The top two nationally-ranked NCAA Division II clubs in the country -- the University of Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State University-Mankato -- will collide in Mankato on Sept. 3 and that 2015 season opener will be aired live on ESPN3 as its national "Game of the Week". Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Bulldogs and Mavericks, who ranked 1-2, respectively, in the 2015 Sporting News Preseason NCAA II Poll, met last December at Blakeslee Stadium where host Minnesota State-Mankato prevailed in an NCAA II playoff quarterfinal matchup. The two defending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference co-champions combined to go 27-2 on the season (UMD was 13-1 and MSU was 14-1).

UMD comes into the year sporting a 19-game regular season winning streak --  the third longest of its kind in program history and just four games off the team record set between Sept. 12, 2009 and Sept. 10, 2011.

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually.  It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.  The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.