College Football on TBS
College Football on TBS was the presentation of the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) cable channel's regular season college football television package.
College Football on TBS | |
---|---|
Also known as | TBS Sports NCAA Football TBS Sports SEC Football Big PlayStation Saturday TBS Saturday Night College Football |
Genre | College football telecasts |
Starring | See list of commentators |
Theme music composer | Edd Kalehoff |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 180 minutes or until game ended |
Production company | Turner Sports |
Release | |
Original network | TBS |
Picture format | Color |
Original release | September 2, 1982 – November 4, 2006 |
External links | |
Website |
History
Initial coverage
TBS became the first cable station to nationally broadcast college football live when it began airing games during the 1982 season.[1][2] The games were aired under a special "supplemental" television contract with the NCAA.[3][4] ESPN followed later the same year, starting with a simulcast of the Independence Bowl match-up between Kansas State and the University of Wisconsin on December 11, 1982, which was the first college football game shown live on ESPN.
When TBS (or WTBS as it was officially known at the time) first broadcast college football in 1982, they aired a package of live Division I-AA games on Thursday night and Division I-A games on Saturday.[5] games. WTBS was only able to show teams that had not been on national television in 1981. There were a maximum of four teams that had been on regional television on two occasions. Meanwhile, ABC and CBS had the right to take away a game from WTBS as long as it did so no later than the Monday before the game. Bob Neal and Tim Foley were the booth commentators for WTBS during this period. Meanwhile, Craig Sager, Paul Hornung[6] and Pepper Rodgers[7] anchored the pregame show for WTBS.
By 1984, WTBS started (primarily) carrying SEC[8] games. On June 8 of that year, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that allowed individual schools to control their own TV rights. That began the conference syndication packages in earnest and to the glut of games that continues to this day. TBS' coverage from this era was essentially the forerunner to the ESPN's Thursday/Saturday night packages.
2002–2006 coverage
TBS dropped college football after the 1992 season and left the field for several years. However, it again broadcast college football games from 2002–2006,[9] showing Big 12 and Pac-10[10] matchups. These were broadcast on the network as part of a sublicensing agreement with Fox Sports Net, who is the national cable partner for both conferences. TBS' coverage was originally known as Big PlayStation Saturday,[11][12][13][14] but this was dropped before the final season. The network aired two games a week for the first four seasons of the contract but dropped to one for some weeks during the final season.
Theme music
Nickelback's (featuring Kid Rock and Dimebag Darrell) 2003 cover of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" was used as the theme song for TBS' Saturday Night College Football[15] telecasts. In the show's open, the song is accompanied by a drumline and cymbalists, while clips of the two teams playing the night's featured game are interspersed throughout.[16]
TBS would also use the NFL on TNT theme c. 1997[17] (dubbed "Warrior Dance"[18] and composed by Edd Kalehoff) for their Carquest/MicronPC.com Bowl and Senior Bowl coverage and their Saturday Night College Football coverage from 2002–2003.
Games on TBS (Division I-A games only)
Excludes the schedules from the 2002 and 2003 seasons because they could not be found.
1982
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept. 2 (Thurs.) | UNLV | 0 | BYU | 27 | Pacific Coast |
Sept. 4 | Texas A&M | 16 | Boston College | 38 | SWC |
Sept. 11 | SMU | 51 | Tulane | 7 | SWC |
Sept. 18 | Tulsa | 25 | Oklahoma State | 15 | Missouri Valley |
Sept. 25 | Indiana | 17 | Syracuse | 10 | Big Ten |
Oct. 2 | TCU | 0 | Arkansas | 35 | SWC |
Oct. 9 | Virginia | 0 | Clemson | 48 | ACC |
Oct. 16 | Oregon State | 17 | Washington | 34 | Pac-10 |
Oct. 23 | Kansas State | 36 | Kansas | 7 | Big Eight |
Oct. 30 | San Diego St. | 21 | Utah | 17 | WAC |
Nov. 6 | Mississippi | 45 | Tulane | 14 | SEC |
Nov. 13 | Florida State | 49 | Louisville | 14 | Independent |
1983
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct. 8 | Tennessee | 20 | LSU | 6 | SEC |
Oct. 29[19] | South Carolina | 31 | NC State | 17 | Independent |
Nov. 5 | Vanderbilt | 8 | Kentucky | 17 | SEC |
Nov. 12[20] | Tennessee | 10 | Ole Miss | 13 | SEC |
Nov. 24[21] | Tulane | 7 | LSU | 20 | Independent |
There was no football telecast on September 24 as Notre Dame was playing against Miami in prime time on CBS. There also was no football telecast on November 26 as TBS instead, aired a Louisville-Kentucky basketball game with Skip Caray and Joe Dean on the call.
