) 12 p.m. 10/17 at Albany * (ASN) 3:30 p.m. 10/24 at Towson * (ASN) 7 p.m. 10/31 MAINE * (NBCSN) 7:30 p.m. 11/7 at Rhode Island * 12:30 p.m. 11/14 RICHMOND * 3:30 p.m. 11/21 at James Madison * (CSN) 12 p.m. *Denotes CAA Game
Radio & TV Coverage TELEVISION COVERAGE Thursday night’s game will be televised by SNY, which also features extensive coverage of UConn men’s and women’s basketball. Eric Frede will be on play-by-play with Andy Gresh on color and Kerith Buke on the sidelines. Joel Kitay is the producer. Pregame, halftime and postgame will be handled back in SNY’s Manhattan studio by Doug Williams and former UConn standout Sean Mulcahy. The game will be replayed on SNY on Friday, September 4 at 2 p.m. and on Saturday, September 5 at 4 p.m. RADIO COVERAGE The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC Newstalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. The 2015-16 year marks the 24th consecutive season that WTIC is the flagship for UConn sports. The 2015-16 football and men’s and women’s basketball season also marks the third year that the radio rights are held by IMG College, which is UConn’s multi-media rights partner. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Nor-
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UConn head coach Bob Diaco begins his second season in charge of the Husky program. Diaco was named the head coach on Dec. 12, 2013. Andrew Adams, Julian Campenni, Andreas Knappe and Marquise Vann were selected as captains for the 2015 Huskies. Thursday’s game is the Dedication Game of the UConn stadium, which will now be known as Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. UConn opens the season playing teams in five of their first six games that advanced to postseason play in 2014, including Villanova, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoff last year. UConn’s schedule was ranked the 22nd most difficult in the country by ESPN.com