Aug. 12, 2014
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State football head coach Rocky Long and FOX Sports San Diego have announced a coaches show for the upcoming 2014 season. Aztec Football with Rocky Long will air each Thursday following live programming on FOX Sports San Diego, beginning Aug. 21.
The weekly show will give unprecedented access to the SDSU program and Long, the Mountain West's all-time leader in victories and two-time MW Coach of the Year. Aztec Football with Rocky Long, which will be hosted by Kris Budden and will feature San Diego State quarterback Kevin O'Connell as the analyst, will consist of player and coach features, behind the scenes footage, X's and O's with Long, a preview of the upcoming game, a recap of the last game and much more.
Aztec Football with Rocky Long will premiere on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 10:30 p.m. PT or immediately following live coverage of the San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers game, which starts at 6:30 p.m. PT. The debut episode will preview the upcoming SDSU football season.
A current college football analyst and former sideline reporter for Aztec games, O'Connell was a four-year starter at SDSU from 2004-07, where he passed for 7,689 yards and 46 touchdowns. Additionally, O'Connell rushed for 1,312 yards, a school record by a quarterback, and 19 touchdowns. Other program records for O'Connell include rushing yards by a quarterback in a season (408 in 2007), and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season (11 in 2007) and career (19). He is currently ranked third all-time at San Diego State in completions (664), passing attempts (1,151) and quarterback starts (33), fourth in passing yards (7,689), fifth in passing touchdowns (46) and 19th in rushing yards (1,312).
Budden, a sideline reporter for FOX Sports San Diego, most recently covered sideline reporting for NFL on FOX and SEC broadcasts throughout the 2013 season. Prior to joining the FOX family, Budden covered the Tennessee Vols for six seasons after graduating from Missouri with a degree in broadcast journalism. Budden will join Joey Harrington and Joe Davis on the sidelines for FOX Sports 1's college football broadcasts this year.
FOX Sports San Diego is the exclusive local TV home of the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Clippers, and Anaheim Ducks and features San Diego State University and University of San Diego athletics. FOX Sports San Diego also airs Chargers Insider, #SDLive, XTRA Sports 1360 on FOX Sports San Diego, and select programming from the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship®). Serving sports fans in San Diego, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Palm Springs, Yuma, Tucson and Albuquerque FOX Sports San Diego reaches 2.2 million homes and is available on AT&T U-verse, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable. For complete regional sports coverage and channel listings, log-on to www.foxsportssandiego.com.
The Aztecs return 12 starters and 35 letterwinners from a team that finished 8-5 overall and 6-2 in Mountain West play a year ago, culminating with a victory over Buffalo, 49-24, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. With its bowl game appearance, SDSU became one of only 29 teams in the nation, and one of just five non-BCS schools, to play in a bowl game in each of the last four seasons.
SDSU kicks off the 2014 season on Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. PT, when it welcomes Northern Arizona to Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego State was picked to finish second in the West Division of the MW with 172 points, just two points behind back-to-back champion Fresno State (174). Both teams had 15 first-place votes apiece.
San Diego State will host its highly anticipated Aztec Fan Fest, formerly known as Aztec Family Day, on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Qualcomm Stadium. The event features an Aztec apparel sale, an intrasquad scrimmage and an autograph session with select players.
Gates are set to open at noon PT, and admission is free. There will be food trucks and inflatable activities for kids, as well as appearances from other Aztec athletic teams, the band and the dance team. In addition, the apparel sale will run from noon to 1:30 p.m. PT and will include Nike Aztec football jerseys, Dri-FIT gear, t-shirts and jackets among other items.
There will be an apparel pre-sale for Aztec Club members beginning at 11:45 a.m. PT through Gate E, while the general public sale begins at noon through Gate D. Those interested in purchasing Aztec apparel are encouraged to arrive early to have their choice of a larger selection. Aztec Club members can bring a photo ID and present it at Gate E for admission to the pre-sale from 11:30 a.m. to noon PT. The ID must match the name on the donor's account.
The Fan Fest scrimmage is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT, leading up to the Meet the Team autograph session beginning at 3 p.m. This will be fans' first glimpse of SDSU football since the Aztecs defeated Buffalo, 49-24, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 21.
In addition, the event serves as the first opportunity for season ticket holders to pick up their replica Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila jersey with their vouchers, as there will be a limited number of jerseys available. Fans will also be able to purchase season tickets and view available seats during the event.
Season tickets and all individual home football game tickets are currently on sale through GoAztecs.com, the SDSU athletic ticket office (619) 283-SDSU or Qualcomm Stadium, Window E (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm).