CBSSports isn't on as many standard sports packages as it used to be 5 years ago and therefore casual football fans aren't watching that network as much as they used to. We really need to get our championship game on a linear ESPN channel or CBS/ABC on the prime Championships days, preferably that Saturday? For reference, other conference champ games:

MAC Championship - ESPN on Friday Night
PAC12 Championship - FOX on Friday Night
Big10 Championship - FOX on Saturday Morning
Big12 Championship - ABC on Saturday Morning
ACC Championship - ABC on Saturday Midday
MTN West Championship - FOX on Saturday Midday
SEC Championship - CBS on Saturday primetime evening
AAC Championship - ABC on Saturday primetime evening

CUSA Championship - CBSSports Network on Friday night.

It's obvious who's getting the short end of the stick on network/day/timeslots...

These are the following games ESPN/ABC would rather air on Saturday than the CUSA championship game:

TAMU vs Tenn - ESPN on Saturday Morning
Standford vs UCLA - ESPN on Saturday primetime evening
Arizona State vs Oregon State - Saturday nighttime late game 9:30pm

For future games, Judy should be trying everything she can do to get our CUSACG on those time slots that TAMU/TENN and Stanford/UCLA (ESPN morning and evening) OR an early CBS timeslot.

Your thoughts?

I agree. Flipping between the MAC and CUSA championship games tonight, the difference in quality of the broadcast is striking. A better quality broadcast brings legitimacy to the event. I don't know the details of our TV contract, but it isn't doing any favors for our programs.

The C-USA championship game is currently guaranteed to CBSSN as part of the current package.

If CBSSN is going to be a primary TV partner going forward, C-USA needs to get CBS to carry that game on Saturday afternoon since its only other championship game is the SEC now that the MWC has moved to FOX. And even the SEC will be moving to ESPN/ABC in several years. CBS is where the opening is.

It's really just a numbers game...yeah I realize that CUSA is the worst FBS conference so maybe we kinda deserve it...but CBS Sports Network is not the household sports channel it used to be 5-10 years ago. It used to be on MOST TV companies basic sports packages but not anymore. Less people watch the channel now days. CBS Sports Network doesn't want to pay as much money to DirecTV, Dish, Comcast, Cox etc as they used to...therefore these companies are moving them up to higher tier ($) sports packages which less and less casual sports fans are buying (not to mention the whole cord cutter movement that's been going on these last 5 years)

Bottom line is we've GOT to get our championship game on a linear ESPN, CBS, or ABC channel and move away from CBS Sports Network, period. Judy needels to secure a different deal for our CUSACG's TV home.

if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

(12-19-2020 04:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

Umm...conference championship games aren't played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...

(12-19-2020 11:02 AM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 04:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

Umm...conference championship games aren't played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...

to get on espn for the championship they are going to want the regular season as well which means bye bye saturday hello tuesday

We need 14 athletic directors/presidents to step up, state this goal, and make it happen through commitment by the schools to improve the product and commitment by the C-USA offices to negotiate this platform. Even two or three ADs leading the charge could make a difference.

The Sunbelt has used a powerful tool to improve - it dropped programs without this commitment. I would be in favor of setting minimum benchmarks for our programs, a 5-year deadline to reach them, and visible and consistent reporting of the progress school by school.

(12-19-2020 11:34 AM)ESE84 Wrote:  We need 14 athletic directors/presidents to step up, state this goal, and make it happen through commitment by the schools to improve the product and commitment by the C-USA offices to negotiate this platform. Even two or three ADs leading the charge could make a difference.

The Sunbelt has used a powerful tool to improve - it dropped programs without this commitment. I would be in favor of setting minimum benchmarks for our programs, a 5-year deadline to reach them, and visible and consistent reporting of the progress school by school.

It is hard to get all 14 directors on the same page. We can't hold leverage in contract negotiations when we consistently place inferior product on the field, and also have at least a few AD's opening complaining about how being in C-USA is costing them too much money, so they should form a more regional east coast conference.

(12-19-2020 11:48 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:34 AM)ESE84 Wrote:  We need 14 athletic directors/presidents to step up, state this goal, and make it happen through commitment by the schools to improve the product and commitment by the C-USA offices to negotiate this platform. Even two or three ADs leading the charge could make a difference.

The Sunbelt has used a powerful tool to improve - it dropped programs without this commitment. I would be in favor of setting minimum benchmarks for our programs, a 5-year deadline to reach them, and visible and consistent reporting of the progress school by school.

It is hard to get all 14 directors on the same page. We can't hold leverage in contract negotiations when we consistently place inferior product on the field, and also have at least a few AD's opening complaining about how being in C-USA is costing them too much money, so they should form a more regional east coast conference.

That is the Commish's job to get them all on the same page with the same agenda. Obviously, she has failed.

