Pitt announced the kickoff times for its first two games of the football season yesterday as well as its television schedule.

The Panthers will play their opener at noon Aug. 30 against Bowling Green at Heinz Field. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The second game, however, against Buffalo (Sept. 6) at Heinz Field will not be televised and will have a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson, who had vowed to have later start times this year for home game, said he is excited about the home opener, even though it is at noon, because it is on television and the school is planning a lot of game-day activities for it.

"Noon kickoffs can be tough, but, that early in the season, there is so much excitement for our team and such a buzz for our team that it is really going to be a great day," Pederson said. "I think the excitement surrounding our team is the reason ESPN wanted to televise our opener because let's face it people are talking about our team."

Pederson said ticket sales for the season have been steady through the summer and have picked up steam in the past two weeks as the university has begun to increase advertising efforts.

He also said that the buzz created by the Panthers' preseason rankings has helped increase the amount of ticket sales.

"I think right now the lower bowl and club seats are becoming tougher to get as we continue to sell them," Pederson said. "We obviously haven't sold as many as we need to, but we're on a good pace and I feel really good about where we'll be when the season begins."

Pitt's other known starting times are: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at South Florida (ESPN); 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Navy (CBS); 2:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Notre Dame (NBC); and noon Nov. 28 against West Virginia (ABC).

The Sept. 20 Iowa game likely will be televised, and its kickoff time likely will not be known until 12 days beforehand.

Pederson also announced yesterday that Kirk Bruce was promoted to the position of associate athletic director for sport administration.

Bruce, who played for the Pitt men's basketball team from 1971-75, has served in various capacities within the athletic department for more than three decades.