AT&T is using SMS to give college football fans one more thing to talk about during this year?s season.

Each week during the regular NCAA season, fans are asked to text in to vote for the player that they think is this week?s college football star. This is AT&T?s sixth consecutive year running the AT&T All-America Player of the Week program.

"Mobile is a great platform for us to reach out to football fans since they can participate in the game no matter where they are ? the stadium, the student center, and even the dorm room,? said Chris Schembri, vice president of media services at AT&T, Dallas, Texas.

?We?re seeing more and more people using text messages in their daily lives ? in fact, the number of text messages sent is exploding,? he said.

Starting Sept. 6, football fans can vote for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week by texting the keyword VOTE to the short code 345345.

Each week, a panel of experts from ESPN will decide on four finalists as candidates for the Player of the Week based on the athletes? outstanding performance during the previous week.

The four candidates will be revealed every Sunday morning via ESPN?s SportsCenter program.

Users who miss SportsCenter on Sunday morning can also see the four candidates online at http://www.espnallamerica.com.

For those who have already voted for a previous week?s player, they will receive SMS alerts regarding this week?s candidates as well as trivia offerings.

Fans have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesdays to participate in voting, followed by the announcement of the winner at halftime during the Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime presented by Applebee?s.

There is no limit to fan voting and each vote counts as one entry into a sweepstakes to win tickets and a trip to the 2010 Bowl Championship Series National Championship game in Pasadena, CA.

Towards the end of the season, four finalists will be chosen for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year Award and announced during a one-hour special on ABC in conjunction with the announcement of the Football Writers Association of America All-America team.

Voting for the Player of the Year will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 5 and the winner will be announced during the National Championship game on ABC on Jan. 7.

?This is the only national college football award of its kind where the fans decide which player rules the field,? Mr. Schembri said.

?By giving them the option of voting via text, we?re delivering this innovative technology directly to the fans ? some of the most knowledgeable experts on the game ? and involving them into the voting process in a quick, interactive way,? he said.