To Big East Fans:
What kind of football support does your town give to your team? I.e.....are there lots of articles in your papers, weekly football radio shows, etc.?

Cincinnati does a POOR job of promoting UC football. You would think with a move to the Big East that UC would get better media coverage but they don't. Even on the radio station UC plays on, 700WLW, they don't start playing the "Home of the UC Bearcats" bumpers until basketball season starts. I live in Columbus and every day the big radio stations here give "Buckeye Football Updates" during the day in the middle of summer! UC has no such football coverage in Cincy. Finally, let's put it this way, when Athlon Preseson came out, Cincinnati news stands carried the Big 10 version rather than the Big East version which featured UofL and UC on the cover......yet if you drove 20 min. south into N. Kentucky, you found the Big East AND SEC versions.......this is poor.

So....how is the football coverage in Pittsburg, Syracuse, etc. etc. al.

Bearcats, wouldn't you say that Cincinnati coverage suffers from the presence of the Bengals and (somewhat) the Reds? Even though the Reds stink and the Bungles are just coming out of a decade of mediocrity, it still seems to me like the Cincinnati media is all over the pro beat. I think it's a situation like yours that in part leads Louisville fans to be so adamantly opposed to an NBA franchise here. Even if said franchise is terrible, the local media would be crawling over one another to interview spoiled millionaires.

Bearcats#1 Wrote:To Big East Fans:
What kind of football support does your town give to your team? I.e.....are there lots of articles in your papers, weekly football radio shows, etc.?

Cincinnati does a POOR job of promoting UC football. You would think with a move to the Big East that UC would get better media coverage but they don't. Even on the radio station UC plays on, 700WLW, they don't start playing the "Home of the UC Bearcats" bumpers until basketball season starts. I live in Columbus and every day the big radio stations here give "Buckeye Football Updates" during the day in the middle of summer! UC has no such football coverage in Cincy. Finally, let's put it this way, when Athlon Preseson came out, Cincinnati news stands carried the Big 10 version rather than the Big East version which featured UofL and UC on the cover......yet if you drove 20 min. south into N. Kentucky, you found the Big East AND SEC versions.......this is poor.

So....how is the football coverage in Pittsburg, Syracuse, etc. etc. al.

WLW is the "home" of the Reds and Bengals first and foremost. It is very tough to compete against pro sports teams - even bad ones like our city has. The Reds "hot stove league" gets better treatment in the winter than UC football does. What is unfortunate is that the company that owns them owns about 90% of the stations in Cincinnati and all of the highest power ones. Maybe UC football needs to be moved to 55 WKRC? Or an FM station - I think 92.5 FM the FOX would be a good choice.

I find it hard to believe that there is a huge OSU presence in Cincinnati - maybe I'm wrong. But it is sad that they get as much or more coverage than our own hometown team. I am hoping that playing in the Big East changes that. Football did get a little better coverage last season - but you are right, in the off season - it's slim pickins'.

As far as the newspapers go, I would think it would be pretty simple to contact at least one person associated with the UC football program at least once a week in order to prepare a weekly story on the Bearcat football team. But they can't seem to do that. Maybe they could contract a UC student to cover the Bearcats and feed them stories.

I'd be interested to know how coverage is for Pitt in particular - they are in essentially the same situation as UC.

The only thing about the lack of coverage that is interesting is that Huggs still is the most powerul sports figure in town and has been for a decade. He is the most visble and the most successful. Marvin Lewis is closing the gap but his teams still are not over the hump of 500 records. Not even any pro player can touch Huggs popularity in this town. I would say he is close to then way people feel about Pete Rose in this city still today.

Maybe if Cincinnati had the type of garbage that goes on with Ohio State then they would get more press. Academic problems. ineligble players, stealing and other arrests will get you noticed just like OSU. If you want to get noticed the legit way, just win some games against some decent teams. You have that opportunity now in the Big East. With the lousy pro teams you have in that city the local media should be falling all over themselves to cover an actual good team. Start winning and the coverage will follow. In Syracuse, with no pro teams to compete with, the media coverage is all Orange year round. The local newspaper is pretty good with their coverage and all the tv stations also do a nice job. It's definitely a college dominated town.

The pro teams do get a lot of coverage.....but they stink so you think that the town would want to go with UC...the basketball program has been THE bright spot year in an dyear out BUT......the media still gives a lion's share of coverage to the pro teams...UC football get's virtually NO coverage and they have been better than the bungles for the last five years.

I know the media is not going to stop coverage of the pro teams.....they shouldn't but all I'm saying is, give UC more coverage, esp. football. There is an apathy in town concerning UC football and this is in large part bc of no coverage by the media.