1984 (SEC Full Package begins)
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept. 8 | Florida | 21 | LSU | 21 | SEC | |
Sept. 15 | Georgia Tech | 16 | Alabama | 6 | ACC | |
Sept. 22 | Tulane | 26 | Kentucky | 30 | Independent | |
Sept. 29 | Auburn | 29 | Tennessee | 10 | SEC | |
Oct. 13 | Georgia | 18 | Ole Miss | 12 | SEC | |
Oct. 20 | Georgia | 62 | Vanderbilt | 35 | SEC | |
Oct. 27 | Kentucky | 7 | Georgia | 37 | SEC | |
Nov. 10 | Florida | 27 | Georgia | 0 | SEC | Game played in Jacksonville, Florida |
Nov. 17 | Kentucky | 17 | Florida | 25 | SEC | |
Nov. 24 | Mississippi State | 3 | Ole Miss | 24 | SEC | |
Dec. 1 | Vanderbilt | 13 | Tennessee | 29 | SEC |
1985
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept. 14 | Georgia | 17 | Baylor | 14 | SEC |
Sept. 21 | Florida State | 19 | Memphis State | 10 | Independent |
Sept. 28 | Vanderbilt | 20 | Alabama | 40 | SEC |
Oct. 12 | Auburn | 59 | Florida State | 26 | SEC |
Oct. 19 | Alabama | 14 | Tennessee | 16 | SEC |
Oct. 26 | Georgia | 26 | Kentucky | 6 | SEC |
Nov. 2 | Ole Miss | 0 | LSU | 14 | SEC |
Nov. 9 | Vanderbilt | 31 | Kentucky | 24 | SEC |
Nov. 16 | Tennessee | 34 | Ole Miss | 14 | SEC |
Nov. 23 | Kentucky | 0 | Tennessee | 42 | SEC |
Nov. 30 | Tennessee | 30 | Vanderbilt | 0 | SEC |
Georgia Tech | 20 | Georgia | 16 | ACC |
1986
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept. 6 | Alabama | 42 | Vanderbilt | 10 | SEC |
Sept. 13 | Tennessee | 23 | Mississippi State | 27 | SEC |
Sept. 20 | Florida State | 10 | North Carolina | 10 | Independent |
Sept. 27 | Michigan | 20 | Florida State | 16 | Big Ten |
Oct. 4 | Georgia | 14 | Ole Miss | 10 | SEC |
Oct. 18 | Georgia | 38 | Vanderbilt | 16 | SEC |
Oct. 25 | Georgia Tech | 14 | Tennessee | 13 | ACC |
Nov. 1 | Mississippi State | 3 | Alabama | 38 | SEC |
Nov. 8 | Kentucky | 34 | Vanderbilt | 22 | SEC |
Nov. 15 | Ole Miss | 10 | Tennessee | 22 | SEC |
Nov. 22 | Ole Miss | 24 | Mississippi State | 3 | SEC |
Nov. 29 | Georgia | 31 | Georgia Tech | 24 | SEC |
1987
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 5 | Miami | 31 | Florida | 4 | Independent | |
Sept 12 | Mississippi State | 10 | Tennessee | 38 | SEC | |
Sept 19 | Alabama | 14 | Florida | 23 | SEC | at Birmingham |
Sept 26 | Tennessee | 20 | Auburn | 20 | SEC | |
Oct 3 | Tennessee | 38 | California | 12 | SEC | |
Oct 17 | LSU | 34 | Kentucky | 9 | SEC | first telecast from LSU's Tiger Stadium |
Oct 24[22] | Georgia | 17 | Kentucky | 14 | SEC | |
Oct 31 | Vanderbilt | 27 | Rutgers | 13 | SEC | |
Nov 7 | Georgia | 23 | Florida | 10 | SEC | at Jacksonville, Florida |
Nov 14 | Florida | 27 | Kentucky | 14 | SEC |
1988
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 10 | Auburn | 20 | Kentucky | 10 | SEC | |
Sept 17 | Tennessee | 9 | LSU | 34 | SEC | |
Sept 24 | South Carolina | 23 | Georgia | 10 | Independent | |
Oct 1 | Kentucky | 27 | Alabama | 31 | SEC | |
Oct 8[23] | Alabama | 12 | Ole Miss | 22 | SEC | |
Oct 15 | Vanderbilt | 24 | Florida | 9 | SEC | |
Oct 22 | Kentucky | 16 | Georgia | 10 | SEC | |
Oct 29 | LSU | 31 | Ole Miss | 20 | SEC | |
Nov 5 | Georgia | 26 | Florida | 3 | SEC | Game played in Jacksonville, Florida |
Nov 12 | Mississippi State | 3 | LSU | 20 | SEC | |
Nov 26 | Georgia | 24 | Georgia Tech | 3 | SEC |
1989
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 2 | Florida State | 26 | Southern Miss | 30 | Independent | Game played in Jacksonville, Florida |
