The financial impact of BYU joining the West Coast Conference next season is already apparent even though the Cougars haven't played a game in their new league yet.
ESPN and the WCC agreed to terms Wednesday on a new eight-year TV contract that guarantees the league will receive unprecedented exposure for a non-BCS conference. The deal takes effect at the start of the 2011-12 season and ensures that WCC men's basketball teams will make at least 48 appearances on the ESPN family of networks, 10 more than the conference has averaged the previous three years.
"I think it means we've solidified our place within the college basketball landscape with the leader on the media side," WCC commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. "ESPN has proven they're the best at covering college sports. We want to be part of that because we think we're one of the premier conferences."
If the emergence of Gonzaga as a national power and the rise of secondary powers like Saint Mary's and Portland made the WCC attractive to TV networks the past few years, then the addition of BYU has only strengthened the league's position.
The Cougars already boasted four straight NCAA tournament appearances, a large fan base and a national brand prior to last season. Add in the publicity generated by Jimmer Fredette leading BYU to the Mountain West championship and the Sweet 16, and the Cougars only became more attractive to TV networks.
"The WCC is a premier conference, recently made even better by the addition of Brigham Young University," said Burke Magnus, ESPN senior vice president in charge of college sports programming. "This agreement allows us to showcase more WCC content than ever before to fans through all our networks and platforms, and via any available technology or device."
The WCC's relationship with ESPN is one of the reasons it made sense for BYU basketball to join the league in the first place when the school decided to make its football program an independent. Whereas the Mountain West's TV contract often landed BYU on Versus or The Mtn, the WCC promised the Cougars comparable competition but greatly increased exposure.
The knock against the WCC in the past had been that the two Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's clashes were the league's only must-see games. With BYU set to begin play next season and Portland, Santa Clara and USF making strides in recent years, it's conceivable the WCC could soon join the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West in the debate over the best non-BCS basketball league.
Charli Baltimore Denise Richards Jennifer Sky Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton
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