MBC ups the ante on TV
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
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The Atlanta-based 24-hour network has upped the ante and will air 37 games this fall. That pretty much explains their motto of "We're not just playing games, we're making history."
The unprecedented coverage includes games from all four conferences that will be spread out over every weekend of the 2003 season, an accomplishment that delivers on co-founder Willie Gary's promise four years ago when the network launched of televising live black college Games of the Week.
Network executives were busy getting ready for this weekend's first games and were unavailable for comment, but their work behind the scenes over the last year has resulted in the ambitious schedule.
The company now has what is in effect long-term deals with all four black college conferences (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference) which should provide a steady diet of televised football and basketball games for years to come.
The 2003 season kicks off this weekend with three games. Southern faces Mississippi Valley State Saturday in a SWAC battle from Jackson, Ms., (8 p.m, EST). That will be followed by a doubleheader on Sunday. MEAC-member North Carolina A&T squares off against North Carolina Central of the CIAA in the Aggie-Eagle Classic at 4 p.m. in Raleigh, before the 8 p.m., SIAC matchup of Tuskegee and Miles from Birmingham.
So, the network will accomplish its goal of putting on all four conferences in just its first weekend. A 30-minute pre-game show is also set to begin Saturday.
For the season, 14 games involve SWAC teams and 12 involve MEAC teams. Seven games include SIAC squads and six have those from the CIAA.
The schedule will feature three tripleheaders on Oct. 18, Oct. 25 and Nov. 8. With tape delay broadcasts, four games will air on the weekends of Oct. 18 and Nov. 11. Seven (two live and five tape -delay) games will air on Sundays. Only eight games will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis.
The line-up will include 12 classic games, an MEAC playoff game, the Pioneer Bowl, five homecomings and championship games for both the CIAA and SWAC.
The SWAC Championship Game and the Magic City Classic (Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M in Birmingham) are prominent games the network was able to wrest from long-time carrier BET.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.