A backdrop to last weekend’s TCU-BYU game was the television coverage for the game. This has been a hot topic for many Mountain West fans ever since the conference left ESPN and created its own network, The Mtn., in 2006. This week CBSSports.com Dennis Dodd compared Boise State and Texas Christian’s television schedules. It is interesting to note that CBSSports.com is affiliated with CBS College Sports, a television station that broadcasts Mountain West games.
With Boise State and Texas Christian both currently undefeated, the beauty contest we like to call the polls will play a greater role in deciding who gets to go to a BCS Bowl. With its WAC affiliation, Boise State is scheduled to appear on the ESPN family of networks seven times this season, including all four games in November. This week, the Broncos announced that their Nov. 14 game against Idaho would be aired on ESPNU.
Texas Christian is in the midst of a four-game run on Versus, a network that is embroiled in a battle with DirecTV which preempts anyone of its subscribers from seeing the Horned Frogs. This is unfortunate for Mountain West fans outside of the region who may have purchased DirecTV specifically to subscribe to The Mtn.
While the debate rages on if the Mountain West’s current group of affiliates (CBS College Sports, The Mtn., Versus) are better or worse for the league than its days of games being televised on ESPN, there are some who think the current setup is working fine – pointing to the recent success of the league’s members in the nation rankings.
