America's best college football conference is going galactic.
Larry Wilmore, a former linebacker at Tennessee Tech who is now an astronaut, will travel to the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts Sept. 25. And according to the Tennessean, Wilmore had NASA arrange for the SEC Network to be available in space.
"I don't watch a lot of sports -- my wife might not agree with that -- but I do like to watch football, the SEC Game of the Week, and I try to catch Tech every chance I get," Wilmore said.
Wilmore, 51, had a standout career at Tennessee Tech. He recorded 143 tackles as a senior, the third-best single-season mark in the school's history. An astounding 21 of those tackles came against Austin Peay, which is the second highest single-game total. He was inducted into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
The SEC Network, which is operated by ESPN, is set to launch August 14. ESPN is reportedly close but has not yet reached deals with DirecTV, Charter Communications or Verizon FiOS. So at this point the SEC Network is set to be available at the International Space Station but not in many parts of Alabama.
Wilmore and his crew will return to Earth in March 2015.
