WAC-ESPN talks put on hold

Advertiser Staff

Because of an uncertainty over conference alignments around the country, the Western Athletic Conference and ESPN will likely wait until the spring to finalize a renewal of their television contract, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said.

The current three-year deal expires in April.

The WAC, which had begun preliminary negotiations last year, had hoped to complete a new, richer multi-year deal by the end of the year. But in the wake of Atlantic Coast Conference expansion and the uncertainty over the fallout nationally, Benson said the parties will wait until next year.

"We're all waiting to see what happens next on the national stage," he said.

The Big East, which will lose Miami and Virginia Tech to the ACC in 2004-2005, has said it will wait until January before taking on replacements for its own 2005 season.

Several conferences, including the Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Mountain West and WAC, could add or lose members in the aftermath of what the Big East does.

Under terms of the current deal, ESPN is contracted to televise a minimum of four regular-season football and three regular-season men's basketball games in the WAC. Citing contractual restrictions, WAC officials have refused to say how much the conference receives but estimates place the value at less than $500,000 per year.