PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office announced today that the 2013 Kickoff Luncheon is officially sold out, with more than 1,700 fans scheduled to attend the event on Thursday, July 25, at the Hilton Chicago. The festivities will begin at 10 a.m. CT with the annual players and coaches’ autograph and photo session, open to all fans with tickets to the luncheon. The luncheon is set to follow at11:30 a.m. CT.

“The Big Ten is pleased to be able to celebrate the beginning of the 2013 college football season in front of another sellout crowd at the 42nd Annual Kickoff Luncheon,” Big Ten Associate Commissioner Andrea Williams said. “The luncheon is the greatest preseason promotion of the sport in the nation, and we are excited to once again welcome our great fans, television executives, bowl partners and corporate sponsors to this outstanding event in downtown Chicago.”

The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually attracts some of the most talented names in college sports. The event has drawn legendary coaches as well as each of the conference’s Heisman Trophy winners since 1970. In all, nearly 850 of the conference’s finest players, over 60 head coaches and more than 47,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.