Stewart-- Thanks for bringing this to light. And a bigger issue perhaps than the woeful t.v. contract that speaks to Commissioner Hansen's shortcomings, is the Pac 10 tie-ins for bowl games. The holiday bowl for the #2 Pac 10 team if not selected for BCS At Large? And when is that game played? (December!) against whom? (#3 from Big 12?) Hansen's refusal to get better bowl games (including spurning the Cotton Bowl) hurts recruiting, the coastal biases, and simply, sharing our brand of football. As you can see, this 'exposure' issue goes much deeper.

Mr Mandel--

Thank you for addressing this. I agree with you to a point. Yes the Pac10 has a horrible tv deal and yes the sec with its CBS deal has it great but it is YOUR responsibility to watch all the games and give them fair shake in the national media. I understand if Billy Bob in Baton Rouge doesn't know how good Oregon is but it is irresponsible and bad reporting if the "media" doesn't. You and your buddies have one of the greatest jobs in america and you owe it to us to be fair and informed of all the games even the ones you have to go to a bar to watch. Peace out and thankyou. Go bears

Stewart -

I am an ASU alumn, but I live in Texas. Fortunately this year I've been able to see most of their games becuase they've played almost exclusively at home and at night on FSNAZ. I have Dish Network, and I pay $5/month and I get every single regional fox channel across the country. It's a good deal, and I usually get to see my team, plus a ton of other games.

But, if the game is the regional game on ABC, I never see the game.

I was happy that the ASU/Oregon game was picked up only because lots of other people could now see it, plus it will be in HD.

But overall, I don't have a problem seeing the Pac 10 games I want to see. It's rare that there's such an unexpected matchup like this weekend's.

It's my opinion that while the Pac 10 could definetly use more exposure, people are making excuses if they don't see the games, because I am able to see usually 3 or 4 games each weekend and I only pay $5 a month on top of my normal satellite bill.

The Pac 10 deals--both TV and bowls, as alluded to in the first comment--remind me of my hometown ACC. At least we're still getting plenty of Thursday games (though it seems like half our teams live on ESPNU these days).

In northern Virginia, I rarely see as much Pac 10 football as I want, even less now that TBS no longer carries games. It doesn't help that those 10 pm starts are killer. I read somewhere that this is the first national primetime game between ranked Pac-10 teams since some absurd time, like 1994.

I enjoy Pac 10 football that's one of the reasons I get Direc TV and all the sports channels, so it's not much of a problem for me. It would be if I had local Charter cable. I'd miss a lot of those games that are on regional Fox Sports Channels.

What's the matter Stewie, you went through a whole article withoug taking a shot at SEC fans????

Here I sit in Norther AZ and I've been relegated to having to "watch" Oregon play on ESPN's gamecast.

Stewart: You are a good human being. Thank you for shedding light on this!! I live in So Cal and its almost impossible for me to see Pac-10 games unless they are on ABC. My lame cable company, a big one I might add, only carries Fox Sports West which will always carry Kings games over college football (is hockey even relevant??) Hansen has really screwed us Pac-10 fans over by not allowing ESPN to carry Pac-10 games. And, its not only football, the package for college basketball is just as bad. Would love to hear some thoughts on what we as fans can do to put even more pressure on Hansen for him to re-evaluate this stupid tv deal. Thanks!!

Finally, someone on the national level recognizes the Pac-10's plight!

I'm a Trojan, so luckily my team is on national TV or expanded regional every week. But most Pac-10 teams aren't nearly as lucky. Though 7:15 pm PST kickoffs may be great for West Coast fans, no one on the East Coast is going to stay up and watch those games after watching SEC, Big XII and Big 10 games all day.

One solution I've never heard batted around would be to get the Pac-10 some kind of tie-in with Fox Network. Tom Hansen has already shown that he has great loyalty to FSN, so why not go for the big show? What else is Fox showing on Saturday afternoons after the World Series?

ASU-Oregon could be on Fox Network just like USC-Oregon could have been on Fox last week. Fox has already gotten into the college football market by taking over the BCS games, so why not get a deal with Fox like the SEC has with CBS? Fox loves to demonstrate that they are cutting edge and hip - and what league is more "out there" than the Pac-10? I think we need to get some USC alums with large pockets and Phil Knight in on this so that the Pac-10 gets more consistent national coverage.

Make sense?

Fight On!!

Mountain West fans hear you loud and clear, Steve. The problem with the contract that ESPN left of the table for the Mountain West had worse time slots than Boise State and the WAC have now. Seriously, who wants to watch (or for the players, play) college football on a Tuesday or Sunday? Going head to head against the NFL on the Sunday night slot does not increase exposure since NO ONE IS WATCHING.

Either way, Mountain West fans are frustrated with their lack of exposure at the hands of Comcast, Mountain West Commissioner Craig "Hair" Thompson, CBS, CSTV and VERSUS. Just try and find the mtn. television station. It's having the exact opposite problem of the Big Ten network as its still not on any of the Dishes and only Comcast subscribers in the Intermountain West can get it.

I like the Pac10's TV schedule. I live in Cali, and because the Pac-10's TV contract is so bad, I get to see a lot more Big 12 football and watch the Buffs play.

Unfortunately, I did not get to see Oregon and USC last weekend... Got that Washington game instead. Bloody brilliant.

