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WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. – The Pac-12 Conference has released its 2012 football schedule, which will feature every game on national television for the first time in Conference history, it was announced today.

With the new ESPN and FOX media rights agreement as well as the launch of the Pac-12 Networks in August, every Pac-12 football game will be available to fans on a national clearance, eliminating regional distribution which was prevalent in the prior broadcast arrangements. There will be 44 games on the combination of ESPN’s family of networks, Fox Broadcast and FX, while 34 games are scheduled to air on the Pac-12 Networks. Exact broadcast schedules will be determined at a later date. The new schedule will also include eight Thursday and Friday specialty dates for ESPN and FOX. Dates during the first two weeks of the non-conference schedule are still being adjusted to accommodate television commitments, but the remainder of the schedule is set.

“The one thing we heard loud and clear from fans across the Conference is they want to see their teams play every week,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said. “Starting in 2012 fans can see all games throughout the country."

Utah is currently scheduled to get the 2012 season started on August 30 with a Thursday night game against Northern Colorado in Rice-Eccles Stadium. It will be one of 10 games hosted by Pac-12 teams in the opening week. Only UCLA (at Rice) and Washington State (at BYU) open on the opponent’s home field.

Week two features four games against national powerhouses: Arizona hosts Oklahoma State, UCLA plays Nebraska in the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin visits Oregon State and Washington travels to LSU.

The Pac-12 Conference schedule begins September 15 when Stanford and USC renew their rivalry at Stanford. Everyone else, except Washington, begins Pac-12 play the following week, including three-time defending champion Oregon, which will begin its title defense at home against Arizona on Sept. 22.

The Thursday night schedule will include Stanford at Washington on Sept. 27, USC at Utah on October 4, Arizona State at Colorado on Oct. 11 and Oregon at Arizona State on Oct. 18. The Friday games will include Washington at Cal on November 2, and three rivalry games on Nov. 23, Thanksgiving weekend: Arizona State at Arizona, Utah at Colorado and Washington at Washington State.

The Pac-12 Championship Game will be played Friday, Nov. 30 at the home field of the team with the best overall Conference record.

Sean Meagher (pronounced Mayger) is a photojournalist and member of the visuals team at The Oregonian/OregonLive, photographing the Blazers, Ducks, Beavers, Timbers, Thorns, news, events, restaurants and much... more