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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1982)
The Battalion Sports August 18, 1982 Page 14 Sherrill to tackle radio, television during season by Frank L. Christlieb Sports Editor It worked wonders at Pitt sburgh, so why not give it a shot here? And better yet, Jackie Sherrill and other Texas A&M Athletic Department officials thought, why not expand it into a broader undertaking that’ll boost Texas A&M University’s reputation up, up and up on a national level? Knowing that a venture into the television and radio side of college athletics must take a uni que approach to be successful, Sherrill and his co-workers have been in the process of finalizing the Athletic Department’s most profitable broadcast production packages ever. During the upcoming football season, Aggie followers will be treated to a variety of shows dealing with the football team and its new head coach. In cluded in Texas A&M’s efforts are a 30-minute television show, a five-minute daily report by Sherrill on the status of the team, a one-hour talk show ori ginating from Houston once a week and a series of delayed broadcasts of Aggie football games. Alan Jones, assistant athletic director for operations, has been in charge of organizing all aspects of the radio/TV project. No. 1 on his agenda has been making each of the productions different enough to attract view ers, and more important, to attract advertisers. Too often, Jones said, adver tisers are disillusioned by the humdrum format of the average college football coach’s show. So, Sherrill’s version will be a bit dif ferent than what most viewers are accustomed to. “Normally, you would have a host and the coach on the 30- minute show,” Jones said. “Jack ie’s show is put together, most of it pre-packaged, to where basic ally it’s a highlight show and not a coach’s show. There won’t be Alan Jones any part where a host and the coach sit and trade conversa tions. “It’ll be a fast-moving, hard hitting show featuring more of the action of the game. Also it’ll have the University spot in it to promote the school, and it’ll have a feature on a player and/ or a coach. “We want to make it interest ing not only to the Texas Aggie that’s sitting out there watching the coach’s show,” Jones said, “but we hope that we have a for mat that will be interesting to the general athletic fan.” Jones said Sherrill won’t actually be playing a major part in the 30-minute production. The show, which will be aired Sundays during the season by 11 stations throughout Texas, will feature post-game interviews with Sherrill. Among the stations broad casting the television show are KBTX (Channel 3) in Bryan, KRIV in Houston, KTVT in Dallas-Forth Worth, KTXS in Abilene, KOSA in Midland- Odessa, KJAA in Lubbock and Channel 29 (cable) in San Anto nio. The Bryan station will air the production Sunday nights at 10:30. “The host will be doing all the commenting,” Jones said. “Coach Sherrill’s part will be coming in at the end of the game and saying what he thought ab out it. He plays a very minute part of it.” Jim Nantz, a 1981 graduate of the University of Houston, has been chosen as the show’s host. Nantz, 23, has been a part-time sports anchor at Houston’s KHOU-TV for two years, and has been the sports editor at radio station KTRH for three years. Hosting TV sports shows isn’t new to Nantz, who has for the last three years hosted “The Guy Lewis Show,” featuring Hous ton Cougar basketball coach Guy Lewis. To take the job host ing Sherrill’s show, Nantz pas sed up an opportunity to work with the Mutual Broadcasting Corp. on its broadcasts of South west Conference football games. “We felt that with all the fac tors involved,” Jones said, “he was the top candidate. He’s available — Houston’s not that far away from here — he’s young, vigorous and enthusias tic. He’s a real professional.” Sherrill will also be featured on two radio shows during the 1982 season. For starters, the Aggie coach will take part in a one-hour production hosted by John Greer and Chip Howard of ratio station KENR in Houston. The show will be aired Thurs day nights from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on these stations: KAGC in Col lege Station, KLVI in Beaumont, KSIX in Corpus Christi and WOAI in San Anto nio. Jones said it’s likely the show’s market will soon include stations in Midland, Austin, Lubbock and Waco. “We’ll have a general opening with the coach and the hosts,” Jones said. “They’ll talk about what they want to talk about — not just a straight Texas A&M show, but what’s happening in football throughout the nation. “Hopefully, we’ll have a three-minute feature to prom ote the University and then a player-of-the-week interview. The other part of the show will be a call-in, available state-wide. KENR will provide a toll-free number, so we should have a lot of activity on the show.” The five-minute radio show, hosted by Dallas Cowboy announcer Brad Sham from radio station KRLD, will feature a daily report from Sherrill at Texas A&M. Sham will call here long distance and talk to Sher rill, and the show will be taped. “We have over 60 stations,” Jones said, “and we’re going to try to have it on during drive time (when people are coming home from work) from about 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Texas State Net work will shoot it out at 4:06 and 5:06 so that stations can take it and put it on whenever they want to, which usually would be somewhere between 5 and 7.” Jones said an attempt is being made to distribute the five- minute show to markets throughout the nation, includ ing Atlanta, Pittsburgh and De nver and possibly Los Angeles. “Basically, we’ll just give them the show (through Warner Cable) and they’ll put it on at whatever time they want to,” he said. “If we have a big win, they’re liable to put it on during prime time; if we lose, they’re liable to put it on at 4 o’clock in the morning.” Jones, who described Sherrill as “marketable,” said there will be six delayed broadcasts of Texas A&M football games. Those games — in which the Aggies play Texas Tech, Hous ton, Rice, SMU, TCU and Texas — will be aired the day of each game at midnight on KHTV- TV (Channel 13) in Houston, at 10:30 p.m. on KXTX-TV in Dallas and on a San Antonio sta tion at 10:30 p.m. Jones said that in creating the 30-minute television show, the people involved must cater to See SHERRILL page 15 WELCOME AGGIES! FOR THE HOME FURNISHINGS THAT YOU WILL NEED AT SCHOOL, CONSIDER THE RENT/BUY DECISION! COST COMPARISON-1 BEDROOM COMPLETE-COMPARABLE QUALITY COST TO RENT GIANT $70 Renta| Fee DISCOUNTS+ 3.50 Tax FOR + 7.50 Waiver Fee CASH! *81.00 per month I COST TO BUY I *1,892.10 cost inch tax -392.10 down payment Total Outlay for Four, 9 Month School Years: *1,500.00 financed 36 months GIANT DISCOUNTS *67.43 per month Total Outlay for 36 Months Financing: *2,916.00 + 70.00 set up & delivery *2,986.00 total cost *2,427.48 + 392.10 down payment - 473.03 buy back* *2,346.55 total cost FOR CASH! A SAVINGS OF s 639.45! 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