Mr. Mandel,

The bigger problem to note here is the indifferent attitude of the conference commissioners towards the very fans and students whose interests they are supposed to serve. Looks like Tom Hansen was more interested in getting money for his conference when he signed a deal with Fox Sports rather than worry if the fans will get to see the their team's games or not. Just to show Pac 10 that Big 10 is up to the challenge, Jim Delany comes up with a Big 10 Network and decided to show the most important conference game of the week (OSU VS Wisc) in his stupid network. Basically the losers in all this meelee are the fans. And the problem is that there is no forum or legal means through which fans can voice/complain their displeasure of opposition to such ideas whose sole objective is financial gain for the commissioner and the conference. If there is something you guys know of, please share it here.

Reeks of ostensible pro-Pac10 bias

- Geaux Tiger Fan

kidding, of course

no i'm not

I hate the Pac 10's television contract. I live on the east coast, and often miss their 10:00 games because I'm either gone, or unwilling to stay up until 3 to catch a game.

I remember the USC-Fresno State game a few years ago, and how I missed the second half because I had to wake up early the next morning. If the Pac 10 wants national exposure, they should schedule games to air at convenient times for fans on the East Coast.

College football is still largely a regional deal even with folks living far from their U.

I live in CO so seeing some Pac 10 football is not that hard since it is not all that late and I am a dedicated college football fan.

I loved the comment about scheduling games for the folks on the East Coast to see. Did that person consider that maybe they schedule the games to be convenient for when their fans are likely to watch or attend?

Ducks have been on national television only twice this year? What about the Cal game, wasn't ESPN in Eugene for that? Anyway, for the most part, I agree with you and I appreciate you giving me someone to direct my frustrations at. This Hansen fellow seems like he could stand to learn a few things from east coast conferences...

STEWART... it is imperative that you comment on the bastardization of the UCONN vs. Rutgers game along the same lines as this column!!!! espn is using UCONN and RUTGERS as pawns to try to strongarm comcast/cablevision(who don't carry ESPNU)into buying the channel. unfortunately, this leaves the VAST majority of the tri-state area unable to view this game!!! the state of connecticut, our AD jeff hathaway are being stymied by ESPN executives, and our exposure is being jacknifed. please bring this to the attention of your readership much like you did for the ASU OREGON game
thank you...

Stewart, thank you so much for doing this story! I am an Oregon alum and even here in Eugene, I see mostly Big-12 games it seems.

Arizona State is the 5th ranked team in the country and I have yet to see them! I have seen West Virgina twice, LSU and Florida several times, Texas three times and even a coupkle WAC teams - but not ASU. I have no idea how good a team Oregon is playing this week because of the Pac-10's terrible contracts.

I live in Oregon and am a Ducks football season ticket holder. Not too long ago, I lived in central Pennsylvania--about 30 minutes from Beaver stadium. I am constantly amazed and dismayed by the shortage of Pac-10 football on TV every weekend.

Fans in Big Ten country (at least prior to The Big Ten Network) were virtually assured of seeing the local team (in my case Penn State) every Saturday--even when the opponent was Florida International.

Here in Oregon, you're lucky if one of the two Pac-10 schools is has a televised game on any given Saturday. It seem very rare to be able to see both Oregon and OSU on TV on the same day.

The Pac-10s TV deal is bad. Very, very bad. I see more Big Ten, ACC and SEC football than I do Pac-10 football, and it's not because I'm choosing not to watch a Pac-10 game. Pac-10 games are simply not televised with anywhere near the regularity of the other BCS conferences.

It's pathetic. I feel bad for Pac-10 football fans everywhere.

I am not sure how all the cogs move exactly but for the schools and NCAA the bottom line is money. Cfb is wonderful and the folks who run it are smart. ALL things are for a reason(though not always the right reasons). I feel for the players most though. I am from the "D" so GO BLUE!!! But I live in CA. And these boys out west can PLAY SOME FOOTBALL!

The country would be drooling over Dixon if he was on T.V. as much as Tim Tebow. And if the kid would have held on to the ball not only would he be heisman front runner but undefeated as well.

If Cal played the way they should every week they would only have one loss. But after all these years very talented Cal teams continue to disappoint. But I still like you guys. And thats why we all love college football

P.S. Central Mich has a QB that is bananas

Stewart,
Count me as one of the grateful PAC-10 fans that you have addressed this issue.

One additional point that hasn't been addressed is the ridiculous rule the PAC has that two conference games can't be televised simultaneously, not even if they overlap a bit!

Of course this further limits the exposure of the conference teams and often forces a fan to miss their favorite team play while watching a game that was selected ahead of time that now holds little impact in the conference championship or interest in comparison to "their team."

In short, the PAC-10 has the worst commissioner of any BCS conference and it isn't even close and hasn't been for far too long!

Dude--I think that the lack of media exposure (even with the Manhattan Billboard) allowed Ken Dorsey to win the Heismen over Joey Harrington. Do those guys still play?

I'm really confused about this ASU vs UO game. First, I hear it will be on ESPN. Then I'm watching ESPN today and a headline runs that says the game will not be shown in SoCal--which is where I reside. Check local listing, etc.

I'm ticked. Gee wiz, am I gonna have to watch, one of those stupid poker shows instead.