Florida | 19 | Ole Miss | 24 | SEC | ||
Sept 16 | Georgia | 15 | Baylor | 3 | SEC | |
Sept 23 | Alabama | 15 | Kentucky | 3 | SEC | |
Sept 30[24] | Vanderbilt | 14 | Alabama | 20 | SEC | |
Oct 14 | Vanderbilt | 16 | Georgia | 35 | SEC | |
Oct 28[25] | LSU | 39 | Tennessee | 45 | SEC | |
Nov 4 | Alabama | 23 | Mississippi State | 10 | SEC | |
Nov 11 | Florida | 10 | Georgia | 17 | SEC | Game played in Jacksonville, Florida |
Nov 18 | Georgia | 3 | Auburn | 20 | SEC | |
Dec 2[26] | Tennessee | 17 | Vanderbilt | 10 | SEC |
1990
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 8 | Mississippi State | 7 | Tennessee | 40 | SEC | |
Sept 15 | Alabama | 13 | Florida | 17 | SEC | |
Sept 22 | Vanderbilt | 24 | LSU | 21 | SEC | |
Sept 29 | Florida | 34 | Mississippi State | 21 | SEC | |
Oct 13[27] | Georgia | 12 | Ole Miss | 28 | SEC | |
Oct 27 | Florida State | 27 | LSU | 3 | Independent | |
Nov 3 | Mississippi State | 0 | Alabama | 22 | SEC | |
Nov 10 | Florida | 38 | Georgia | 7 | SEC | Game played in Jacksonville, Florida |
Nov 17 | Kentucky | 15 | Florida | 47 | SEC | |
Nov 24 | Tennessee | 42 | Kentucky | 28 | SEC | |
Dec 1 | Georgia | 23 | Georgia Tech | 40 | SEC |
1991
Date | Home Team | Away Team | Host Conference | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 7 | Mississippi State | 13 | Texas | 6 | SEC | |
Sept 14 | Tennessee | 30 | UCLA | 16 | SEC | |
Sept 21 | Tennessee | 26 | Mississippi State | 24 | SEC | |
Sept 28 | Florida | 29 | Mississippi State | 7 | SEC | Played at Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida |
Oct 5 | Auburn | 9 | Southern Miss | 10 | SEC | |
Oct 19 | Kentucky | 26 | LSU | 29 | SEC | |
Oct 26 | Georgia | 49 | Kentucky | 25 | SEC | |
Nov 2 | Alabama | 13 | Mississippi State | 7 | SEC | |
Nov 16 | Georgia | 37 | Auburn | 27 | SEC | |
Nov 23 | Tennessee | 16 | Kentucky | 7 | SEC |
2004
Date | Game | Kickoff Time (Eastern Time) | Host Conference |
---|---|---|---|
Saturday, Sept 11 | Houston at Oklahoma | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Sept 18 | Clemson at Texas A&M | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Sept 25 | USC at Stanford | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 2 | Kansas State at Texas A&M | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Arizona State at Oregon | 9:15 p.m. | Pac-10 | |
Saturday, Oct 9 | Nebraska at Texas Tech | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Oct 16 | UCLA at California | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 23 | Texas at Texas Tech | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Oct 30 | Arizona State at California | 9:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Nov 6[28] | Oklahoma State at Texas | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Nov 13 | Washington State at Arizona State | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
2005
Date | Game | Kickoff Time (Eastern Time) | Host Conference |
---|---|---|---|
Saturday, Sept 3 | Colorado State at Colorado | 2:30 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Sept 10 | Wake Forest at Nebraska | 6:00 pm. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Sept 17 | Fresno State at Oregon | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Sept 24 | Arizona State at Oregon State | 9:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 1 | Arizona at California | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 8 | Texas Tech at Nebraska | 3:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
