NEW YORK (ESPN) - 3
Doors Down, whose new album
Seventeen Days debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart last week, will perform Friday, March 4 at a pep rally staged at Oklahoma
State University (OSU) in conjunction with the debut of ESPNU. The new college sports network will launch on "03-04-05" at 6 p.m. CT with a two-hour live special edition ESPNU College GameDay from the Stillwater, Okla. campus of OSU. That show, simulcast on ESPN2, will include elements from the pep rally (which begins at 7 p.m. CT) highlighted by the
3 Doors Down performance.
The popular band from Escatawpa, Miss. (near Biloxi) has established a strong following with multi-platinum album releases The Better Life (2000) and Away From The Sun (2002). The band's hits have included "Kryptonite," "Here Without You," "When I'm Gone," "Be Like That," "Loser" and "Duck and Run." Their first single from Seventeen Days - "Let Me Go" - is already a top five hit on rock radio.
"We consider ourselves passionate sports fans, so the Oklahoma State pep rally is an exciting opportunity for us," said 3 Doors Down lead singer Brad Arnold. "Our rooting interests may differ, but that's what makes college sports great."
ESPNU PEP RALLY - FRIDAY AT 7 P.M. CT
The ESPNU pep rally event will begin Friday at 7 p.m. CT and will take place in Gallagher-Iba Arena. In addition to the 3 Doors Down concert, the pep rally will include appearances by OSU coaches and players plus performances by the school's band and cheerleaders and fan giveaways. Designed for OSU students and alumni, the free pep rally will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted earlier, elements from the pep rally will be included as part of the special edition ESPNU College GameDay launch show.
SPECIAL EDITION ESPNU COLLEGE GAMEDAY - FRIDAY AT 6 P.M. CT
The two-hour debut ESPNU show (simulcast on ESPN2) will feature College GameDay commentators host Chris Fowler, analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale and ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz live from outside Gallagher-Iba Arena. ESPNU signature anchor Mike Hall and analyst Doug Gottlieb, a former basketball standout at Oklahoma State, will also appear on the program.
Fans are invited to attend the show's production, staged in advance of the next day's Texas at Oklahoma State men's college basketball game. The program will include college basketball analysis, features and more plus elements from the pep rally such as portions of the 3 Doors Down performance.
