"Take my name off ... Call it ‘The Billikens Show,’’’ the St. Louis University men’s basketball coach said on the show this week, later adding, "With our schedule, I’m not able to allocate the time on these evenings."

The program airs on WXOS (101.1 FM), which carries Bills’ broadcasts, and program director Jason Barrett had no comment about Majerus’ stance. But it’s obvious station management is not happy based on what happened the previous week.

Majerus was scheduled to make his debut for this season last week on the show that airs at 7 p.m. Mondays. But he was a no-show, the reason given that he had to attend a meeting. That caused a tiff at the station, with Barrett saying Majerus is contractually obligated to appear, adding it seemed as if the problem was solved.

"Everything is supposed to be on track for the rest of the year," he said then. "I’m just operating under that premise."

That premise was flawed. Majerus was on the air this week, but quickly announced he wanted the name of the program to be changed because he would not be making it a steady date. Then he stayed on the air for only a little over half the hour-long show. And while he was on, there was no doubt who was in control. When host Bob Ramsey said it was time for a commercial break, Majerus balked and asked that the ads be delayed. They were. None aired the entire time he appeared. He also told Ramsey when to go to another caller.

READING THE TEA LEAVES

Majerus and SLU athletics director Chris May didn’t respond to requests to comment about the situation. So we turn to Ramsey, who is in his 24th season broadcasting the Bills, for his view on the Majerus situation.

"I can’t — and won’t — speak for him, but my impression was that he felt he was having trouble committing his time because of the variables in the schedule,’’ Ramsey said. "He’s told me this from the first time I met him, that it’s all business and its all about the team and everything else comes second. I’ve always taken his word on that. I appreciate his frankness and quite frankly his diligence to his team. That includes the academic side, which he has always been very committed to. This is me reading into it — I think he feels bad he can’t make the time commitment he needs to for many things.’’

Ramsey added that Majerus’ participation in the postgame radio show for home games is "the best it’s been in the three years. Absolutely no complaints.’’

Low profile

Majerus was a highly-visible figure nationally when he was hired to be the face of SLU basketball in 2007, getting a six-year deal worth an estimated $1 million annually. He left a highly visible position as an analyst at ESPN, following a very successful coaching run at Utah and Ball State, as SLU ousted Brad Soderberg in order to make a big pop as it was about to move into its new $81 million arena.

But the biggest headlines he has made are for something that has nothing to do with basketball — his feud two years ago with St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke after Majerus’ said he was pro-choice regarding abortion, and favored stem cell research. Those stances are contradictory to Catholic teachings — and SLU is very much a Catholic school.

THE OTHER SIDE

Majerus’ local counterparts are very visible in this 24-hour news cycle era in which coaches are key PR tools for their employers. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa does a weekly in-season show with fans and a program before each contest. Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo made time for a weekly program this season. And while it’s too soon to assess new Blues coach Davis Payne, his predecessor — Andy Murray — was all over the local airwaves.

As one local TV sportscaster said, "The walls were put up very early’’ in Majerus’ tenure. "It’s almost impossible to cover" SLU.

The Bills could use some pop. Attendance averages 7,470 in the 10,600-seat Chaifetz Arena and their television ratings are low. The three games on Fox Sports Midwest have been seen in an average of only about 8,800 area homes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The three on KPLR (Channel 11) have drawn about 12,500 homes. And that’s when fans actually can find the telecasts. A restrictive TV setup dictated by the Atlantic 10 Conference causes a good chunk of their games to end up on outlets many fans don’t have, CBS College Sports plus Charter cable — where five games will be exclusively.

It’s a far cry in exposure from the last time SLU hired a "name’’ coach, albeit a much smaller one than "Majerus" — Charlie Spoonhour. "Spoon’’ was all over the media, had a restaurant with his name and was hawking products all over town — and drawing fans in droves. After being hired in 1992, he eventually took SLU to seventh in the nation in average attendance (17,714) in the 1994-95 season.

SOMETHING TO SAY

It’s too bad Majerus, who also often skips his postgame radio interview, is unavailable so much. Because when he does talk, he often provides interesting perspectives. He was very outspoken in his brief appearance Monday when discussing SLU’s plight of being in the Atlantic 10 Conference, saying they’d probably be better off in the Missouri Valley. "He does in his own unique style have fascinating things to say,’’ Ramsey said. "It’s the fans who lose out when he doesn’t have the time because you always learn something when he talks. Sit down and take notes from the professor’’