Courtesy Fresno Bee

(August 30, 2010) Amid further signs Fresno State and Nevada want out of the Western Athletic Conference as soon as possible, the WAC launched its own television network Friday designed to grant more exposure to its teams.

The WAC Sports Network will boost the league's visibility to 15 total regional markets in California, Hawaii, Nevada, Idaho, Washington and Louisiana. Selected games will be shown locally on KAIL Channels 7.1 and 7.2 and Comcast SportsNet California.

Also Friday, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he received notice from Fresno State of its desire to leave the league for the Mountain West Conference before next fall. The Reno Gazette-Journal also reported Nevada President Milt Glick said he has sent a letter to the WAC stating the school's plans to leave by then as well.

Fresno State President John Welty declined to comment Friday, as did Bulldogs athletic director Thomas Boeh.

Both Fresno State and Nevada announced Aug. 18 they were leaving for the Mountain West, but Benson said then that because they missed the league's departure deadline for 2011 that both would remain in the league until fall 2012.

Welty and Boeh also declined comment on the Salt Lake Tribune's story that revealed e-mails sent between WAC presidents and Benson on the topic of conference realignment.

The e-mails detailed elements of the drama surrounding the WAC's negotiations with Brigham Young University and its intent to leave the Mountain West for the WAC. The story said Welty played a large role in brokering the BYU deal, but left it on the table when the Mountain West invited Fresno State to join.

Boeh did say there is more to the story but did not offer details.

"There have been numerous occasions where people have drawn conclusions when not having all the facts in front of them," Boeh said. "That's why we continue to say we're going to let the process be completed so that when we do it, we'll have done it with all the information out."

The WAC's new one-year television arrangement will not affect the number of Fresno State football and basketball games seen on TV or the amount of money the school will spend on broadcasts, said Paul Ladwig, the Bulldogs' associate athletic director over external relations and broadcasting.

The deal also is expected to bring in the same amount of money for Fresno State, but since the school will sacrifice some WAC revenue because it's leaving the league, it is an issue that still needs to be addressed, Ladwig said.

"In the big picture," he said, "we're spending the same amount of money and getting the same number of games on except they will be on a lot more stations, which is good for us."

The broadcasting teams could differ from the faces and voices Bulldog fans were used to on the now-defunct Bulldog Sports Network: Ralph Wood on play-by-play, Randy Rosenbloom adding commentary and Guy Haberman as the sideline reporter. Ladwig said the broadcast teams used for each game won't be based on city affiliation, but rather skill.

Which Fresno State football games will be broadcast on the network have not been finalized, Ladwig said, but five have been designated. That's on top of the three ESPN2 games already chosen (Cincinnati, Boise State and Illinois) and the Ole Miss game, which will be placed on a still-undetermined ESPN network, he said.

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