The Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Citadel Broadcasting and KBZU-FM 96.3 “The Buzzard” have agreed to a broadcast partnership to air Thunderbirds home and away games in their inaugural season beginning in November.

“This new partnership with 96.3 KBZU FM “The Buzzard” and Citadel Broadcasting gives us a very powerful signal for every game and affiliates us with eight of the strongest radio stations in our market,” said team president Billy Widner. “This will give our fans the best broadcast available and the partnership will provide the Thunderbirds with great marketing opportunities for many years to come.”

“People who listen to “The Buzzard” know and love sports. We’re in a real basketball town, and we can’t wait to broadcast every home and away game with 100,000 watts of Buzzard power,” Citadel Broadcasting FM Operations Manager Eddie Haskell said. “We welcome the Thunderbirds to Albuquerque and across New Mexico.”

The Thunderbirds 2005-06 home-opener is Friday, November 25 against the Tulsa 66ers. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Tingley Coliseum. The regular season begins with back-to-back outings against the 66ers in Tulsa on Nov. 18-19.

The NBA Development League includes the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (N.M.), Arkansas RimRockers (Little Rock), Austin Toros (Texas), Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), Florida Flame (Ft. Myers), Fort Worth Flyers (Texas), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.) and Tulsa 66ers (Okla.).

The D-League offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA’s umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up to the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Eleven (11) former D-League coaches, six athletic trainers, 11 referees and 29 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league’s inaugural season in November 2001.