The Pac-10's television schedule is terrible. There have been at least 2 times this season where the Oregon game wasn't even on live in Eugene. You had to go to campus to watch a closed feed broadcast, or wait till 11:30 at night to watch a replay on OSN.

Tom Hansen is a tool. He's been one for years. Just look at how he protects his worthless ref's in this conference, despite their terrible calls year in and year out. Some of the celebration calls we get in this league would be applauded by refs in the SEC.

Back to TV though. Hansen clearly wants more money for the conference, which apparently he gets when he justifies locking in the TV games early. As fans that's great, because you can plan your game day/hotel room situation based on an early or late game. But for fans watching (or wishing they were watching on TV) it is a nightmare because often times great games aren't on.

Tom.....please ride off into the sunset and get some fresh blood in the Pac-10 offices.

Go Beavers!

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are all the SEC fans saying how badly the Pac 10 sucks and that the Pac 10 doesn't deserve to be on TV? I, of course, do not agree with the SEC fans, but when one sees the sun rise every single day, one just comes to expect it. LOL Kidding.

Love the Ducks, Tom Hansen is a tool, I sure wish Pac-10 fans would STOP WHINING!

Thanks for pointing out the inequities...but hey...the national media DID start paying attention to the PAC...when Oregon's numbers became astounding. THAT's what causes a leveling of the field w/ regard to East Coast Bias...outstanding PLAYING!

GO DUCKS!!

Amen. Before I moved to the west coast, I never really watched a lot of Pac-10 football, and always wrote it off as a conference that doesn't play defense. After being out here, I really like the Pac-10 storylines, and it's been a lot of fun following the teams.

That said, Pac-10 fans, whatever happens, make sure that your conference does NOT start their own cable network. We Big Ten fans are dying here, as if it weren't hard enough to find those games without GamePlan.

Good points. I'm an ASU alumnus living in Ohio. It's been extremely difficult to see ASU games in the midwest unless I'm the creepy guy at the sports bar asking for corner tv to be switched to that pac-10 game. Please push for more national tv exposure.

I for one, definately believe that Hansen should be fired. I live on the left coast so I see most Pac Ten but my family back in Indiana only sees the annual USC-Notre Dame game.

If you want more views on my subject check this out: http://thewestcoastbiasblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/its-time-for-hansen-to-step-down.html

Clearly by crying about the lack of Pac-10 games on TV you are showing your bias yet again. (joking)

The solution? Now bear with me here, its kind of hard to see the vision.
I call it "THE PAC 10 NETWORK". Where now you will actually see even LESS of the teams in favour of MidAmerican Conference games. And in fact, if you do not have DirecTV you probably won't see any at all!

Thats a solution we all can agree on.

Thanks for writing about this. Clearly, the broadcast media has a huge impact on college football ... from the preseason hype polls to having to have your coach go on TV and beg for votes so you can play in the title match ... college football is turning into figure skating.

As far as the two conference you mention, i think there are a few forces at play. Both the PAC-10 and Mountain West have opted for money and control over exposure. They have survived because of their local fans, and not the national broadcast. This may be to their detriment, as the BCS seems to be driving college football away from local events to an increasingly more national event.

Certainly every sports writer follows the drum beat of ESPN, but the world-wide leader rules with an iron fist ... controlling the kickoff times of games it doesn't show, and even forcing games to change days only a few days before kickoff (like what happened to Boise and Nevada last thanksgiving). Local fans aren't able to plan travel as easily (and this matters more in the west where many fans drive for hours to get the stadiums).

The Mountain West felt that they couldn't survive with their current arrangement, (and despite Boise getting all the love right now from ESPN, the WAC seems to feel the same way, having rejected a new offer from ESPN this past fall for the same reasons-money and control).

However, the MWC's CSTV deal has been an unmitigated disaster. Even BYU's AD admitted that they 'lead down a prim rose path'. The conference was signed as CSTV's premier partner, the seemed to say they would promote the MWC the way ESPN is pimping UConn on the rest of us, game times would be set months in advance (like the Fox deal with the Pac-10). The CSTV deal would pay far more money than old ESPN deal as well as allow the MWC teams to sell more tickets at more convenient times.

But besides allowing the MWC schools to sell more tickets, none of that happened. CSTV was sold to Viacom and half the rights to the mountain west were sold off to comcast. Comcast created the mtn channel, which has such low distribution it might as well not exist. Comcast is unable to get this channel on satellite (just like how the big 10 network is not on most cable lineups). Meanwhile, comcast is using the MWC schools to build it's cable audience in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming (and a few other local cable channels). They're even running ads saying they are the 'only place to get MWC football'. Meanwhile, CSTV is broadcasting only a few MWC games this year, instead opting to show Div III games while the MWC is left as a pawn of comcast.

The situation is so bad this fall BYU and Utah hired an attorney to see what could be done about it, and this week Air Force's new coach openly talked about exploring independence.

I doubt this is what the supreme court thought would happen when they said Oklahoma could have their own tv revenues, but that's where we are.

Hey Stewart
In the mix is also "OSN" a sports network under contract with either FSN or ABC

I don't know, Stew. I've been stuck watching USC when there were other games I'd rather see, and I feel it's because of the huge population density in Los Angeles. I really feel there's a "positive west-coast bias" in the media, because of the number of $$$$ USC can pull in, since L.A. has no pro-football team and therefore has more local bandwagon fans than any other college team in the country. PAC-10 football is interesting to me in so far as any particular conference's games are, but if anything there is an overwhelming and delusional bias in favor of the PAC-10 as far as most commentators, writers, and moguls are concerned, and we all know that the rankings come from that, not from an objective analysis of who's the best team.

