Posted on: Tuesday, July 22, 2003

WAC signs supplement TV deal with SportsWest

Advertiser Staff

The Western Athletic Conference yesterday announced a three-year television agreement with SportsWest, which plans to produce at least two University of Hawai'i road games each in men's basketball and football every year.

SportsWest is a Salt Lake City-based syndicator, and its deal will supplement the league's current contract with ESPN, WAC officials said.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but the WAC is expected to share in the proceeds from SportsWest games involving its teams. "We expect to make money off this," said Karl Benson, WAC commissioner.

He said the WAC deal was identical to the Mountain West Conference's agreement with SportsWest.

Benson said the deal is expected to enhance local coverage in many local WAC markets because those stations will not have to produce the games.

"Hawai'i has a strong local package but there are several others that haven't been able to be on locally," Benson said.

"The WAC made some deals that are in the best interest of the WAC, not Hawai'i," said John Fink, president and general manager of KFVE. "We have to remember that outside of Hawai'i, Fresno and a little bit of Boise, there is no (local) TV in the WAC."

SportsWest's plans include UH's football game against Tulsa Oct. 4 and the men's basketball game against Louisiana Tech this coming season.

Under terms of the WAC television agreements, ESPN has first rights to all home games involving conference teams followed by ESPN Regional, SportsWest and local stations such as KFVE.

As a result, K5, which owns UH rights for two more seasons, is scheduled to produce just two of the Warriors' six road football games this year: Nov. 1 at San Jose State and Nov. 15 at Nevada. K5 will take a SportsWest feed of the Oct. 4 Tulsa game.