Athletic directors from the Big 12 may recommend approval of
a championship football game tomorrow if they receive a large
enough offer from ABC, according to Wendell Barnhouse of the FT.
WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. The network and the conference have
reportedly discussed terms for a new deal, as the current
agreement calls for ABC to pay $2.5M to broadcast the
championship game. Big 12 Commissioner Steve Hatchell said ABC's
proposal "could be good enough to tip the scales in favor of a
championship game." One Big 12 athletic administrator said he
would "be shocked if it doesn't happen. I think it would come
down to (convincing the athletic directors that) a championship
game is salable and that it's a huge opportunity that can't be
passed up." If approved, the game would probably be played at
rotating sites, with St. Louis' Trans World Dome, San Antonio's
Alamodome and the Houston Astrodome as the "three strongest
candidates" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/15). A Big 12
championship game is expected to net each school more than
$12,000 and a lucrative ABC deal could raise that figure (Randy
Covitz, KANSAS CITY STAR, 11/15).
