Press Release

2019 ADVOCARE TEXAS KICKOFF OPENS MAJOR FOOTBALL WEEKEND IN HOUSTON, FRIDAY, SEPT. 13

Game will kick off at NRG Stadium at 8:15 p.m. CT on ESPN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 30, 2019

HOUSTON – The 2019 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff featuring Houston vs. Washington State will kick off an outstanding weekend of football on Friday, Sept. 13, at 8:15 p.m. CT. This showdown will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston and will be televised nationally on ESPN.  The game will also be carried nationally on radio by Westwood One affiliates including Sports Radio 610 (KILT-AM) in Houston. 

The Houston Cougars and the Washington State Cougars will meet for the seventh installment of the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff. Washington State leads the all-time series, 2-1, with WSU winning 32-18 in 1959 and defeating Houston in the 1988 Aloha Bowl 24-22 in Hawaii. Houston captured a victory against the Cougars in 1966, winning 21-7.

Earlier this year, the University of Houston welcomed Dana Holgorsen as the head coach. Holgorsen returned to Houston after spending the last eight seasons as the head coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Washington State and Head Coach Mike Leach are coming off of a top 10 finish, with a bowl game win under their belts. Leach led the Cougars to a 28-26 victory late last season against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Alamo Bowl.

The AdvoCare Texas Kickoff will be followed by Rice vs. Texas on Saturday, Sept. 14, at NRG Stadium. The weekend will wrap up with the Houston Texans taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Texans first regular-season matchup at home on Sunday, Sept. 15.

The 2019 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff will mark the seventh year of an eight-year agreement between Lone Star Sports & Entertainment and ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, to bring a top college football game to NRG Stadium

Initial ticket prices will range from $19-125 and may be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 832-667-2390.  Fans can also call 832-667-2390 for suites, group tickets and premium hospitality. For more information, please visit www.AdvoCareTexasKickoff.com.

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ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 15 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 375-plus hours of live programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 800,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.); Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); DXL Frisco Bowl (Texas); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Jared Birmingham Bowl (Alabama);Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Myrtle Beach Bowl (South Carolina); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Atlanta); Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); SoFi Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta)

Collegiate Basketball

AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Fort Bliss, Texas); Charleston Classic (South Carolina); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona (South Bend, Ind.); Myrtle Beach Invitational (Conway, S.C.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)

Collegiate Softball

St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational (Clearwater, Fla.)

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For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.