Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 9, 1994 TAG: 9402090058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The dollar signs that accompany the telecast future of the Big East Football Conference are significant.
However, whether the Big East remains as part of the College Football Association TV package or follows the Southeastern Conference to CBS Sports starting in 1996 is more likely to be a decision based on exposure.
Another important point: The question of Big East Conference expansion in basketball and non-revenue sports will not be answered when the eight football schools decide whether to move to CBS or sign a CFA extension with ABC/ESPN.
"People keep talking about the money, and some of the figures I've seen are ridiculous, but the real issue for us is marketplace distribution," said Big East associate commissioner Tom McElroy. "I've told people that until I'm blue in the face.
"There's also been the tendency to misinterpret what's happening with football, that a decision [on CBS] means the other six [non-football schools] are going to vote to expand to get some of those dollars. That's a very myopic way to look at all of this. The six schools have much more than what football television would mean to analyze."
The SEC is about to announce a five-year, $85 million contract with CBS for football and basketball telecasts starting with the 1996-97 school year. It has been reported that CBS has offered the Big East $55 million for five years. McElroy said that figure "isn't written in stone" and will fluctuate depending on whether it includes football and basketball.
Make no mistake about what CBS - which has rights to the NCAA Tournament through 1997 - really wants.
"CBS is interested in college football in this, period," McElroy said. "That's what it wants. If it has to have a basketball arrangement, then it can make that work."
In other words, if Providence, St. John's, Georgetown, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Villanova don't welcome basketball outsiders Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Temple and Rutgers to go with all-sports members Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt and Miami, then CBS will deal with the football eight-pack.
The Big East is intrigued by the CBS offer because the network can promise that the league's games will be seen in the backyards of its eight schools. That doesn't happen on ABC in the CFA schedule, which is dominated by regional telecasts. ABC also has the rights to Big Ten and Pacific-10 games, with a contract that says those conferences will be televised to 50 percent of the nation.
The Big East has been unhappy that its games haven't always been aired in major markets in the East, particularly when Penn State is playing. On regional weekends, Big East games on ABC don't play in the home market of Virginia Tech, one of the eight Big East football schools.
At ABC, Virginia's TV markets are considered in the ACC region and - when no ACC game is aired - part of the region for SEC telecasts. So, the Hokies' league foes aren't seen in their backyard, which makes it more difficult for the Big East to build an identity in Tech's home state.
If the Big East takes its football to CBS starting in 1996, the network plans to air split-national telecasts most weekends with 2:45 p.m. kickoffs. The SEC and Big East will divide the country's TV homes equally. Not only will the Big East be guaranteed all of its own markets, but it also will get the Midwest, including Chicago.
The SEC's impending announcement on linking with CBS leaves the Big East with a new option. The CFA reportedly has offered the eight Big East football members a boost from a guaranteed $39 million over five years to $48 million to stay in the CFA package on ABC/ESPN.
The Big East netted $8.34 million in appearances for 23 dates on ABC and ESPN (11 and 12 respectively) in 1993.
"That's maximizing our appearances," McElroy said. "We couldn't do any better than that."
In a CBS plan, the Big East would have the potential for 10-13 games, including some non-conference contests.
The increase in dollars from the ABC/ESPN package reflects additional appearances that would be available with the SEC out of the mix.
"However," McElroy said, "that still doesn't bring about a resolution of the marketplace intrusion for us, which is our greatest concern."
The SEC's departure from the CFA plan after two more seasons opens more exposure for the remaining conferences. If the Big East bolts, too, the ACC would be the major beneficiary in appearances and rights fees in a smaller plan.
Depending on what type of exclusivity CBS wants and the inventory of games remaining after any deal with that network, the Big East could separately negotiate with ESPN for an additional cable schedule.
McElroy said that a decision on whether to renew with the CFA plan - which in its original form offered its schools an 18 percent rights fee hike over the current $300 million, five-year ABC/ESPN deal - isn't likely this week.
"We could do it if necessary," he said. "We don't have to rush to get this done. We're talking about a season two years from now."
It wouldn't be surprising if a decision is announced a week from today, when the Big East football schools wrap up a two-day meeting in Pittsburgh.
by CNB