At 08:12 PM 3/6/97 -0600, Brian D Helland wrote:
>Mabye my last post went a little too far, but I still think that the idea
>of a network of local stations is a good idea.  Let's give up on ESPN
>until they come to us.  It's time for College Hockey to take care of
>itself without expecting any outside help.
 
I must first say that I don't really have an opinion with regards to
coverage.  I'd like more games on TV, but I don't want things to ballon into
the same level of college football and basketball.  I'm somewhat in the middle.
 
List members have covered all the bases pretty well, with pros and cons
relating to tv coverage.  But one thing that sticks out in my mind is that
hockey overlaps considerably with basketball, and I don't think any amount
of messages to ESPN is going to make ESPN drop it's basketball coverage for
hockey.
 
During the winter, ESPN has basketball on tv almost every night of the week.
Sure, a "college hockey game of the week" would be nice, but ESPN normally
only shows one NHL game a week, let alone a college game.  ESPN2 is in a
different boat, they show more hockey but with hockey and basketball there
isn't much room there.  Again, you might be able to tuck a game in here or
there, but nothing widespread or constant.
 
I also don't think it is totally fair to knock the NCAA here either.  Aside
from the fact that what they are doing business wise is working for them
(heavy promotion and saturation of basketball, why risk hockey?) they have
taken some small steps toward bringing college hockey to the national
forefront, namely moving the NCAA hockey Championship Weekend back one week
starting next season if memory serves me correctly.
 
In recent years, the hockey Final Four has fallen on the same weekend as
basketball tournament, thus further excluding hockey.  Next year, hockey
will have the stage to itself and after a few years may demand more national
consideration.
 
If anyone chooses to write ESPN, please thank them for their coverage of the
Championship Weekend, because that is a very big part of the college hockey
season and we whatever happens we don't want to lose that.
---
Deron Treadwell ([log in to unmask])
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.