Posted on: Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Instant replay approved
| • | WAC drops certification rule |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
The use of in-game instant replay officiating review for the 2005 Western Athletic Conference football season was approved yesterday by the conference council although it hasn't been decided in how many games it will be employed.
"The WAC will have instant replay, but it will likely not be for every game," commissioner Karl Benson said from the conference meetings in Arizona. "We haven't finalized the number of games or the format, but we did agree to go forward with some type of replay."
UH athletic director Herman Frazier has said he is "in favor (of) the experiment that we will utilize." The WAC Board of Directors is expected to give final approval next month.
Benson said games shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SportsWest and local television would be the most likely candidates. In addition, games played in stadiums that have in-house scoreboard replay capabilities, such as Aloha Stadium, would be considered. Only about half of the conference's nine schools are thought to currently have that available.
The NCAA opened the way for replay last year when it allowed the Big Ten Conference to use it on an experimental basis. Replay was used in 57 games involving Big Ten teams — all conference games and home non-conference games held in Big Ten stadiums. There were 43 plays reviewed; decisions were overturned or modified on 23, a Big Ten spokesman said.
The NCAA plans to open replay to all conferences for 2005 and the WAC is among several conferences that have said it plans to use it.
WAC officials said they would like to eventually see instant replay for all games, but said the cost would prohibitive at the start. The Big Ten said it spent $250,000 in production last year, and that was with nearly all its games already on television. The WAC expects to have less than half its games televised in 2005.
The NCAA has said instant replay will not be used in bowl games.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