(12-19-2020 11:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:02 AM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 04:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

Umm...conference championship games aren't played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...

to get on espn for the championship they are going to want the regular season as well which means bye bye saturday hello tuesday

That's simply not true. Before the SBCG was cancelled, it was scheduled for today on ESPN at 3:30pm. Do you know how many Tues/Wed games the SB had this year? One.

We just need a better conference leadership. We should be trying to get our CG on any ESPN linear channel on those prime championship days, even if it's ESPN2 or U.

(12-19-2020 12:58 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:02 AM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 04:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

Umm...conference championship games aren't played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...

to get on espn for the championship they are going to want the regular season as well which means bye bye saturday hello tuesday

That's simply not true. Before the SBCG was cancelled, it was scheduled for today on ESPN at 3:30pm. Do you know how many Tues/Wed games the SB had this year? One.

We just need a better conference leadership. We should be trying to get our CG on any ESPN linear channel on those prime championship days, even if it's ESPN2 or U.

you cant judge by this year with all the covid cancellations creating Saturday openings. mid week sunbelt and mac games are a staple of ESPN college football and CUSA is at that level. take a look at the last few seasons. dont act like you never heard of Maction.

(12-19-2020 12:08 PM)Herd6993 Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:48 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  It is hard to get all 14 directors on the same page. We can't hold leverage in contract negotiations when we consistently place inferior product on the field, and also have at least a few AD's opening complaining about how being in C-USA is costing them too much money, so they should form a more regional east coast conference.

That is the Commish's job to get them all on the same page with the same agenda. Obviously, she has failed.

1. Disagree that it’s the job of the Commissioner to tell the league’s Presidents, Chancellors and Athletic Directors what their agenda is or should be. It is exactly the other way around: the member institutions decide what the agenda is, and the Commissioner carries it out.

2. Also disagree that the occasional bitching/moaning about CUSA’s geographic spread is a reason why our CCG has been relegated to the sports-media equivalent of a public access channel. We’ve been relegated because the league sucks on the field, has sucked for a long time, and shows no signs that the suckage is going to stop anytime soon.

3. But if I’m wrong, then that really is bad news. Because the public complaints about CUSA are absolutely *NOT* going to stop until there is some major improvement in the league’s geography and economic/competitive performance.

What programs did the Belt "drop" w/o showing a commitment? I do not recall any. Honest question.

(12-19-2020 05:26 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  What programs did the Belt "drop" w/o showing a commitment? I do not recall any. Honest question.

Idaho and NMSU are the only teams dropped by SBC in recent years. Geography was the driving force in that decision.

Trivia: Georgia State was a founding member of SBC in 1976. They were voted off the island ~1981 because they played in a small campus gym instead of the Omni, which was Atlanta’s NBA arena of that era. SBC policy was to play in the largest venue available for each city.

(12-19-2020 02:55 PM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 12:58 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 11:02 AM)TTT Wrote:  

(12-19-2020 04:32 AM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  if we want to play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday ESPN will be glad to broadcast CUSA games. id rather be able to go to games in person

Umm...conference championship games aren't played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays...

to get on espn for the championship they are going to want the regular season as well which means bye bye saturday hello tuesday

That's simply not true. Before the SBCG was cancelled, it was scheduled for today on ESPN at 3:30pm. Do you know how many Tues/Wed games the SB had this year? One.

We just need a better conference leadership. We should be trying to get our CG on any ESPN linear channel on those prime championship days, even if it's ESPN2 or U.

you cant judge by this year with all the covid cancellations creating Saturday openings. mid week sunbelt and mac games are a staple of ESPN college football and CUSA is at that level. take a look at the last few seasons. dont act like you never heard of Maction.

You really have no idea what you're talking about do you? First off, no one mentioned the MAC.

Here's the # of Tues/Wed night games the SBC played in 2019: 2. Yep a whopping two games.

And guess when the 2019 SBC Championship Game was play on and what Network? Saturday 12/7/19 on ESPN.

Over the past 2 years the SBC has had a total of THREE games played on Tues/Wed nights. And both this year and last year's SBC Championship games were scheduled on Championship Saturdays on linear ESPN.

Ya got any more bogus claims? Or do you just want to agree with everyone that CUSA leadership needs to start doing everything it can to get our CG on linear ESPN...and understand that we don't have to "play games on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of Saturday" for that to happen?

clt still doesn’t understand “linear espn”

Isn't the reason why CUSA games aren't carry by ESPN is because CBSSN offered more money to CUSA to carry games? So when you ask what CUSA needs to do to get the CUSA CG on ESPN the answer would be offering the game for free in exchange for the exposure. Otherwise, ESPN isn't the least bit interest in CUSA...............period.

What is it going to take? A quality product and a conference that isn’t 10th out of 10. So in short, a miracle.

CUSA is awful. We typically don't even have a ranked team. It's no wonder no one wants to pay to show our championship game.