NATCHITOCHES – Those not in Turpin Stadium Saturday evening for one of the more spectacular Northwestern State home football openers this century can still watch the game telecast.
 
Cox Sports Television will carry the Jumbo Sports Production telecast of the Demons' 2017 Turpin Stadium debut, with NSU alumnus and iconic Louisiana broadcaster Lyn Rollins handling the play by play call. Along with serving over a million viewers on cable systems around Louisiana, CST reaches cable customers in 13 other states with markets including San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Cleveland.
 
Anyone not in a market where CST is unavailable can watch through ESPN3, using the Southland.org/espn or WatchESPN.com links.
 
It's the second in a stretch of four televised NSU football games in the first five weeks of the 2017 schedule. CST will also carry the Sept. 30 home game against Southeastern Louisiana, set for a 6:30 kickoff, and the Oct. 7 visit to Nicholls, also kicking off at 6:30.
 
Saturday's 6 p.m. home opener against Lamar is the centerpiece of a weekend of celebration on campus, featuring the investiture of Dr. Chris Maggio, a former NSU athlete and coach, as the university's 19^th president. He will be interviewed by Rollins at halftime of Saturday's game.
 
The excitement ramped up Tuesday with the announcement of a record enrollment for Northwestern State, which has been under Maggio's leadership since Jan. 1 when he took over as interim president. He was hired permanently in early May. The enrollment figure of 10,572 is the highest in NSU's 133-year history, eclipsing the old high mark set in 2004.
 
Many of the 1,542 freshmen students will take part in the Inferno runout practice Thursday evening at 6:30 in Turpin Stadium, while a practice run of the new $1 million, privately-funded videoboard will be staged.

At 7:30 Thursday evening, the Demons Come Out at Night Pep Rally will be staged at the Collins Family Pavillion in Donald's Demon Alley, the tailgating area just south of Turpin Stadium. After the pep rally, a free community party and concern will be held on the grounds, with the popular south Louisiana cover band the Molly Ringwalds as the featured entertainment beginning at 8.
 
Following Friday's investiture ceremony and related activities, focus will turn to football, beginning with the day-long tailgating Saturday based in Donald's Demon Alley surrounding the Collins Family Pavillion. The NSU ticket office in the NSU Athletic Fieldhouse will have $5 general admission tickets available Friday and Saturday before Turpin Stadium gates open at 4:30 on game day.
 
The Spirit of Northwestern's pregame show starts at 5:40 Saturday in Turpin Stadium, before the first of five home games in nine Southland Conference contests for the Demon football team. Television coverage for games in the final six weeks of the season will be set by the Southland Conference with a 12-day window before game days.
 
In Louisiana, CST is available on cable systems in communities including Abbeville, Acadia, Alexandria, Anacoco, Assumption, Baker, Bastrop, Baton Rouge, Belle Chasse, Blanchard, Boyce, Bossier City and Butte Larose. Others carrying CST include Crowley, Delcambre, DeRidder, Franklin/Patterson, Grammercy, Grand Coteau, Grand Lake, Houma, Jackson/Clinton, Jefferson Davis, Jonesboro, Kaplan, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lake Charles/Sulphur, Laplace, Leesville, and Livingston. More CST affiliates are in Maringouin, Minden, Morgan City, Natchitoches, New Iberia, New Orleans, Pendleton, Plaquemine, Reserve, Ruston, Sibley, St. Francisville, St. Landry, St. Martinville, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Sulphur, Tangipahoa, Terrebone and Winnfield.
 
Outside of Louisiana, noteworthy markets whose cable systems have CST include Fayetteville/Bentonville, Fort Walton, Gainesville, Macon, Panama City, Pensacola, Roanoke, Santa Barbara, Scottsdale, Topeka, Tulsa, Tucson, and Wichita.