fw : a weygandt , andrew ; glover , rusty ; beard , jaime ; woodson , todd ; ratzman , eric ; eckermann , derrek ; walker , sam subject : fw : a & m and espn for immediate release june 26 , 2001 espn to launch sidelines network ' s second reality - based series to premiere with texas a & m football espn will launch a 13 - episode , prime - time series this fall entitled sidelines , the network ' s second reality - based title under the espn original entertainment ( eoe ) banner . sidelines will document the season of a prominent team as told through the eyes and ears of the less visible , less celebrated people who are involved with the team . the football aggies of texas a & m will be the focus of the series ' premiere episodes to begin october 5 . " coach slocum and i made the decision to be a part of this exciting venture with espn , " texas a & m athletics director wally groff said . " we couldn ' t be more thrilled that espn has chosen texas a & m for this series . the opportunity espn gave us to showcase this wonderful institution and all of its tradition and heritage is something we could not pass up . " in a " docu - drama " style , the various stories that surround the team will be explored through the voices and actions of people whose day - to - day lives are directly affected by living in the town and / or going to the school . players and coaches will also be visible and heard from in a more peripheral fashion , but will not be the primary focus . " this is a good opportunity for texas a & m university and we ' re delighted espn decided to feature the football program and some of the people behind the scenes , " head coach r . c . slocum said . " we look forward to working with them . " the participants will be drawn from a cross section of people who reflect every aspect of the university and college station , texas . they will be students , faculty , media , local storeowners , mothers , fathers and some of the high school seniors who aspire to attend the university . " each person has a role to play with the team , as well as a personal story , " said mark shapiro , vice president and general manager , espn original entertainment . " sidelines will see each person grow in character as the season progresses - - a kind of ' soap - umentary . ' we ' ll weave the smaller personal stories together through the bigger story of the progression and fate of the team and its season . " sidelines : texas a & m storylines - - this is the 125 th anniversary of the school ' s founding ( 1876 ) . - - the community is still very much dealing with the 1999 bonfire collapse which tragically killed 12 students almost two years ago . a 90 - year tradition came to a tumultuous end . dealing with the loss and the emotional toll it took on faculty members , students and families will be an important part of this series . the bonfire will return in 2002 but will take on a different form than has been tradition . - - texas a & m , who lost a wild , snowy independence bowl last year in overtime to mississippi state 43 - 41 , will play notre dame ( at home ) , texas , oklahoma , kansas st and colorado next year . a tough schedule will provide for great drama . - - the school invented the phrase " 12 th man " and actually owns the trademark . one game , the aggies were low on players and had a student suit up and stand ready just in case he was needed . ever since , a student is chosen for every home game to suit up and play on the kickoff team . - - billy pickard is in charge of maintaining the facilities . he ' s been at the university for 36 years and was the student trainer for bear bryant ' s a & m team . he was actually in junction , texas for bryant ' s infamous grueling summer camp . the story of it was a best - selling book , the junction boys . - - at midnight on the friday night before every home game , a " 30 , 000 fans show up each week for this time - honored tradition . eoe , the newest franchise of espn programming , will develop a wide - variety of branded programming outside of the network ' s traditional event and sports news genres . using a collection of vehicles - - game shows , documentaries or reality - based shows - it ' s espn ' s goal to broaden its audience by appealing to younger and casual sports fans . in addition , the company is exploring new ways to connect with consumers by applying these projects across all platforms of the espn family - television , internet , radio - atm -