Stewart- Thanks for the coverage, even if it is from an east coast source.
In the early eighties, the Pac-10 had a regionally-televised Monday night basketball game. That lasted a few years but the coaches were not in favor, so it ended.
When ESPN was pitching its Big Monday triple-header a few years later the Pac-10 was approached. The offer was declined because of one reason and one coach. Lute Olsen did not want to play USC at the Los Angeles Arena after 9pm because of the neighborhood. Seriously.
I don't think the conference has recovered yet.
Please tell Tom Hansen that Fox is a regional network. As much as he wants FSN to be the PTN for free, it's not available in Chicago or other ComCast markets.
Even the Fox College Sports channels on my digital cable package only show conference game replay once in a while.

As an ASU student it is so awesome to see that Arizona State is finally getting some serious media attention and being from Northern California it is also very exciting that Oregon is getting attention as well. This should be one of the best games of the year and it would have been horrible if the rest of the nation wouldn't have been able to watch it. This is finally a chance for the Pac-10 other than USC to show off what we have to offer. Thanks for writing about this and we are all excited for the game here in Tempe. Too bad its in Eugene. lol. But anyways go Sun Devils and bring back a HUGE win to AZ.

i have been screaming about this for years! not only in football, but basketball! The pac ten is the only major conference that doesnt participate in espn gameplan and fullcourt...and is the only conference where every game is available on sat or cable.

to compound the problem, fox sports net has horrible production quality, and in southern california, the college games are on fox prime ticket which is not carried by the majority of local cable networks.

ESPN is where it is at, and the pac10 continues to bury its head in the sand and igonre the big ESPN gorilla.

I have said for years...

DUMP FOX

ESPN ROX.

go bears.

Thanks for bringing this up Mr. Mandel! While there may not be a lot of love lost between the PAC-10's schools' fans, there's one thing all of the teams' fans can agree on. The amazing level of ineptness by our commissioner, Tom Hansen, knows literally no bounds!

The #1 Pac-10 team (USC) finishes as nat'l champ multiple years, and best the #2 Pac-10 team at 10-2 or even 11-1 can do is the HOLIDAY BOWL. Commissioner Tom Hansen (who is about 80 yrs old) has done nothing for 10+ yrs... ya think that's a problem??? Meanwhile, let's all cheer for Connecticut, South Florida, and don't leave out perennial national powers named after third-tier cities... Pitt, Cincinnati and Louisville. Really tough schedule they all have to navigate. I'm sure Oregon would get crushed by all of them, or at least that's what Joe Sixpack from Toledo thinks since he never sees the games. Rick is correct Mr. Mandel - any of the "media" who are too lazy to follow the Pac-10 because games are on late... you deserve the reputation most sportswriters have as paunchy and lazy.

The #1 Pac-10 team (USC) finishes as nat'l champ multiple years, and best the #2 Pac-10 team at 10-2 or even 11-1 can do is the HOLIDAY BOWL. Commissioner Tom Hansen (who is about 80 yrs old) has done nothing for 10+ yrs... ya think that's a problem??? Meanwhile, let's all cheer for Connecticut, South Florida, and don't leave out perennial national powers named after third-tier cities... Pitt, Cincinnati and Louisville. Really tough schedule they all have to navigate. I'm sure Oregon would get crushed by all of them, or at least that's what Joe Sixpack from Toledo thinks since he never sees the games. Rick is correct Mr. Mandel - any of the "media" who are too lazy to follow the Pac-10 because games are on late... you deserve the reputation most sportswriters have as paunchy and lazy.

The PAC 10 has very bad TV contracts. However, there is definitely an East Coast bias. ABC almost always televises what it considers"national" games like Ohio State-MIchigan or Texas-Oklahoma nationally. Corresponding west coast meaningful games are mostly shown only regionally to the west coast, even thouse involving mighty USC (unless they are playing Notre Dame!). Look at the ABC records over the last several years and you will see this very clearly.

Stewart,

I couldn't agree with you more. As a bred Oregonian living in New York, the dearth of Pac 10 coverage of both football and basketball games never ceases to aggravate (especially over the last couple years as the quality of the conference has flourished).

Dear Commissioner Hansen,

Resign while you have the chance. If we get screwed again (as we did when we ended up 10-1) you're going to see your Walnut Creek offices picketed!

