Nov. 8, 2007
DENVER, Colo. – The Mtn. – MountainWest Sports Network is coming to University Stadium for a live television special, “Friday Nite Pep Rally,” tomorrow night (Nov. 10) on the eve of the Mountain West Conference showdown between New Mexico and Colorado State. Hosts James Bates and Todd Christensen will welcome several guests, including former Lobo standouts Kenny Byrd and D.J. Renteria, and Dom Zarrella and Lee Roy Lucero of the The Red Menace. The network invites all Lobo fans to be part of the rally and live TV audience, which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. in the south end zone of the stadium.
The Friday Nite Pep Rally is a live football preview show, airing from 8-8:30 p.m. on The Mtn., that covers this weekend’s Mountain West Conference football action. On Saturday, The Mtn. will provide live coverage of New Mexico’s football game against the Colorado State Rams, which kicks off at 1 p.m.
The pep rally will include appearances by the UNM cheerleaders, marching band and Lobo Louie. The broadcast will also include The Mtn’s own Scott Sarra doing some Lobo tailgating, Red Menace style, with Dom Zarrella.
Fans can participate in a contest to see who can stretch ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD the most. In addition, fans who submit their favorite fan photos to photos@themtn.tv may have their photo aired during the pep rally on The Mtn.
About the Guests
Kenny Byrd
Former Lobo kicker Kenny Byrd had never played organized football before walking on the team in the fall of 2002. Over the next five years he developed into one of the premier kickers in the country, becoming a two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist and being named the MWC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006.
He signed with the Detroit Lions after college and was perfect on all his field goals and extra points during the 2007 NFL preseason schedule.
Byrd established himself as one team’s top performers in the cluth, notching three game-winning field goals – all on the road – including a dramatic kick to defeat Colorado State in Fort Collins last year.
He told reporters afterwards that he began thinking about his celebration of the game-winning kick while standing on the sidelines as UNM drove into field goal range in the waning minutes. The former Albuquerque St. Pius X product left no doubt, splitting the uprights perfectly from 33 yards out as time expired.
D.J. Renteria
D.J. Renteria was a four-year letterman (1999-2003) and two-year starter on the defensive line at New Mexico. Renteria was a first team all-Mountain West Conference selection in 2003, when he helped lead the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense, and a second team pick in ’02.
The Roswell, N.M. native finished his career tied for ninth all-time at UNM with 34.5 tackles for loss. He also had 14 sacks and 111 tackles in 49 games (29 starts).
Renteria played professionally for three years with the Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos organizations. He is currently working as a student assistant in the UNM Athletics Media Relations office and will earn his degree in Communications in December of ’07.
Lee Roy Lucero and Dom Zarrella of The Red Menace
In 2001, Lee Roy Lucero and Dom Zarrella helped found The Red Menace – a grassroots group of diehard Lobo fans who occupy the north end zone section of University Stadium and are dedicated to building and maintaining New Mexico football tradition.
The college football version of the legendary Cleveland Browns “Dawg Pound” and the Oakland Raiders “Black Hole” sections, Red Menace fans come to the games with painted faces, red wigs, signs and loud voices ready to do whatever they can to help the Lobos to victory.
Every Saturday, Lobo players, cheerleaders and band members all make the boisterous north end zone their first stop of the day. Meanwhile, any opponents within earshot are also not likely to forget this passionategroup of Lobo fans. The group also presents a postseason award at the annual Lobo football banquet to the UNM player who best exemplifies the tradition and passion of The Red Menace.
The “Friday Nite Pep Rally” show is a series of live 30-minute broadcasts that are shot onsite at MWC stadiums before key match-ups. The “Friday Nite Pep Rally” series is sponsored by ZAGG Inc., makers of the invisibleSHIELD protective screen for personal electronics.
About The Mtn.
The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network is the first network dedicated to a college athletic conference, the Division I Mountain West Conference (MWC). The Mtn., which debuted September 1, 2006, annually covers more than 200 collegiate sporting events, including football, basketball, Olympic sports, and conference championship coverage. The Mtn. also provides news programming, coaches’ shows, pre- and post-game analysis and feature programming about MWC athletics. The Mtn. is jointly owned by Comcast and CSTV Networks, Inc. For more information see www.themtn.tv.