When kickoff time is 25 days away, you know it has to be August.

Football is meant to be a cold-weather game, so naturally preseason practice starts in heat-stroke conditions.

Coach Ray Richards’ Savage Storm travel to Henderson State for a 6 p.m. season opener August 26. That’s a Thursday night, so get your calendar properly marked.

For you trivia buffs, this will be the last August game and it’s being played because it was already scheduled.

When the new conference is formed, starting games will be moved to September. Unless, of course, they stay in August, but that’s not the intention at the moment.

SOUTHEASTERN will have a head start on most teams, but there are some good matchups set for the big boys.

Oklahoma University (8-5 a year ago) will have three of its 12 games televised with two on ABC and one on Fox Sports Network.

Oklahoma State (9-4) will have four of 12 on the tube with FSN, ESPN twice and ABC once.

OU and OSU will have the Bedlam Battle Nov. 27 on ABC.

Tulsa (5-7) has two of its 12 games televised with ESPN2 and NBC doing the honors, that latter on Oct. 30 at Notre Dame.

The University of Texas (13-1) will be on TV in five of 12 games with ESPN (twice), FSN, and ABC (twice).

The Oklahoma Texas shootout is set for Oct. 2 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Southern Cal (9-4), the team that has been hammered by the NCAA, will have a mere eight of its 13 games televised. ESPN will air two by itself and two with ABC. FSN will carry two games with ABC airing two more.

The Trojans will have to miss some bowl games, but the school will make out handsomely with the TV games.

THE DALLAS COW-boys will have the season’s first kickoff, but it’s not a real game.

The Cowboys will take on Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, in the Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio.

The regular-season opener might provide some insight this year. Dallas will visit Washington and the Redskins will trot out Donovan McNabb to call the signals.

It certainly won’t be the same as the last few years of this rivalry and it could tell a lot about the direction each franchise is traveling.

HOW ABOUT WE keep our money and our fannies at home this year?

Could there be anything nicer than a sellout every time Paul Laird Field plays host to Durant High or Southeastern?

Put August 26 on your calendar. If you don’t travel, how about Sept. 11 when Incarnate Word comes to town for the first time?