Posted on: Wednesday, April 21, 2004

WAC deal with ESPN reportedly worth $1 million

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

Now that the Western Athletic Conference has reached agreement with ESPN on a new multi-year cable television contract said to provide more exposure and heftier rights fees, the conference must decide how to divide it up.

Members of the WAC's Board of Directors and their representatives voted to accept the deal yesterday in a conference call, according to people familiar with the process.

Although details have yet to be announced pending what has traditionally been a joint ESPN and WAC announcement, it is believed the deal will more than double the rights fees of the previous contract to more than $1 million.

An ESPN spokesman was not immediately available for comment and WAC commissioner Karl Benson declined comment.

The last contract guaranteed the WAC at least four football and two men's basketball appearances per season and less than $400,000 in fees.

Negotiations on a new deal began more than a year ago when the WAC turned down a deal reportedly similar to the $600,000 package accepted by the Mid-American Conference.

Fresno State athletic director Scott Johnson refused to give details of the deal but said, "I'm happy with the contract. It gives us some security and something to grow with."

Now comes the issue of how to divvy it up. "We're going to talk about performance-enhanced revenue distribution and I think that is the key to how it is divided," Johnson said.

The WAC last year adopted a plan that will pay a so-called "inconvenience fee" to members that play non-Saturday football games. But some members want schools that appear to receive a larger share of the money. In the past all members have shared equally in distribution.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.