Cougars Fans Face Blackout Sanctions Against UW Will Keep Apple Cup Game Off Regional TV
Unless Washington State officials can put together their own closed-circuit telecast of this year’s Apple Cup, only the 72,500 fans on hand Nov. 18 at Husky Stadium in Seattle will be able to watch the 88th renewal of the historic football rivalry between WSU and Washington.
Cougars athletic director Rick Dickson confirmed as much Monday, adding his school is looking into the possibility of producing its own telecast of the game and sending it back to the WSU campus via closed circuit.
Because of lingering NCAA sanctions that limit UW to four television appearances this fall, Dickson said a closed-circuit telecast would be the only way anyone without a ticket to the game would be able to see it.
The Huskies, who are expected to challenge for the Pacific-10 Conference title, have already agreed to have four of their games televised by ABC-TV. UW’s Sept. 2 season opener against Arizona State in Seattle will be carried live regionally, as will its Sept. 16 game at Ohio State and its Oct. 28 home matchup against Southern California.
In addition, the Huskies’ Oct. 7 home showdown against national power Notre Dame has been selected by ABC as its national Game of the Week.
That means no other UW game can be televised either live or on a delayed basis unless the NCAA grants permission for an opponent institution to arrange a closed-circuit telecast back to its own campus.
Dickson said he has requested permission to set up such a telecast with hopes of airing the game in either the Beasley Performing Arts Center or Martin Stadium.
“What the (NCAA) rules allow is for us to show the game back at one site and one site only on our campus,” Dickson explained. “We would have to incur all the production costs and put together our own production crew, but it’s a venture that might still come to fruition.
“I hope it does, because I can’t remember when the game has not been shown.”
By not having the game televised on either ABC or Prime Network, WSU stands to lose a six-figure payday, Dickson said. But he added he holds no animosity against UW.
“I would say most of the onus probably lies on the conference,” Dickson said. “That’s where the decisions were made in terms of (television) selections.
“In essence, we barter our rights to the league and (the television scheduling) is done at that level.”
The Cougars, coming off an 8-4 season that included an Alamo Bowl win over Baylor and a fourth-place finish in the Pac-10, are scheduled for three live television appearances this fall.
ABC will telecast WSU’s Oct. 14 matchup against USC in Los Angeles on a regional basis and Prime Sports will air both the Cougars’ Oct. 21 road game at Oregon and Oct. 28 home showdown against Arizona as part of the Pac-10’s six-year telecast agreement with Liberty Sports.
ABC and Prime Sports also have several other time slots that have yet to be filled.
, DataTimes