Midweek games for WAC football likely in 2005
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
You won't see the University of Hawai'i football team on "Monday Night Football," but you could find the Warriors on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday night cablevision game as soon as the 2005 season.
ESPN plans to expand its midweek college football offerings and the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference will likely join Conference USA in supplying midweek games beginning in 2005, according to people who have been briefed on the new WAC-ESPN agreement.
They said UH would not be forced to move any home games to midweek dates and athletic director Herman Frazier has balked at playing home games on Thursdays or Fridays unless they involve holidays.
Teams that play midweek games would not be scheduled to play a Saturday game immediately preceding or following the midweek game.
An ESPN spokesman declined comment, saying schedules have yet to be completed.
Last season WAC teams participated in four games on Saturdays, four on Fridays and one on Thursday, according to the conference office.
The Atlantic Coast Conference's new seven-year, $258 million football contract with ABC/ESPN will expand that conference's offerings. The ACC will appear on six of ESPN's Thursday night games. As a result, and with the success of ESPN's initial two-year experiment on midweek games, more Tuesday and Wednesday slots are planned.
The new WAC-ESPN deal, which conference presidents have approved in principle but have yet to sign, does not guarantee the WAC any Saturday appearances, according to people briefed on the agreement.
The new deal, replacing the three-year contract that expired in March, is expected to more than double the rights fees to about $1 million annually.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson would not comment on the specifics of the agreement except to say, "an agreement has been reached but not yet signed."
Fresno State athletic director Scott Johnson has been a proponent of divvying up rights fees to favor schools that play on or move games to accommodate ESPN. Previously, all WAC members have shared equally in the money regardless of how many times they appeared.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
