GTFLETCH
Banned
- Messages
- 2,639
Here are a couple of TV and bowl-related tidbits from that interview...
On the Upcoming ACC Network:
Swofford has not met new ESPN president James Pitaro, who recently replaced UNC alum John Skipper, but he raved about the network’s continuing work on the ACC linear channel, set to launch in August 2019. Swofford said “ESPN has been just extremely aggressive in terms of the ACC channel and what needed to be done and what needs to be done. ...Production decisions, starting to talk about talent and programming.”
On Future ACC Bowl Tie-ins:
With two years remaining on contracts with its bowl partners, the ACC has started to renegotiate those deals and explore potential new opportunities, including one at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich chairs the league’s bowl subcommittee, which also includes North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham, Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury, Syracuse AD John Wildhack, Swofford and ACC senior associate commissioner for football Michael Strickland.When Teel asked Swofford about the conference’s interest in a potential bowl partnership with the Big Ten at Wrigley Field, he replied:
"I will admit to being one that had some skepticism (about the Pinstripe) in the sense that, OK it’s cold, or can be," Swofford said. It’s in a baseball stadium, and are the Yankees going to treat it seriously? What we have found is that anything the Yankees do, they do first class, and that playing in Yankee Stadium is something special to fans and to players, and that while it might be cold, being in New York City around Christmas and New Year’s is a very positive experience for players and fans alike. So I no longer have any concerns about playing in a venue such as a Wrigley Field. There are only so many of those venues in sports. Chicago’s a great city, and it’s an iconic venue... The Chicago Bears played there for 40-some years, and in today’s world a 40,000-seat venue for that level of bowl game is probably the right size. There is an interest in Chicago if they indeed start that game."
Link
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-swofford-interview-0310-story.html
On the Upcoming ACC Network:
Swofford has not met new ESPN president James Pitaro, who recently replaced UNC alum John Skipper, but he raved about the network’s continuing work on the ACC linear channel, set to launch in August 2019. Swofford said “ESPN has been just extremely aggressive in terms of the ACC channel and what needed to be done and what needs to be done. ...Production decisions, starting to talk about talent and programming.”
On Future ACC Bowl Tie-ins:
With two years remaining on contracts with its bowl partners, the ACC has started to renegotiate those deals and explore potential new opportunities, including one at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich chairs the league’s bowl subcommittee, which also includes North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham, Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury, Syracuse AD John Wildhack, Swofford and ACC senior associate commissioner for football Michael Strickland.When Teel asked Swofford about the conference’s interest in a potential bowl partnership with the Big Ten at Wrigley Field, he replied:
"I will admit to being one that had some skepticism (about the Pinstripe) in the sense that, OK it’s cold, or can be," Swofford said. It’s in a baseball stadium, and are the Yankees going to treat it seriously? What we have found is that anything the Yankees do, they do first class, and that playing in Yankee Stadium is something special to fans and to players, and that while it might be cold, being in New York City around Christmas and New Year’s is a very positive experience for players and fans alike. So I no longer have any concerns about playing in a venue such as a Wrigley Field. There are only so many of those venues in sports. Chicago’s a great city, and it’s an iconic venue... The Chicago Bears played there for 40-some years, and in today’s world a 40,000-seat venue for that level of bowl game is probably the right size. There is an interest in Chicago if they indeed start that game."
Link
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-swofford-interview-0310-story.html