Local recruits now coming to UC in football and Big East should def. help but the media has to kick in and do their part. I wish there was a UC Football section in the sports page.....daily UC football updates on 2020 sports on 700 wlw....and at least one other radio show other than the federally mandated "coaches show".

If you tell people UC Football is worth supporting via coverage....they will believe it. Perception is reality.

Go Cats!!!!

PS: A BCS Bowl would go a loooooong way towards all this, I know.

In Morgantown...Its Moutaineers all the time...State Wide Sportsline out of Morgantown gives updates on WVU daily.....on football Saturday Mountaineer Field becomes the largest community in the state...you can't get better support then that


Jackson

Bearcats#1 Wrote:To Big East Fans:
What kind of football support does your town give to your team? I.e.....are there lots of articles in your papers, weekly football radio shows, etc.?

Cincinnati does a POOR job of promoting UC football. You would think with a move to the Big East that UC would get better media coverage but they don't. Even on the radio station UC plays on, 700WLW, they don't start playing the "Home of the UC Bearcats" bumpers until basketball season starts. I live in Columbus and every day the big radio stations here give "Buckeye Football Updates" during the day in the middle of summer! UC has no such football coverage in Cincy. Finally, let's put it this way, when Athlon Preseson came out, Cincinnati news stands carried the Big 10 version rather than the Big East version which featured UofL and UC on the cover......yet if you drove 20 min. south into N. Kentucky, you found the Big East AND SEC versions.......this is poor.

So....how is the football coverage in Pittsburg, Syracuse, etc. etc. al.

This is why media markets are total BS. If the media and people in those markets ignore you what does it really matter how large they are?

ECU has two radio stations devoted to ECU athletic programing. Both cover year round. During the year "Pirate Radio 1250" has 3 hours of programing every week night devoted to ECU. Even in the summer they still have 2 hours every night, and even have an ECU baseball show.

"Pirate Radio 1250"



<a href='http://www.pirateradio1250.com/index.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.pirateradio1250.com/index.shtml</a> (nice articles on there as well)

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WGHB/WGHB.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WGHB/WGHB.htm</a>

All the shows are archived back for a couple of years.

*they also have another Affiliate 930 am that carries the same ECU broadcast.


"Talk 1070"

also covers ECU and has one hour every day and three other Weeky one hour shows as well on covering ECU athletics. Again it is all archived.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WNCT/WNCT.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WNCT/WNCT.htm</a>

They guy that runs 1070 also has a Cable channel in which the shows are broadcast.

We get some play in the Raleigh market as well on 850 the BUZZ, and Triangle Sports talk Has a one hour show devoted to ECU every week called Pirate Talk, along with the Coaches Call in show.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WTSB/WTSB.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WTSB/WTSB.htm</a>


Charlotte on the Packman (Billy Packers Son) "Southern Fried sports show" (#1 drive time show in Charlotte), Pirate Radio carries his show. He often talks about ECU because of the listeners in Greenville and alumni in the Charlotte area or else Pirate Radio wouldn' t carry his show.


<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/Audio.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/Audio.htm</a>

Bonesville is a super pirate site as well with daily articles recruiting, and archived shows, interviews.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/</a>

And the Pirate Sports Network that carries the games has 24 stations across NC and Virginia, and portions of South Carolina.


WITN a local TV station televises the 5 or 6 away games as well. 5 this year. As well as some Basketball and Baseball games as well.

We have very very good coverage IMO what ever our average size market lacks in size we make up in support.

Pittsburgh - it is and always will be about the Steelers. Pitt gets good press when they are winning or if something significant is happening, but by and large the coverage is so so.

StillJonesing Wrote:

Bearcats#1 Wrote:To Big East Fans:
What kind of football support does your town give to your team? I.e.....are there lots of articles in your papers, weekly football radio shows, etc.?

Cincinnati does a POOR job of promoting UC football. You would think with a move to the Big East that UC would get better media coverage but they don't. Even on the radio station UC plays on, 700WLW, they don't start playing the "Home of the UC Bearcats" bumpers until basketball season starts. I live in Columbus and every day the big radio stations here give "Buckeye Football Updates" during the day in the middle of summer! UC has no such football coverage in Cincy. Finally, let's put it this way, when Athlon Preseson came out, Cincinnati news stands carried the Big 10 version rather than the Big East version which featured UofL and UC on the cover......yet if you drove 20 min. south into N. Kentucky, you found the Big East AND SEC versions.......this is poor.

So....how is the football coverage in Pittsburg, Syracuse, etc. etc. al.

This is why media markets are total BS. If the media and people in those markets ignore you what does it really matter how large they are?