Stewart...Us sports fans had this problem last basketball season when it seemed like every great Pac-10 game was on Thursday nights on FSN with probably the worst announcers in the history of announcing. With Football, I think each major conference should have a contract with at least one major cable network. FSN is a major network, but I think Fox should open up their Saturday programming and show Pac-10 and Big 12 national games. Could you imagine the Saturday Afternoons that we could have on free tv! Fox with a Big 12 game at 11 or 12 and a Pac-10 game at 3 or 3:30. Alas, that would be in a perfect world...looks like more horrible movies on Fox on Saturday afternoons after baseball :(

Stewart--thank you. I'm an Oregon alumnus living in Pittsburgh. Luckily for me, I have found a few local establishments that either have ESPN GamePlan which often shows the Oregon Sports Network broadcast in addition to ABC Regional, or DirecTV with all the Fox Sports Regional channels. I carry a crib sheet in my wallet with the DirecTV channel listings for Fox Sports, VS, ESPNU, CSTV, etc. strictly to plan for the contingency such as watching the Oregon-ASU game on FSNAZ this weekend before the boys in Bristol, CT came through. Concerning Tom Hansen, there is not a more inept commissioner in major college sports (www.firetomhansen.com). No Pac-10 game should ever kick off later than 8PM EST. The Pac-10 had a bowl agreement with the Cotton Bowl, but now, the 2d place bowl game is the Holiday Bowl which is always on a weeknight. Tom Hansen is the same dolt that refuses to stage the Pac-10 hoops tournament in Phoenix, the Bay Area, Portland, or Seattle. Don't even get me started on all the BCS fiascos and snubs during his tenure. Oh, I almost forgot -- he has threatened to leave the BCS to preserve the Rose Bowl traditional match-up between the Pac-10 and Big Ten. As far as the TV contract, he's in bed with Fox Sports Net. Their production sucks. Since it's a regional conglomerate, the announcers are homers and biased. Everything about the Pac-10 office from the TV contract, to the basketball tourney, to the "Conference of Champions" marketing slogan reeks of second class. No one cares that UCLA has 17 water polo titles and Stanford dominates women's volleyball. Anyway, Oregon is taking care of business on the field and attracting the attention it deserves. As well any program in the Pac-10 should that isn't USC because it sure as heck can't rely on the commissioner’s office. So Stewart, enjoy your visit to Eugene and Autzen and try to file your deadline in time to take in the ambience of Taylors and Rennies post-game. Huck the Fuskies!

Great article that illustrates the delicate balance between the media and college athletics. Many of us in the west feel the (real or perceived) east coast bias in reporting. What is more troubling to me however is the idea that a media outlet which enters into contracts to televise the games of specific conferences, also sponsors a poll which is used to determine rankings and BCS access. Too many people who vote in the polls rely on the reporting of ESPN, which puts the network in a precarious position.

You are correct, sir!

But please consider this...Pac-10 night games starting at 7 Pacific time start at 10 East Coast time...and ESPN begins their "College Football Final" show around 11 or 12 Saturday night/Sunday morning. The Pac-10 games aren't even finished by that time.

It would be great if the Pac-10 could get more national exposure. But up against the traditional powerhouses (and TV draws) of Ohio St., Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Auburn (and the list goes on), where would the Pac-10 fit in?

The first step towards solving a problem is to recognize that there is a problem, but a solution is definitely needed.

The MWC made the right call in saying no to ESPN. Western college sports fans are fed up with ESPN. The East Coast Bias is not completely ESPN’s fault but there certainly is big bias in the media. There is also a 2 or 3 hour time zone difference that has to be factored in also.

Personally I'd like to see the PAC10 stay with its guns. ESPN will drive game times and schedules to fit ESPN's programming needs. The PAC10 fully understands this.

The big issue for the .Mtn and the MWC is that they can not get the providers, Comcast specifically, to carry their programming. This has really hurt the .Mtn and the MWC exposure wise and will no doubt impact recruiting. Now almost no one can see MWC schools play.

Fox and CBS are going to become ESPN"s worst nightmare. Fox could wrap up the West and portions of the Midwest if they strike a deal with the PAC10, WAC and continue their relationship with Big XII. CBS should try and tie up all SEC home games and put them on CSTV and VS. It should expand its relationship with the MWC.

The day is coming where ESPN and ABC will not be the "sole source" and will lose it's capability of forcing schools to play any day and anytime ESPN dictates. It will also lose it’s capability of determining what area of the country will be blessed to see what game the “suits” decide.

College FB and BB are regional. Yes there are some big games. But locally BYU-Utah, Wyo-CSU in the MWC, UNLV-UNR interconference, Cal-Stanford, OSU-UO, UW-WSU in the PAC10 are just as big a rivalry as say Michigan-Ohio State. That may be news to the East Coast but it is a fact.

The only downer would be that ESPN would avoid hosting College Game Day at any site that is not in the ESPN - ABC sphere of influence. This would be a loss to college football fans because seeing Lee Corso put the “garb” on at any SEC school is “got to see” entertainment

Greetings from Eugene. (I just got in).

Reading through the comments, I came across something I meant to include in the original column but forgot (don't you hate when that happens?) Someone mentioned how the FSN Pac-10 game starts at 10:15 and is not yet over when ESPN's "wrap-up" show comes on at 11-12. I thought of that last weekend while watching the segment where Herbstreit and Corso give their new "top five." I remember thinking, hmm ... these guys couldn't even rank ASU in the top 5 if they wanted to because they probably have to tape that segment in time for the 11 pm SportsCenter. Think about that for a second -- a team being left out of the top five simply because their game kicked off too late!

Stew-
I'm an ASU fan living in Fort Collins, Colorado, and by nature of ASU home games being on very late-often at 10pm or later- FSN usually carries them here, which I was pleased to find. The only problem is that to pick up FSN you have to pay for the sports programming package from the cable provider. There is nothing worse than flipping through basic cable channels and seeing some slug-fest between mid-conference SEC teams knowing it could be my undefeated Sun Devils instead.