California at UCLA | 6:30 p.m. | Pac-10 | |
Saturday, Oct 15 | Oklahoma at Kansas | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Oct 22 | Oregon State at UCLA | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 28[29] | Texas at Oklahoma State | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Nov 6 | Stanford at USC | 9:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
2006
Date | Game | Kickoff Time (Eastern Time) | Host Conference |
---|---|---|---|
Saturday, Sept 2 | UAB at Oklahoma | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
BYU at Arizona | 9:15 p.m. | Pac-10 | |
Saturday, Sept 9 | Minnesota at California | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Sept 16 | Arizona State at Colorado | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Sept 23 | UCLA at Washington | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Sept 30 | USC at Washington State | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Saturday, Oct 7 | Missouri at Texas Tech | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Oct 14 | Baylor at Texas | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, Oct 28 | Texas at Texas Tech | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Saturday, November 4 | Washington at Oregon | 2:30 p.m. | Pac-10 |
Oklahoma State at Texas | 6:00 p.m. | Big 12 |
Commentators
Play-by-play
- Gary Bender
- Chip Caray
- Skip Caray
- Kevin Harlan
- Verne Lundquist
- Bob Neal
- Lindsey Nelson
- Ron Thulin[30]
- Pete van Wieren – After joining TBS Sports in 1975, he covered the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League, Big Ten Conference college football games on TBS, the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons NFL pre-season football.
Color commentators
Sideline reporters
- Erin Andrews[32] – She worked as a studio host for Turner Sports from 2002–04, covering the Atlanta Braves and college football for TBS and Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks for Turner South.
- Marc Fein
- Craig Sager[33] – Sager reported from the sideline for TBS' Pac-10/Big 12 college football coverage from 2002 to 2006. He also served as the sideline reporter for the 50th annual Delchamps Senior Bowl from Ladd Memorial Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, and the 1998 and 2000 Micron PC Bowl, formerly known as the Carquest Bowl.[34]
Studio hosts
- Kevin Christopher[35]
- Marc Fein[36]
- Ernie Johnson, Jr.[37]
- Craig Sager[38]
Studio analysts
See also
- List of Champs Sports Bowl broadcasters (1995 (December)–2000)
- List of Gator Bowl broadcasters (1993–1994)
- List of Insight Bowl broadcasters (1989–1991)
- List of Outback Bowl broadcasters (1983–1986)
References
- WTBS, Ted Turner's superstation, also has carried college football this year for the first time. But WTBS isn't as polished as ABC or CBS and never had a chance to make our TV Bowl.
- The NCAA said O.K., but the other college football broadcasters—WTBS, Ted Turner's SuperStation, and ABC—wouldn't allow CBS to broadcast extra games without extracting several pounds of teleflesh. Turner wasn't even disposed to let CBS move a Division I-A game from Saturday to Sunday without the network making what it considered unreasonable concessions. For example, he wanted CBS to promise not to schedule college telecasts opposite the proposed NFL Players Association All-Star games, the rights to which he owns.
