Post by krazykev on Oct 26, 2006 4:16:43 GMT -5
By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
The MEAC and ESPN are somewhat new to one another. That may explain why N.C. A&T has to travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., tonight to a play a team that had this past weekend free and clear.
Not that there's anything game-changing about it, mind you. The Aggies (0-5 MEAC, 0-7) would have been heavy underdogs to Bethune-Cookman (2-2, 4-3) under any circumstances. But the difference in scheduling is there nonetheless, and A&T isn't sure why it had to happen.
"It's an issue that we need to address, quite frankly," Aggies coach Lee Fobbs said. "In the future, it may not be us. It could be another team in that situation. We will look at it because there are some legitimate thoughts about it."
The league and ESPNU are in the second year of a seven-year agreement to broadcast games, two of which are set for Thursday nights in 2006. The first one is tonight in Daytona Beach and the second sends Bethune-Cookman to Hampton next week.
The Worldwide Leader didn't make the schedule on its own. It said it would televise some contests and would accommodate the conference's plans. The results? Appearances by the Wildcats on both Thursdays, one of which occurs five days after Bethune was the only MEAC team with a bye week. In other words, any other MEAC matchup tonight would have paired two teams with equal preparation time.
Dennis Thomas, the MEAC's commissioner, did not return a phone call seeking comment. He did speak Monday with A&T athletics director Dee Todd, who didn't seem terribly satisfied.
"He said that it just worked out that way," Todd wrote in an e-mail.
On Wednesday, the conference announced an addition to its television schedule. Howard's game at South Carolina State on Nov. 4 will be showed on tape at 10 p.m. that day on ESPNU.
In the earlier days of Thursday night college football telecasts, this sort of thing happened from time to time. But as major conferences and ESPN became more frequent partners in the Must See TV, prime-time business, the league offices figured out how to work schedule grids to ensure equality.
For the A&T players, this isn't worth griping out. Having lost by an average of four touchdowns a game, the Aggies are happy to have anything to look forward to in their next game.
"I know a couple of people who have ESPNU," kick returner J.J. Yates said. "Doesn't matter to me if we're playing on TV or not. ESPN, ABC, NBC, anything. We still have to come out and play."
For the record, ESPNU is available in 7.5 million homes nationwide. Or, to put it another way, in one of every 12 homes that has ESPN.
The network hasn't made great gains in distribution since its debut 19 months ago, and to presume it will follow the growth pattern of ESPN2 some 15 years ago may be a bit premature. When "the Deuce" began, it did so in 10 million households -- 2.5 million more than ESPNU has today.
Negotiations with various cable companies, including Triad rights-holder Time Warner, haven't produced any breakthrough announcements. The channel's widest availability is on DirecTV, but even there, it is only seen on an enhanced sports package.
ESPN has continued to encourage would-be viewers to lobby their local cable providers for access, but some industry analysts think the best way for ESPNU to become available to the masses is the introduction of "a la carte" pricing and packaging structures. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., proposed legislation that would have greased the skids for such plans, but the Senate Commerce Committee rejected McCain's idea 20-2 on June 28. The legislation's future is uncertain.
Momentum for some sort of change is expected to build. This past weekend, top-ranked Ohio State played Indiana on ESPNU, which is not seen on the cable provider in Columbus, and the situation generated predictable debate. Similarly, the NFL Network will start airing live games Thanksgiving Day, and that channel is only seen on satellite at this point.
Staff Writer
The MEAC and ESPN are somewhat new to one another. That may explain why N.C. A&T has to travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., tonight to a play a team that had this past weekend free and clear.
Not that there's anything game-changing about it, mind you. The Aggies (0-5 MEAC, 0-7) would have been heavy underdogs to Bethune-Cookman (2-2, 4-3) under any circumstances. But the difference in scheduling is there nonetheless, and A&T isn't sure why it had to happen.
"It's an issue that we need to address, quite frankly," Aggies coach Lee Fobbs said. "In the future, it may not be us. It could be another team in that situation. We will look at it because there are some legitimate thoughts about it."
The league and ESPNU are in the second year of a seven-year agreement to broadcast games, two of which are set for Thursday nights in 2006. The first one is tonight in Daytona Beach and the second sends Bethune-Cookman to Hampton next week.
The Worldwide Leader didn't make the schedule on its own. It said it would televise some contests and would accommodate the conference's plans. The results? Appearances by the Wildcats on both Thursdays, one of which occurs five days after Bethune was the only MEAC team with a bye week. In other words, any other MEAC matchup tonight would have paired two teams with equal preparation time.
Dennis Thomas, the MEAC's commissioner, did not return a phone call seeking comment. He did speak Monday with A&T athletics director Dee Todd, who didn't seem terribly satisfied.
"He said that it just worked out that way," Todd wrote in an e-mail.
On Wednesday, the conference announced an addition to its television schedule. Howard's game at South Carolina State on Nov. 4 will be showed on tape at 10 p.m. that day on ESPNU.
In the earlier days of Thursday night college football telecasts, this sort of thing happened from time to time. But as major conferences and ESPN became more frequent partners in the Must See TV, prime-time business, the league offices figured out how to work schedule grids to ensure equality.
For the A&T players, this isn't worth griping out. Having lost by an average of four touchdowns a game, the Aggies are happy to have anything to look forward to in their next game.
"I know a couple of people who have ESPNU," kick returner J.J. Yates said. "Doesn't matter to me if we're playing on TV or not. ESPN, ABC, NBC, anything. We still have to come out and play."
For the record, ESPNU is available in 7.5 million homes nationwide. Or, to put it another way, in one of every 12 homes that has ESPN.
The network hasn't made great gains in distribution since its debut 19 months ago, and to presume it will follow the growth pattern of ESPN2 some 15 years ago may be a bit premature. When "the Deuce" began, it did so in 10 million households -- 2.5 million more than ESPNU has today.
Negotiations with various cable companies, including Triad rights-holder Time Warner, haven't produced any breakthrough announcements. The channel's widest availability is on DirecTV, but even there, it is only seen on an enhanced sports package.
ESPN has continued to encourage would-be viewers to lobby their local cable providers for access, but some industry analysts think the best way for ESPNU to become available to the masses is the introduction of "a la carte" pricing and packaging structures. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., proposed legislation that would have greased the skids for such plans, but the Senate Commerce Committee rejected McCain's idea 20-2 on June 28. The legislation's future is uncertain.
Momentum for some sort of change is expected to build. This past weekend, top-ranked Ohio State played Indiana on ESPNU, which is not seen on the cable provider in Columbus, and the situation generated predictable debate. Similarly, the NFL Network will start airing live games Thanksgiving Day, and that channel is only seen on satellite at this point.