You hit the nail on the head. What's worse is that Pac-10 Commissioner Hansen doesn't even acknowledge that there's a problem. That seems to prove that HE'S the problem.

stewart,
is mr. hansen actually going to read these comments? i doubt it. even if he does would it make a difference? i doubt it. the pac-10 commissioners are delusional at best. they have always been pretty much clueless. i think it's a job requirement. the result of all this madness will probably be some pac-10 tv network that will cost everyone way too much money and we still won't get to see the games that matter. thanks for the opportunity to let us express our displeasure at the pac-10 powers that be. though in the long run it's probably just crying in the wilderness.

john

I definately see less Pac 10 games nationaly. I went to ASU and now live in Washington, D.C. Unless I go to specific sports bars and stay until 2am, I hardly get to see any ASU games. The Pac 10 needs to join the rest of the NCAA in the 21st century and get onm board with a national package.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing this up. As an Oregon fan stuck in Ohio, I have had the rare PAC10 sightings here. Hansen needs to go or change the policy. We aren't asking for special treatment, just even treatment.
By the way, the local FSN channel usually shows alternative programming instead of the football games. Thanks again for talking about this. Now get out there and influence your media friends!!

I get a lot of the Pac-10 games on FSN (which has no baseball so no blackouts until basketball season starts) and I get Versus. I don't think they need to get on ESPN for more exposure, I've seen more USC games than I care to, I think they need to keep their games on the national FSN as opposed to local affliates.

THANK YOU! I've been lamenting this issue all season long. It came to a head last weekend. I'm a University of Oregon Law School grad out here in New York. I don't get FSN, so I called my cable company to sign up for it last weekend so I could watch my Ducks beat (coincidentally, my Father's alum) USC. When I spoke with the woman at the cable company, I learned that out here, I would be forced to watch two bottom-feeders, Arizona and Washington rather than two BCS contenders. That's typical of the struggles to see some good football out here. I've been relegated to paying to join Oregon Sports Network so I can listen to the games on my computer.

To answer your question, I hardly ever see Pac 10 games here in Atlanta. It's a shame - I used to watch them religiously when I lived in San Diego. I think one of the biggest reasons for missing Pac10 has been the influx of HD football games, which FSNSXSWNEwhatever just doesn't seem to have a lot of. It may be snobbish, but I would rather watch an ACC game in HD than a decent Pac10 game in SD. But I'll always tune in to try and catch a song girl...HD/SD doesn't matter there!

I grew up on the east coast and believed "east coast bias" to be phony. But after spending 6 years living on the west coast before returning to the east, there is an obvious lack of exposure for the Pac 10 teams (with the exception of USC) compared to the other BCS conferences. If the Pac 10 commisioner really had the best interest of the league in mind, he would get a better tv deal.

So is it any surprise that the two conferences with the worst television contracts are the two conferences most opposed to conference championship games and playoffs? (Big Ten and Pac 10)

Thanks for bringing www.firetomhansen.com to national attention. I lived in Eugene for ten+ years and never noticed the problem b/c Ducks games were always on local TV. I just moved to Chapel, Hill, NC and following my Ducks this season has been near impossible.
I found it's not entirely correct to blame the media for not watching the games but more to the point to blame the PAC-10 officers for not allowing the games to get out. How about an investigation into the PAC-10's board and FSN buisness dealings. Maybe there's more to the story . . .

This is nothing compared to what the B10 Network will do to the exposure of those teams in the southern half of the US. If they don't get picked up by cable companies across the nation and soon their recruiting will certainly fall off and teams will lose their national fan bases. And don't think the other conferences aren't watching closely so as to have us all pay to watch while the ESPN/ABC's and CBS's are left out.

I fully agree with Andy. The presence of high definition has really changed the way I choose which games to watch. It is very difficult to watch FSN games in HD unless you have Dish Network. Almost all of the big games on ABC/ESPN are shown in HD goodness, so I usually opt for those games.

ASU alum in Boston - I think there are 2 issues here. The first is exposure. Sure the games are on late in the eastern time zone, but they would surely get more exposure if they were on a national network more frequently. The second is education. I have seen almost every ASU game this year through the Fox College Sports regional networks which are available not only on Dish and DirecTV, but also on most cable and FIOS systems as well. The Digital Sports Package on cable in the Boston area provides 4 regional FCS networks in addition to NFL Network, NBA TV, Fox Soccer Channel, NHL TV and others.

Here are the details on the ASU v. Oregon game this week.

The game can be seen in Arizona, New Mexico and in other regions on the West Coast only on FSN Arizona, FSN West and FSN Northwest. Although ESPN has picked up the telecast for national broadcast, it will be blacked out on ESPN in these regions, since FSN owns the Pac-10's local television rights in these areas.

In addition to FSN Arizona's telecast, fans living in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii will be able to watch the FSN Arizona production only FSN West, while fans in Oregon can see it only on FSN Northwest. The game will also be televised nationwide on Fox College Sports via its FCS Central channel.

I think it is very dangerous how ESPN is able to shape the discourse for college football. They should not be sole TV distributor nor the sole source for analysis of college football.

Dangerous? How so?