ECU has two radio stations devoted to ECU athletic programing. Both cover year round. During the year "Pirate Radio 1250" has 3 hours of programing every week night devoted to ECU. Even in the summer they still have 2 hours every night, and even have an ECU baseball show.

"Pirate Radio 1250"



<a href='http://www.pirateradio1250.com/index.shtml' target='_blank'>http://www.pirateradio1250.com/index.shtml</a> (nice articles on there as well)

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WGHB/WGHB.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WGHB/WGHB.htm</a>

All the shows are archived back for a couple of years.

*they also have another Affiliate 930 am that carries the same ECU broadcast.


"Talk 1070"

also covers ECU and has one hour every day and three other Weeky one hour shows as well on covering ECU athletics. Again it is all archived.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WNCT/WNCT.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WNCT/WNCT.htm</a>

They guy that runs 1070 also has a Cable channel in which the shows are broadcast.

We get some play in the Raleigh market as well on 850 the BUZZ, and Triangle Sports talk Has a one hour show devoted to ECU every week called Pirate Talk, along with the Coaches Call in show.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-05/WTSB/WTSB.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/2004-...5/WTSB/WTSB.htm</a>


Charlotte on the Packman (Billy Packers Son) "Southern Fried sports show" (#1 drive time show in Charlotte), Pirate Radio carries his show. He often talks about ECU because of the listeners in Greenville and alumni in the Charlotte area or else Pirate Radio wouldn' t carry his show.


<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/Audio.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/Multimedia/Audio.htm</a>

Bonesville is a super pirate site as well with daily articles recruiting, and archived shows, interviews.

<a href='http://www.bonesville.net/' target='_blank'>http://www.bonesville.net/</a>

And the Pirate Sports Network that carries the games has 24 stations across NC and Virginia, and portions of South Carolina.


WITN a local TV station televises the 5 or 6 away games as well. 5 this year. As well as some Basketball and Baseball games as well.

We have very very good coverage IMO what ever our average size market lacks in size we make up in support.

I think you are right on Jones..........It's great Cincy and Pitt have big media markets but if most of the time is spent on Reds, Bungles, Steelers, and Bucs.....etc.....does it really help? NO. Cincinnati has a lot to offer people for their entertainment dollar.....Reds, Bengles, HUGE high school football following.....plus there is Xavier U....etc. so it's tough sometimes. UC Basketball is usually sold out and that's because of the tradition of the program + current success but it's just been very tough for UC Football to gain any traction in the realm of public interest. You have your 20,000 or so die hard fans that come to the games and if it's a "good" oppenent you get another 8,000-10,000 walk-up but UC needs 38,000 fans every football game to be sold out and this is just not going to happen until the media starts really plugging Big East and UC Football. Snagging some local recruits will help but they need some big wins and some help from the media.

Question for you, does the Cincinnati media do a good job of covering the basketball? Do you guys get shows that are totally devoted to Cincinnati beyond the coaches shows and post game stuff. I have never checked other programs and how the media covers them.

ECU is lucky in that we are the only game in town especially during football because UNC Duke, Wake, and NC State fans really only see football as something to pass time until basketball season. People like the Panthers but they have only been around 10 years and they are on the other side of the state they more or less watch them from a far.

The dynamics and culture of NC's are such that the eastern part is more like a deep south state more comparable to say Alabama, which is vastly different from the more liberal Piedmont region of the state. It causes a clear divide politically and the regions couldn't be more different as a result. Many people in the east feel looked down appon in many cases by the UNC's of the Piedmont the eastern part of the state supports ECU like East Carolina was a state, and kind of feel akin to the underdog university.

I gave a few examples of Raleigh media giving us some minimal press and play our games on the radio, they have to with so many ECU Alumni living there but for the most part they try to ignore us even though we are 70 miles away because most have a vested interest in NC State or UNC and probably most likely graduated from one of those institutions and keeping us weak our giving us legitamacy undermines those schools. I often think the perception problem in NC outside the eastern part of the state is worse than it is nationally just because these media outlets more or less have their agenda's and don't respect ECU athletically or academically. That is way a Big East bid would really shake the coverage up and we could rival NCSU and UNC.


Football here is like football in the SEC is more of a social event with tailgating and barbecue and all that. Greenville is only 65,000 and many people from all these small towns in the east gather to watch the game but more than anything it gives them something to do for some entertainment and a fun event they can socialize with friends. I am sure in larger cities like Cincinnati they could go to a pro team game a couple of times a week if they wanted too, there really is a lot more to compete with. The thing is if people go to the games even more for the social aspect of it they still get into the game and will want to know what is going on and that is why the two local TV stations cover ECU so well. I think to have two radio stations in a town the size founded for ECU coverage says a lot.


