Muse Machine rehearsal
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Celebs come out for TV's '24'
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Stars turn out for film gala
UD-Xavier tilt is rare TV showcase for A-10
Flyers-Musketeers game kicks off tripleheader for mid-major programs.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
This afternoon, ESPN2 will show a college basketball tripleheader that is becoming a rarity on the network's top two channels.
The Atlantic 10 Conference (Dayton vs. Xavier), Horizon League (Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Mid-American Conference (Western Michigan vs. Akron) will all have league games broadcast on the pinnacle of college basketball television during a time when ESPN is cutting back on games featuring non-Bowl Championship Series conference schools.
Extras
That makes such appearances gold for these mid-major leagues struggling to generate national attention.
"Our lifeblood is men's basketball, so we have to pay very close attention to that," said Linda Bruno, the Atlantic 10 Conference commissioner.
ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast a combined 252 men's college basketball games this season. Of those, just 43 — or 17 percent — will feature two non-BCS conference teams, like the three today on ESPN2.
To get on ESPN's main station is even tougher. There, 122 games will be broadcast this season, and just seven will show two non-BCS teams. Six of those games, however, will feature either Memphis or Gonzaga.
There are other opportunities, as ESPN will broadcast 796 games this season on its main network and other properties and Internet ventures, including ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Full Court and ESPN360. But the goal remains to get a spot on one of the two marquee channels, which have become almost nightly displays of college basketball.
College administrators and commissioners agreed that the space on ESPN is shrinking for mid-major programs, so count today as a victory in the A-10, Horizon League and MAC offices, even if they agreed to fewer appearances or less money to get as many games on as possible.
"Appearances trump revenue," said Dayton Athletic Director Ted Kissell.
By the numbers
A breakdown of ESPN's men's college basketball broadcast schedule this season:
796 Games broadcast by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Full Court and ESPN360
252 Games broadcast on top two channels ESPN and ESPN2
43 Games on ESPN and ESPN2 between two non-BCS conference schools
7 Games on No. 1 channel ESPN between two non-BCS conference schools
1 Game on ESPN between non-BCS conference schools when neither is Memphis or Gonzaga (Wichita State at Creighton, Feb. 24)
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or
knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
