In the previous post, I made predictions for the football games involving every four-year college team in the state. We’ll do that each week.
With the college football season getting into full swing Saturday, I’m curious about something: Will the radio scoreboard show following the University of Arkansas football broadcasts give us the scores for other colleges in Arkansas? And will KTHV-TV, Channel 11, in Little Rock give the scores for all the in-state schools?
When KATV-TV had the rights to the Razorback radio broadcasts, scores for the other Arkansas schools were never given on the scoreboard show.
That was strange since KATV is always good about passing on the scores during its television sportscasts. Was it an edict from the athletic department in Fayetteville that scores from other Arkansas schools were not to be passed along on the radio? Was the athletic department really that insecure? Did the leadership of the mighty Razorback program believe that giving an Arkansas Tech Wonder Boy score or a UAM Boll Weevil score might diminish its fan base?
I listen to a lot of college football on the radio, and I can tell you that you’ll hear all of the Louisiana scores — from Grambling to Louisiana College — on the LSU network’s scoreboard show. Ditto for the University of Tennessee and many others.
I have not noticed that the policy has changed since ISP obtained the rights to the Razorback broadcasts. But maybe I missed something last year. Is it not possible for Scott Inman to work in the scores of the other games in the state? It would take less than a minute Saturday night to tell us how Arkansas State did against Mississippi Valley State, how UAPB did against UAM, how Arkansas Tech did against Incarnate Word, how Henderson did against McNeese State and how Ouachita did against Texas College.
And if the university has a policy against giving those scores, could someone please supply a written explanation why that policy was created? I would love to see the reasoning or lack thereof.
As for KTHV, the only explanation I got from them a couple of years ago had to do with “time limitations” and “fan interest.” Does a station that gives Friday night scores from tiny high schools across the state (and that’s a good thing, mind you) think there’s more interest in those scores than in the scores of an Arkansas Tech or a Harding or a Henderson that has thousands of alumni across the state?
As my personal protest, I haven’t watched a Channel 11 newscast in two years. I did make an exception in order to check the late sports on two Saturday nights last year. Both times the station failed to give any Gulf South Conference scores. So my boycott goes on.
I’ll be driving home from Tyler, Texas, late Saturday night. Someone listen to the radio scoreboard show following the Razorback game. And someone please watch the late sports on Channel 11. Let us know Sunday if they have changed their ways.