Increased TV exposure on tap in 2001
Record 37 black college football games to be telecast this year
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
For those worried that television exposure hurts attendance at black
college football games, there's more to worry
about this year.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference
(SWAC) is preparing to announce this week a new 13-game TV package
to be carried on a syndicated network of stations while the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SIAC) unveiled a new three-game schedule of
TV games at their July 27 preseason press conference.
That brings the number of televised black college games this year to 37,
the largest number ever to hit the airwaves and a little better than a 33 percent
increase over last season when 24 games made it onto the tube.
That's a significant jump in exposure particularly for conferences that, prior
to this year, had no TV deals in place.
"They (the SWAC and SIAC packages) are good signs that all is well in
black college sports," said Central
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)
Commissioner, Leon Kerry. "It's good for
the SWAC because they're known for football like we're known for basketball.
Television is the best recruiting tool you can
get. The best money spent is on TV. If it's done right, it's the best thing for all of us."
The SWAC, who earlier this year successfully got out of their
four-year agreement with Street & Smith's
Productions, signed on with Buckeye Communications of Ohio, to produce and
distribute their games. Street & Smith's
televised four SWAC games a year ago.
Interim SWAC Commissioner, Dr. James
Frank, finalized the deal with Buckeye that was started by former
commissioner Rudy Washington before his ouster earlier this summer. Frank
announced it at the conference's preseason confab Aug. 3 in Birmingham.
Buckeye will put on, what is in essence, a SWAC TV Game of the
Week into 21 million homes this season beginning with the
Prairie View/Texas Southern Labor Day Classic
in Dallas (Sept. 1). According to Charles Christian,
the company's marketing director, the games will be seen on cable stations and on
direct satellite.
The SIAC signed on with Urban Sports and Entertainment Group of
Charlotte, N.C., formerly Street & Smith's, for
three games to air on the MBC Cable Network and 18 other stations. USEG also
produces and distributes the CIAA's three-game package and is also televising the
first-ever match-up of Southern and Tulane
in the New Orleans SuperDome on Sept. 29. The CIAA package also begins on
Labor Day weekend with the Virginia State
/Norfolk State game.
Commissioner Robert Vowels said the SIAC's deal is over four years and
will get 50 conference events on the tube over the duration of the contract. This
season USEG will carry the football games and two other events including the men's
basketball tournament championship game.
The SIAC package begins with the Clark
Atlanta vs. Morehouse Labor Day Classic game on Sept 3 in Atlanta.
The Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic in
Columbus, Ga., follows on Oct. 13. The final game is the traditional season-ender
pitting Albany State against Fort Valley
State at the Fountain City Classic in
Columbus, Ga. The other televised event is likely to
be the doubleheader basketball game Morehouse plays at Phillips Arena
following an Atlanta Hawks contest.
The Mid Eastern Athletic Conference
(MEAC) begins its 10-game package with a Howard
vs. Hampton match-up on Sept. 8 at 12 noon. The final game will
be a I-AA playoff game involving a conference school. MEAC games will be
carried on Comcast Cable, formerly Home Team Sports (HTS).
Black Entertainment Television (BET) returns this season with six games
beginning with Southern vs.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 8 and culminating with
the SWAC Championship game in Birmingham on Dec 1.
© 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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