Brent Axe made these notes today on Twitter:
This is not official yet, but I heard today that the SU-Colgate game on Sept 25 will be on ESPN3.com, and therefore, No TV.
So, to recap what we know so far. SU-Akron, no TV (ESPN3.com). SU-Washington (Fox Sports Northwest). SU-Colgate ESPN3.com.
SU-Maine is undecided at this point, but 3 of 4 first SU games either aren't on TV or on a channel not exactly widespread.
So pretty much, it sounds like you've got a couple options if you want to watch Syracuse football in September.
1. Book trips to tropical Akron and Seattle and buy tickets to the Colgate/Maine games.
2. Prop open the computer for Akron/Colgate/Maine and hope to God the connection doesn't cut out on a critical 3rd down. Head over to the local bar to watch the Washington game.
3. Get an XBox360. You can watch ESPN3.com games via the player, so you can watch the A/C/M trio. Head out to the local bar to watch the Washington game.
That's the nuts and bolts of it. We can all get our knickers in a twist though it is fair to recognize that three of those four games are appealing pretty much exclusively to us...not exactly ESPN's sweet-spot.
The Washington game is on the regional network only because the Pac-10's TV deal is only slightly better than the Big East's. But it's better than nothing.
You could make the argument that it works in SU's favor not to have the Colgate & Maine games on TV because they're gonna need as many butts in those seats as they can get. Without the option to watch the game easily, folks might be forced to bite on the game ticket (which wouldn't be so terrible, now would it?).
It presents the classic dilemma for local fans. Syracuse gave itself a creampuff schedule (at least early on) so it can rack up easy victories. But casual fans don't really want to watch either opponent. Then again, Syracuse fans should want to be in the Dome for some easy (fingers crossed) wins, right? It's not like we can be choosey these days.
Don't count on Time Warner to save the day. They're at the mercy of ESPN. If the WWL somehow granted them the right to show the game, it would be a bonus. However it's not in their best interest since their intention is to build up the ESPN3 brand.
Another big shame is that we're also wasting some prime start-times. Akron (6pm EST), Washington (7pm EST) and Maine (7:15pm EST) all would make for good timing on a primtime TV spot. Oh well.
So, here we are. In many ways we know going in this is a bit of a sacrificial season in a few ways. We're playing an uber-weak OOC schedule in order to help the program long-term. We give up the right to watch SU football comfortably for one month so that we won't have that problem again in the future. At least that's the plan.