GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman Paladins Football is set to kickoff the 2021 season at home on Feb. 20 versus Western Carolina and its first campaign with flagship station ESPN Upstate (WORD-AM), the top-rated sports talk show station in the Greenville-Spartanburg market.

Furman's new partnership with ESPN Upstate, announced in early November, makes Paladin football available over ESPN Upstate's four powerhouse stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg.  Broadcasts can also be accessed via RADIO.COM, the fastest growing digital audio app in the U.S., as well as through FurmanPaladins.com and Tune-In.

Dan Scott, now entering his 10th season as "Voice of the Paladins," and fifth year as the Furman Athletics' director of broadcasting, is set to deliver the play-by-play action, and joining him the booth with color analysis for each game will be former Paladin offensive lineman David Cobb, a member of Furman's broadcast team since 2006.  Marcus McMorris, a starting safety on Furman's 2013 Southern Conference championship team, returns for his fifth season as sideline reporter.

Furman also welcomes back veteran announcer Tom Van Hoy, who is set to begin his third year on the Paladin Football broadcast team as host of pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows, as well as serving as spotter.

In addition to game broadcasts, ESPN Upstate talk shows will feature weekly in-season appearances by Paladin head football coach Clay Hendrix.

Hendrix is in his fourth year as head coach at his alma mater, where he has directed Furman to a 2018 SoCon championship and FCS playoff appearances in the last three years. A three-year starter as a Paladin, he played a key role in three SoCon Championship teams under Furman Hall of Fame coach Dick Sheridan in the early-mid 1980s, and later served as an assistant coach for 19 years (1988-06), during which time the Paladins won six more league crowns and became the first FCS private school to win a national championship (1988).

Listeners can tune in to ESPN Upstate (WORD-AM) in Greenville-Spartanburg on-air, as well as nationwide on the RADIO.COM app and website. Fans can also connect with the station on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.