The Southland Conference announced Monday afternoon that the defending SLC Champion Nicholls Colonels will have three televised games during the 2006 football season.

The Colonels will make two appearances on Cox Sports Television and one appearance on Fox Sports Net Southwest.

Nicholls' television debut will come on September 16 when the Colonels travel to play Division I-A in-state foe Louisiana Tech in Ruston. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and can be seen on Cox Sports Television.

The Colonels will then make its only appearance of the season on Fox Sports Net Southwest when they face Texas State on Thursday, November 2 in San Marcos, Texas. The "Battle for the Paddle" game, which was originally slated for Saturday, November 4, will kickoff at 7 p.m.

Nicholls closes out their television package on Saturday, November 18 at 7 p.m., when the Colonels travel to Lake Charles to play conference-rival McNeese State.

Southland Conference football teams will be included in a total of 11 regional and national television broadcasts in 2006, league commissioner Tom Burnett announced.

Longstanding television partner Fox Sports Net Southwest will again serve as a primary broadcaster of Southland Conference football, with six games live on the regional network that serves nearly eight million cable television households in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and portions of New Mexico.

"We are very pleased with our continued relationship with Fox Sports Net Southwest, and excited about the number and quality of games we have scheduled," Southland commissioner Tom Burnett said. "FSN Southwest provides the Southland with a tremendous household reach in our region of the country, including the larger metro areas, and the broadcast production qualities are second to none. The network is a great partner for the Southland Conference, and we are excited to get all eight football teams on the FSN broadcast schedule."

Also, the six games scheduled for FSN Southwest, all in prime-time, will also be carried live by Fox College Sports, a national digital network available in over 50 million television households.

The six games set for FSN include three Saturday and three Thursday contests. The Saturday night games include the Oct. 7 Sam Houston State at Northwestern State game, the Texas State at McNeese State game on Oct. 14, and the Oct. 28 Stephen F. Austin at
Southeastern Louisiana matchup. In addition to the Nicholls/Texas State tilt, the Thursday evening games include an Oct. 19 Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State contest and the Nov. 16 season-ending rivalry game, Northwestern State at Stephen F. Austin.

Southland teams will also be featured in three broadcasts on Cox Sports Television includes the Sept. 2 season opener for McNeese State at South Florida, the Sept. 16 Nicholls State at Louisiana Tech contest, and the Nicholls at McNeese State game on Nov. 18.

Also, for the fourth straight year, Southland football will be featured as part of College Sports Television's I-AA National Game of the Week with the Sept. 16 Delaware State at Northwestern State contest. CSTV serves over 20 million cable and satellite television
homes from coast to coast. The Sept. 30 Sam Houston State at Texas contest will be featured as part of FSN Southwest's pay-per-view offerings.

The Colonels' quest to defend their conference title will begin on Thursday, August 31 when Nicholls hosts Southern Arkansas. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at John L. Guidry Stadium.

To purchase season tickets to all Colonels home games, visit www.colonelsports.com, or call the Athletic Department Ticket Office at (985) 448-4790.