Wednesday, June 6, 2001
[ WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ]
WAC board not As many things as the Western Athletic Conference Board of Directors agreed upon at the conclusion of yesterday's meetings in Carmel, Calif., they fell short of approving a proposed television contract involving ESPN and Fox Sports.
ready to approve
TV contract
It does decide on other
measures, including a site
for basketball tourneyBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinConference commissioner Karl Benson said there was some contract language they wanted to review before signing on the dotted line. It's believed the issue will be resolved via a conference call by early next week.
In the proposal, ESPN will handle the national package for football and men's basketball, with Fox Sports doing a number of regional games. The total number of games shown could increase even after the package is announced next week.
It's also possible that ESPN could do some regional broadcasts as well.
The University of Hawaiii is being considered for two national games -- Fresno State on Oct. 27 and Brigham Young on Dec. 1. But because of the costs of doing a game in Hawaii -- ESPN officials have said in the past it's about $30,000 more than a mainland broadcast -- it could keep the Warriors out of the national loop.
The board did approve the University of Tulsa as the site for the men's and women's basketball tournament for next year only. It will be held March 5-9.
There had been some talk that whichever school got the site -- only Tulsa and Fresno State put in bids -- it would be for two years. However, the board voted to delay awarding future sites pending further study.
"In part, the decision to go to Tulsa was based upon a recommendation the WAC Council made at its May meeting," Benson said in a release. "The fact that the 2001 tournament was successful in Tulsa also contributed to the decision.
"But the board also felt that there were additional factors that needed to be studied before a site beyond the 2001-02 season could be determined."
As expected, the board also approved a recommendation that the regular season playing days for women's basketball be changed from Friday and Sunday to Thursday and Saturday, with the exception of the first week of the season.
"When the women's basketball team coaches met at the Final Four, we voted on (that),'' said UH women's basketball coach Vince Goo. "That's good because when we were playing on Sundays, we'd travel on Monday and that would be our day off. Now when we are at home, we play Saturday and have a full Sunday off or we'll travel home on Sundays when we're on the road. I think that's a lot better for us.
"We won't be traveling on Monday so that makes a lot more sense for us academically and athletically."
The board also:
>> Selected San Jose State President Dr. Robert Caret as chairman for 2001-02;
>> Approved the recommendation that all 10 teams participate in the WAC volleyball tournament. Last season, the WAC did not have a tournament;
>> Approved the formation of a subcommittee to examine possible methods of distributing revenue from a new NCAA fund beginning in 2003;
>> Approved the formation of a cost containment subcommittee to examine expense related to regular season conference play;
>> Approved a recommendation to invite Sacramento State as an affiliate member in softball beginning with the 2003 season;
>> Approved dates and sites for the 2001-2002 conference men's and women's championships.
Star-Bulletin staffer Grace Wen contributed to this story.