As a Pac 10 graduate who grew up in Big 12 country and now lives in NYC, I can't tell you how frustrating it is that Pac 10 games are not as available as I would hope. I used to be able to console myself by knowing that I could see an important Big 12 school here, because there was no Northeastern football that would draw a larger audience. With the advent of a competitive, relevant Big East, I am now stuck watching games that I enjoy as a college football fan, yet despise because I can't watch my Pac 10 and Big 12 schools.

I am an ASU alumnus and have resided in Central PA for the past 15 years. I can count on both hands the number of times I have seen the Devils from the comfort of my own home. Once in a blue moon, ASU would be featured as one of ESPN’s PAC-10 Game of the Week, depending on the opponent. I had to endure the 10:30 PM EST kick-off time. Overall, PAC-10 coverage on the East Coast is dismal. Meanwhile, I have to option to see Penn State play power-house Temple simultaneously on three channels.
The media bias against the PAC-10 in general and the Devils in particular is also on the internet and television. E.G. – After going 8-0 and beating CAL, the only mention of ASU by the boys on ESPN last week was the fact that John Elway’s son signed to QB for the Devils.
It is mind-boggling how coverage of the PAC-10 equates so poorly compared to the other conferences when so many PAC 10 teams are and were ranked in the top ten.
Unless there are some drastic changes in conference leadership and media mind set, I see little hope for improvement.

Brett says "Almost all of the big games on ABC/ESPN are shown in HD goodness, so I usually opt for those games."

Not entirely true. I've counted at least three times this year and numerous times last year where ABC's prime western/ Pac-10 matchup was NOT broadcast in HD, while the eastern game was in HD and all the concurring ESPN broadcasts were in HD. Oregon-Cal was not in HD, at least here in SoCal. Heck, ESPN broadcast a CUSA game in HD at the same time that a major P10 matchup was broacast SD. And to make matters worse, ABC's SD is truly horrible. Worse than FSN.

I can't decide which is worse for the Pac-10, the horrible TV deals or the awful bowl tie-ins. I have to think it's the bowl tie-ins, but the Pac 10 doesn't help its case when Oregon gets blown out by BYU and UCLA gets blown out by a middling FSU. Both problems need to be remedied, but I think I'd much rather see the bowl situation fixed sooner rather than later.

BTW, Stew - great read that BPTS. Helped me pass a recent flight from LA to Munich with no problem. It's hard to explain an Americans' passion for CFB to a German. They just see it as "American Football" and see no difference between college or pro. I compare it to rooting for one's national team in Euro2008 vs rooting for Bayern München in the Bundeslige.

I'm a USC Alum. I live in Pasadena (10 miles or so from campus) and I often can't see USC games on TV because Dish Networks and FSN don't have a contract.

What a joke.

But hey, as the likely third or fourth place team in the conference I can thank Tom Hansen for not allowing me to watch USC vs. some pile of a team in the Sun Bowl.

as bad as the PAC-10 deal is, it does not alienate the LOCAL FANS... trying living the MWC fan's life... I can't get the BYU games in their own local market. And when I have the time to travel to a friend's place with Comcast, the quality of the .mtn is worse than the local high school coverage... how about a nice detailed write-up on the MWC tv issues to generate more pressure on them...

Stew,

The problem in Pac-10 country is the lack of a lower-tier network, as the ACC/SEC has Lincoln financial, the big XII has Phillips 66 network, and the Big Ten now has the BTN. All of these lower tier networks are affilliated with espn gamelan, the gold standard of satellite packages. The FSN regional networks are fantastic, but once you're out of their coverage area they might as well not exist.

Since espn only hypes games they have tv rights to, usually four out of five Pac-10 games go unnoticed by the worldwide leader. Since they have the monopoly on sports hype, most Pac-10 teams become an afterthought to everyone east of Denver. It might be different if east coasters could even see highlights of the Pac.

I am a Sun Devil alum living in Tallahassee, Florida. The only way for me to get FSN-Arizona is through DirecTV, which I can't get thanks to a grove of live oaks on my South lawn. I'm stuck with cable, and I have the privelage of paying an extra $5 per month for FCS Pacific, which occasionally shows ASU games.

As an exile it takes a special effort to watch Pac-10 football, and I relly want to see it. I'd imagine that the casual fan could give a crap, and I know that most AP/coaches pollsters don't stay up to watch the late games.

You only have to look at Hansen's press photo (www.firetomhansen.com) to realize that this guy's Ward Clever haircut is calling all the shots. Here's the problem: he doesn't think there's a problem. Because Hansen's TV still probably only gets 3 channels.

Ultimately, it's time for the PAC-10 ADs to recognize the revenue they're losing and to take the guy out.

Excellent article. As a PAC 10 fan and proud ASU alum, I have been griping about this for years. Our bowl lineup is horrible and our television arrangements are terrible to say the least. ASU has a huge fan base that is scattered across the country and it's a shame that they cannot watch the big games since Fox Sports is not available everywhere. I cannot help bu remember how many Pac-10 teams have been shafted in recent years. We can blame it on the east coast bias all we want but our own commissioner is somewhat responsible! Thanks ESPN for pulling some strings!

