Ted Hoffman
The other Rick Zombo
- Dec 15, 2002
- 29,262
- 8,688
I believe every game is televised. Not sure if ESPN carries every game, but I'm pretty certain it carries a large majority of them. And ESPN's last-minute scheduling is much more about "whoa, this team is really good, let's get them on TV every chance we possibly can" than it is trying to get all schools exposure. If the latter happens, it's purely accidental.I'm not defending the ACC here, because well, they're the ACC, but how much of it is TV? ESPN is always coming up with these non-conference "clashes" but never has it finalized until the last minute. And unfortunately for the Hurricanes, ESPN throws big money at the schools for this stuff.
It's possible that the new ACC Network alleviates some of this because games will move there, but with the league going to a 20-game schedule that's "only" 15 extra games but it complicates things some more. Plus, with talk of season-opening conference games, that will create a couple more potential we might need that dates on top of all the others currently being requested.
You're absolutely right about ESPN throwing big money at schools, though. Division I basketball universities might as well have presidents and ADs strutting around in sexy lingerie the way they whore the players out at times to the highest bidder for national TV exposure, while the presidents talk about protecting the integrity of the student-athlete.