- "Turner Cable TV Gets N.C.A.A. Football Pact". New York Times. January 28, 1982. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
- College Football has aired frequently on TBS throughout the years. Here's a nice Quantel-made promo for a matchup between West Virginia and Maryland.
- Next month the College Football Association (CFA) will award its Saturday night cable TV rights for '85. "We're going to take a serious swing at it," says Turner. Last year ESPN paid $9.3 million for the CFA. This year, only Turner may know where the bidding will stop. ESPN has to be uneasy. Says its president, Bill Grimes, "Turner was our competitor last time, on the USFL. Since we edged him out for it, I'm sure he'll be more motivated than last time."
- And oh, yes, there's a third winner of sorts, Paul Hornung, co-host of the Saturday studio show on WTBS, the Turner superstation (see box). When the NCAA controlled TV, it kept Hornung off college games because of his NFL suspension for gambling and his closer identification with the pro game.
- OUR FIRST ANNUAL SHAME-ON-YOU AWARD—To WTBS-TV, Ted Turner's superstation, for allowing the NCAA to have veto power over its football announcers. TBS had to get rid of Pepper Rodgers and Paul Hornung when the censors from Shawnee Mission, Kans., found them unsavory.
- You have your choice of either another CFA game on ESPN or an SEC matchup on WTBS, the Ted Turner superstation.
- TBS dropping Big XII football games
- TBS College Football TV Spot on YouTube
- September 2003 - TBS College Football Promo on YouTube
- 2003 Oklahoma vs Colorado on YouTube
- 2003 Oklahoma vs Iowa State on YouTube
- Texas v Tulane 2003 on YouTube
- 2005 Oklahoma vs Kansas on YouTube
- "OSU v Texas Tease". YouTube. 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
- NFL on TNT Theme Music (1995-1997) on YouTube
- NFL on TNT '95 ("Warrior Dance") on YouTube
- 1983 East Carolina - NC State on YouTube
- 1983 Tennessee vs Mississippi on YouTube
- LSU vs TULANE 1983 Football in the Superdome on YouTube
- 1987 Georgia vs. Kentucky on YouTube
- 1988 OM 22 v ALA 12, The Brick Bowl on YouTube
- TBS 1989 Alabama vs Vanderbilt Football Commercial on YouTube
- 1989 # 11 Tennessee vs LSU on YouTube
- 1989 # 8 Tennessee vs Vanderbilt on YouTube
- TBS Sports: SEC Football, Georgia v Ole Miss (circa 1989) on YouTube
- Texas v Oklahoma State 2004 on YouTube
- Texas @ Oklahoma State 2005 2nd Half on YouTube
- "Thulin will begin his third-consecutive year as the play-by-play announcer for TBS' 2004-05 college football coverage". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- Davis will serve as the analyst for TBS' college football coverage of the Pac-10 and Big 12 for the third consecutive year. Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Erin Andrews returns to provide atmosphere pieces from the site that showcase the tradition and pageantry of these two great conferences.
- For the third consecutive year, he will also report from the sideline for TBS' Pac-10/Big 12 college football coverage. Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- "Turner Newsroom: Home". News.turner.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
- Following a successful seven-year career in New York as a stage actor, television commercial and voice-over artist, Kevin Christopher switched career gears and signed on as the Sports Anchor for Turner Broadcasting's TBS Evening News in the spring of 1980. For the next seven years he was the main studio anchor for Atlanta Braves baseball, Atlanta Hawks basketball, NBA basketball, SEC College football and the Sunday night Coors Sports Page highlight show, as well as a contributor to CNN and Headline News. Archived 2010-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Marc Fein will serve as studio host for TBS’s coverage of Big 12 and PAC-10 college football in 2006. He previously handled sideline reporting duties for the networks’ college football coverage in 2004. Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- He also hosted college football games on TBS Superstation for the 2002-03 season, dubbed Big Play Saturday. Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
- He was a sports anchor for CNN while also serving TBS Sports as the anchor of College Football Scoreboard for four years (1982-85). Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Turner Sports announced today that legendary Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Brian Bosworth will join TBS Superstation's Big PlayStation Saturday this season as a studio analyst for its pre-game, post-game and halftime shows.