Thanks Stewart for addressing the underexposure issue in the Pac-10 that most have us have realized for sometime....
Why does the Pac-10 have only ONE team play on New Year's Day?? Mr. Hanson has said pubicly that no one in the Southeast would be interested in a Pac-10 team on New Year's Day and that our fans wouldn't want to travel across the country during the holidays...Absolutely absurd! I believe the Orange Bowl was quite satisfied when USC played there a few years ago and I guarantee that Oregon or Cal fans would show up in full support if the Pac-10 had a deal with the Outback Bowl or Gator Bowl, etc. But instead, our 2nd place team gets to visit Shamu the Killer Whale and Sea World every year in a game that does not warrant the 2nd place team from a BCS conference!! Get with it Pac-10 leadership and step into the 21st Century...until that happens, we have no one to blame but ourselves when the Pac-10 is slighted in the BCS at-large berths or a warranted Heisman candidate falls short in the voting process....

The sad thing about the Mountain West Conference MTN. deal is that this is one of the 1st times I have even seen it MENTIONED by anyone in the national media. Thanks Stew. This has been a problem in our conference for the last year and a half!! Pac 10 fans don't know what pain is until they see the MWC TV deal. BYU had a fabulous season last year and is having another good one, but the sad truth is that NO ONE knows. This is an amazing stat. In the last 1 and a half years of college football, I have heard BYU mentioned once, that's ONCE by ESPN. Because the MWC screwed ESPN, they have a MAJOR vendetta against the MWC and won't show them or talk about them. This crappy deal just wants to make me puke. Here in Utah they talk about this terrible TV deal nearly every day on talk radio and in the papers. It's a HUGE deal here and it needs to get figured out, especially for BYU's sake, who has a huge fan base. It nice to get some pub on this story (albeit not very much) from a national sportswriter, for once though.

Stewart -

...not to mention that the VS. network is cursed. Look at the games they've covered this year. UCLA losing to Utah, USC losing to Stanford, and Cal losing to Oregon State. Curse?

Stewart - Can you please tell me who predicted either ASU or Oregon to 'finish in the lower half of the conference'? I seriously doubt anyone had ASU or Oregon to finish lower than 5th in the Pac-10 this year. Execellent job of quoting your sources though.

Oregon is not the Pac-10's highest ranked team. Arizona State is. Why do you "experts" use the AP polls when the BCS rankings are out and are all that matters anymore for the rest of the season? Arizona State is 4 and Oregon is 5. It's as simple as that.

Go Sun Devils!

Stewart,

It is appalling to have the #1 team in the country being seen only on the Big Ten Network which is seen by, maybe what, 5 households in the country. I can sympathize with those west coast viewers who can rarely see their teams in prime time but the fighting between the conferences and their networks and the cable companies has to stop. I am a Buckeye Fan living in Florida. I can not recieve direct TV which carries the network due to my location and use Bright House as my cable carrier. Lets Get With It.

Yawn...The PAC 10 is the most boring, overrated conference in college football. They play weak schedules and soft defenses week in and week out. There isn't a single PAC 10 team that deserves a top 10 ranking. When these clowns start playing a real schedule and some some real football, then they can stake their claim to top 10 rankings and better TV contracts. Until then, they need to stay off of national television.

NO way i am in cali and it states on espn news people in cali and arizona wont be able to watch the game on espn!!!wtf where am i going to see this game? im not in oregon?? or arizona no regional coverage! i am beyond pissed!

LSU @ Alabama.

Seemed like a Belima'esq call to have the O line shift prior to setting. was the call correct?

if yes, the ignore this post. Otherwise, What can the NCAA do to improve it's officiating? do similar blown calls occur in the NFL?

nathan
Columbus, OH

You forgot to mention how LSU is now the #2 team in the BCS. They looked horrible beating Bama, but the talent on that team is UNQUESTIONABLE(The Best). Miles is one of the worst coaches in the SEC, but has the best team. pretty weird.

I would just like to say what a contradictory disgrace the media of today is. All year we hear about what a terrible team Notre Dame is and how, contrary to what Charlie Weis says, this is a rebuilding year. And then, when they lose to a 4-4 Navy team with the best running game in the country, all we hear is what a huge win this is for Navy after 43 consecutive losses. To me, this just shows how much the media despises Notre Dame and is desperate to try to belittle them in any way possible. All I have to say is this: the motion of many things is like a pendulum swinging back and forth. This Notre Dame team is on the backstroke. In two years the media of this country will be eating their words.

Ok first of all How can SEC fans say that they have the best conference? What I saw yesterday was a game played by above average teams that was pretty sloppy. Everyones like Ooooo look how close it was the SEC is so deep but I'm pretty sure Bama got beat by Florida State who got beat by Wake Forest who got beat by Nebraska......I think Oregon destroys LSU on a neutral field.

As a Pac 10 fan who lives in the Midwest (your old stomping grounds of Chicago) I can tell you I see very few Pac 10 games here, and I seek them out. On any given week I can see the amazing Minnesota - Iowa math-up, but to watch Oregon-USC I had to go to a sport's bar, and not just that, the only Oregon bar in Chicago.

Living in SEC country, I would like to say that I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more Pac-10 action on T.V. as long as they don't interfere with the regional action.

Regional programming is great because I would still much rather see the games that influence the outcome in my prefered conference.

I actually like FSN picking up the PAC-10 games because they usually come on, or in full swing, by the time the rest of the games on this half of the Mississippi are finishing up on Saturday.

Maybe it's time for ESPN3... (moving us ever closer to "the ocho"!)