The new 24/7 University of Texas-focused Longhorn Network will launch live from the South Mall on the UT campus Friday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m. CT. The on-air team of anchor Lowell Galindo, reporter Samantha Steele and analyst Kevin Dunn will debut alongside ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning College GameDay team – Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Erin Andrews.  The two-hour show will preview the Longhorns’ upcoming football season and its home opener vs. Rice slated for Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. and aired exclusively on Longhorn Network. Texas coaches, players and former student-athletes will also be on hand. 

Following the launch, at 8 p.m., fans will see the No. 4-ranked Texas women’s volleyball team take on Pepperdine in the Burnt Orange Classic live from Gregory Gymnasium. Picked to finish first in the Big 12, Texas senior middle blocker Rachael Adams and freshman middle blocker Khat Bell have been named the Big 12 Conference’s Preseason Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively, for 2011. ESPN’s Carter Blackburn and Heather Cox will call the game with Steele reporting. 

At 10 p.m., the documentary-style Texas All-Access show will debut, providing unprecedented access to Coach Mack Brown and the Texas football team as it prepares for its September 3 home opener against Rice. 

Saturday, Aug. 27, Blackburn, Cox and Steele will be on hand for the volleyball team’s 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. matches against Mississippi and Israel’s National Team. Also, on Sunday, the Longhorn women’s soccer team will meet Cal State Northridge on the pitch for a 1 p.m. contest.  Texas soccer enters the season off its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and with its top-two goal scorers in senior forward Kylie Doniak and junior Kristin Cummins. Current FC Dallas play-by-play man Bobby Rhine will call the action with former U.S. Women’s National Team standout Kate Markgraf.  The weekend’s event schedule: 

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