Even though I don't buy markets arguments all that much. I think our Market is undervalued as well. We are #107 out of 230 or so in the nation, but cities of 20 to 30,000 are 20 miles away from ECU are considered part of the Raleigh market. Also we are the closest D1a football school to the Norfolk/Virginia Beach tidewater area. Many of our recruits and enrolment of ECU come from that area of Virginia.

Da Bulls get little support in Tampa, actually the support sucks. There are now more signs and USF stuff around Tampa since we joined the Big East, but it seems as if our own hometown paper and news places us behind FSU, Miami, and UF.

USFBullSpit Wrote:Da Bulls get little support in Tampa, actually the support sucks. There are now more signs and USF stuff around Tampa since we joined the Big East, but it seems as if our own hometown paper and news places us behind FSU, Miami, and UF.

That is understandable in football. Those programs are among the very most elite in the nation and your program has a world of potential but is less than a decade old. How do they do in basketball?? Seems that should be a lot better in the Big East and those three are not nearly as prestigious in hoops.

Basketball gets the same treatment. There has been more talk over the past few weeks since our athletic department and the owners of the Times Fourm want some of our basketball games move there. But that is about the only coverage we have for basketball. Hopefully, we can get some of our BE games on local TV since we only play on ESPNU three times. Our local media treats us like a D-II program, but we will see how BE memership effects that.

StillJonesing Wrote:Question for you, does the Cincinnati media do a good job of covering the basketball? Do you guys get shows that are totally devoted to Cincinnati beyond the coaches shows and post game stuff. I have never checked other programs and how the media covers them.

Summary of UC coverage

Basketball

Nearly every game that is not televised on national TV is televised locally - maybe 1 or 2 a season that are not televised.

Coach Huggins radio show once a wek - 2 hours.

Coach Huggins TV show on Sunday 11:30 AM - 1/2 hour show

Lots of newspaper coverage for UC basketball even in the off season (now due to Huggins news, in the past includes both good and bad team/player news)

Football

WXIX 19 will show BE games of the week this year and usually televises a UC game or 2 that is not televised nationally.

Coach Dantonio radio show once a week - 2 hours

Coach Dantonio TV show Sunday AM 11:30 also (before basketball starts) - 1/2 hour

Newspapers - maybe one story (sometimes 2 if we are really lucky) a week before Saturday (traditional game day), then a story on game day and the day after. Pre season coverage has been about non existent up until yesterday (BE media day).

Fortunately we have a couple of good UC web sites to get information from.

Jones has hit the nail on the head with respect to East Carolina football. It is more than a game in these parts it is a way of life. Football is the talk Down East and is the number 1 show in the area. There is nothing else that compares.

I too disagree with the whole market size crap. I have been told that East Carolina draws very well when WITN shows our games. They get over 50% of the market when ECU football games are televised

ECU has decvoted fans and a devoted region. They do not call East Carolina the 51st state for nothing. ECU is a flagship university and that is of the East.

Many fans do not undestand the culture here and the devotion here to East Carolina football and its athletics. It is a very rabid an base.

And not to knock on any school here in the BE or CUSA or anywhere but the fact of the matter is that East Carolina football in a state of total choas and losing will outdraw many of those schools.

One assurance I can give to the fans of the BE, the alumni of the BE, etc. is that East Carolina football will be back and better than ever. Mark my words. All programs go through a down cycle some do not recover. But ECU will. And the reason is the fans and alumni of ECU will not accept mediocrity on the football field. Period. We will not give up and throw the towel in. We will make the program better. That which does not break us will only makes us stronger. The last two to three years on the football field has not broke us. We will be stronger.

Would like to see ECU as a ninth football only school. Just win for
a couple years and they may vote to afford you the chance. I know I enjoyed my visit there.

I appreciate your confidence in East Carolina. However, we can not just jump at the BE for a football only invite. Where would we plce our other sports? That being said I would be willing to take a football only invite until a split occurs with a guarantee that at that point it will be an all sports league and ECU would be a part of that.

I for one would take ECU right now...Their fan support is rabid plus being close to tobacco road it would hurt recruiting for NC, NCST, WAKE, and Duke...What more could we ask for we would get a great institution with great academics and hurt the ACC at the same time.

also SOUTHERN FRIED FOOTBALL coverage includes ECU.....(ECU gals photos @ NCSU game)
we are also connected with the radio station out of Charlotte with the PACKMAN.......

<a href='http://www.southernfriedfootball.com/Babes/' target='_blank'>http://www.southernfriedfootball.com/Babes/</a>