Women’s basketball moves into the national TV spotlight-if only temporarily-when ESPN telecasts the first Hall of Fame Classic this weekend from Jackson, Tenn. To ESPN analyst Mimi Griffin, the two-day event, along with the expansion of the NCAA women’s tournament to 64 teams this season, marks another step toward gender equity.
“This is a tremendous showcase for some of the best teams in the nation,” says Griffin, who will work the games with play-by-play man Tim Brando and reporter Pam Oliver. “It will give people the opportunity to see the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams (Tennessee and Vanderbilt, respectively) and also some of the players from last season’s Final Four and how they adjust to new teammates.”
The new and improved NCAA tourney, with 32 automatic conference berths, could spread out the talent as never before.
“To the conferences that never made the tournament, like the Ivy League, it will mean a great deal when it comes to recruiting,” says Griffin, “because the measure of success had always been postseason play.”
With women’s basketball beginning to attract sellout crowds at places like Texas and Iowa, Griffin sees more programs holding their own when it comes to funding, an important part of the gender equity battle.
“Basically, what NCAA officials are trying to do is level the playing field,” says. “The real problem is that football enthusiasts think gender equity is going to be achieved at the cost of the football programs. That’s not true. The big problems are how can there be greater revenue sources and cost containment, and not just in football.
“There’s a handful of successful women’s programs that pay for themselves. If you put a little bit of money into the marketing of the women’s programs, you’d be surprised how many of them could make a dent into the expenses they have.”
– Saturday’s NBC telecast of the Florida State-Notre Dame game was the highest-rated regular-season college football game since 1981, with a Nielsen rating of 16 with a 39 share, making it the highest-rated such telecast since NCAA deregulation in 1985. An Alabama-Auburn game Nov. 28, 1981, did a 17.3/38 on ABC. NBC Research estimated more than 50 million viewers saw all or part of the Irish game, enabling the season’s Nielsen average to soar from 3.7 to 6.4. . . . Memo to those whining radio sports-talk hosts: NBC wins with Notre Dame, whether the Irish wind up in the Fiesta Bowl against Florida State or the Orange Bowl against Nebraska. The network has contracts with both of ’em. . . . For the record, NBC executives reiterate that even if the Fiesta is for the Bowl Coalition championship, the game won’t be moved out of its late-afternoon New Year’s Day time slot.
– From the It-Ain’t-Over-Till-It’s-Over Dept.: With the NCAA prohibiting UNLV from television, ESPN is considering a live telecast of the Wisconsin-Michigan State football game from Tokyo Dec. 4 to replace the originally scheduled basketball game. One of the considerations: The football contest has to have Rose Bowl implications.
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– With a recent Lou Harris Poll indicating only 13 percent of Americans even know there’s a World Cup heading this way next June, ABC has announced its biggest of guns-Jim McKay-will be studio host of the network’s 11-match Cup coverage. “Jim has covered soccer for ABC Sports over the years,” says executive producer Jack O’Hara, referring to McKay’s work on the 1970 World Cup as well as with the ill-fated North American Soccer League in 1979-80. “He has remained a keen observer of the sport, which will be essential to introducing this important event to an American viewing audience.” No lie.
– Interest in the Bulls seems as strong as ever. According to audience measurements done for WMAQ-AM by Strategic AccuRatings Chicago, the Bulls’ broadcasts had a weekly cumulative rating of 12.4, up from 10.2 last season. “The good news for us is it hasn’t taken a tumble,” said a relieved WMAQ General Manager Rick Starr. “We didn’t fall out of bed.” At WGN-Ch. 9, the first three telecasts have had a 13.5 Nielsen rating with a 22 share, compared to a 12.9/20 last year. Even at TNT, the first two Bulls telecast did a 2.8 and a 2.2 rating, enabling the cable network to average a 2.1 for its NBA package, up 20 percent from last season’s 1.7. . . . The Bulls’ Phil Jackson (for his fishing) and B.J. Armstrong (for his charity work) are featured this week on “NBA Inside Stuff” at 11 a.m. Saturday on WMAQ-Ch. 5.
– Despite what an ABC spokesman called “comparable” ratings this year, the New York City Marathon has been dropped by the network after 13 years. “It’s been a very good, rewarding relationship,” said the network official. “It’s just that it’s been a long run, and it’s time to move on to other things. It just doesn’t fit our schedule anymore.” Last Sunday’s telecast had a 3.0 Nielsen rating, compared with 3.1 a year ago. “We’re shocked and devastated because we’ve just come off the most successful event in our 24-year history,” said race director Fred Lebow. “While we’re very unhappy, the event will go on. And it definitely will be on television.”