USU-LBSU game will be shown on Fox Sports

Reuben Wadsworth

The Pac-10 is being pre-empted – in Utah that is.

The University of Oregon at University of Washington basketball game will be pre-empted on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain Saturday at 6:05 p.m. (MST) in favor of the Utah State-Long Beach State University game at the same time, said Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell.

Saturday’s game is one of eight Big West games to be shown on Fox this season. Farrell said the league has been building a regional package with Fox Sports West in California. After a long contract with ESPN, Farrell said the conference starting negotiating with Fox a year ago.

Last season only two league games were shown on Fox because of the difficulty in matching up scheduling between the different time zones, he said. With BWC members spread across three time zones, including New Mexico State University and the University of North Texas, who are no longer in the league, conference affiliates were in five regional telecast areas last season.

This season scheduling has been easier, translating into more coverage. With four regionals to deal with and a lot of Thursday games, Fox Sports West 2 was able to guarantee the league a time slot on Thursday, Farrell said.

After the LBSU game, USU will next be on television when ESPN televises the home contest with Cal Poly on March 3.