College Football on TBS
Also known asTBS Sports NCAA Football
TBS Sports SEC Football
Big PlayStation Saturday
TBS Saturday Night College Football
GenreCollege football telecasts
StarringSee list of commentators
Theme music composerEdd Kalehoff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time180 minutes or until game ended
Production companiesTurner Sports
Fox Sports Net (2002–2006)
Original release
NetworkTBS
ReleaseSeptember 2, 1982 (1982-09-02) –
November 4, 2006 (2006-11-04)

College Football on TBS was the American presentation of the TBS cable channel's regular season college football television package.

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)

[19]

1980s

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. 19 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

November 25 Virginia @ Virginia Tech Additional Thursday game West Virginia vs. Rutgers (at Giants Stadium)

1983

Date Home Team Away Team Host Conference
Oct. 8 Tennessee 20 LSU 6 SEC
Oct. 29[20] South Carolina 31 NC State 17 Independent
Nov. 5 Vanderbilt 8 Kentucky 17 SEC
Nov. 12[21] Tennessee 10 Ole Miss 13 SEC
Nov. 24[22] 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.

December 3 Air Force @ San Diego State Additional Games: Hawaii @ New Mexico West Virginia @ Maryland

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 Tigers 16 
ACC
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

Other games in 1985 August 31 Noon ET Florida State @ Tulane, 7:30 ET Washington State @ Oregon


September 28 7:30 ET Boston College @ Army

Oklahoma State @ Washington

September 21 7:30 ET Oklahoma @ Minnesota

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 17 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

Other Games Illinois @ Nebraska Michigan State @ Arizona State Ohio State @ Purdue Notre Dame @ Navy (in Baltimore) Iowa @ Minnesota

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[23] 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[24] 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[25] Vanderbilt 14 Alabama 20 SEC
Oct 14 Vanderbilt 16 Georgia 35 SEC
Oct 28[26] 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[27] Tennessee 17 Vanderbilt 10 SEC

1990s

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[28] 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

2000s

2002

Date Game Kickoff Time (Eastern Time) Host Conference
Saturday, Sept 14 UNLV at Oregon State 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Sept 21 USC at Kansas State 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Sept 28 South Florida at Oklahoma 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Oct 5 Washington State at USC 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Oct 12 Texas Tech at Iowa State 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Oct 19 UCLA at California 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Oct 26 Nebraska at Texas A&M 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Nov 2 UCLA at Washington 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Nov 9 Iowa State at Kansas State 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Nov 16 Arizona State at USC 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Nov 23 Texas Tech at Oklahoma 7:00 p.m. Big 12

2003

Date Game Kickoff Time (Eastern Time) Host Conference
Saturday, Sept 6 LSU at Arizona 10:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Sept 13 Oregon at Arizona 10:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Sept 27 Tulane at Texas 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Oct 4 Oklahoma at Iowa State 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Oct 11 Nebraska at Missouri 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Oct 18 Washington at Oregon State 10:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Oct 25 Oklahoma at Colorado 7:00 p.m. Big 12
Saturday, Nov 1 Oregon at Washington 10:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Nov 8 California at Oregon 10:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Nov 15 USC at Arizona 7:00 p.m. Pac 10
Saturday, Nov 22 Missouri at Kansas State 7:00 p.m. Big 12

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[29] 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[30] 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

Color commentators

Sideline reporters

Studio hosts

Studio analysts

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Turner Cable TV Gets N.C.A.A. Football Pact". The New York Times. January 28, 1982. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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."
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ You have your choice of either another CFA game on ESPN or an SEC matchup on WTBS, the Ted Turner superstation.
  9. ^ TBS dropping Big XII football games
  10. ^ TBS College Football TV Spot on YouTube
  11. ^ September 2003 - TBS College Football Promo on YouTube
  12. ^ 2003 Oklahoma vs Colorado on YouTube
  13. ^ 2003 Oklahoma vs Iowa State on YouTube
  14. ^ Texas v Tulane 2003 on YouTube
  15. ^ 2005 Oklahoma vs Kansas on YouTube
  16. ^ "OSU v Texas Tease". YouTube. 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2012-08-31.[dead YouTube link]
  17. ^ NFL on TNT Theme Music (1995-1997) on YouTube
  18. ^ NFL on TNT '95 ("Warrior Dance") on YouTube
  19. ^ "College Football - 506 Archive".
  20. ^ 1983 East Carolina - NC State on YouTube
  21. ^ 1983 Tennessee vs Mississippi on YouTube
  22. ^ LSU vs TULANE 1983 Football in the Superdome on YouTube
  23. ^ 1987 Georgia vs. Kentucky on YouTube
  24. ^ 1988 OM 22 v ALA 12, The Brick Bowl on YouTube
  25. ^ TBS 1989 Alabama vs Vanderbilt Football Commercial on YouTube
  26. ^ 1989 # 11 Tennessee vs LSU on YouTube
  27. ^ 1989 # 8 Tennessee vs Vanderbilt on YouTube
  28. ^ TBS Sports: SEC Football, Georgia v Ole Miss (circa 1989) on YouTube
  29. ^ Texas v Oklahoma State 2004 on YouTube
  30. ^ Texas @ Oklahoma State 2005 2nd Half on YouTube
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ 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
  33. ^ Erin Andrews returns to provide atmosphere pieces from the site that showcase the tradition and pageantry of these two great conferences.
  34. ^ 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
  35. ^ 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
  36. ^ 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
  37. ^ 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
  38. ^ 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
  39. ^ 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.

External links

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