DirecTV Sports Networks and the Big Sky Conference announced last week that they have entered into a five-year agreement making DirecTV Sports Networks and its Root Sports branded regional sports networks the league's official TV partner and the home of Big Sky football and basketball.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Big Sky officials said the agreement is not about money but about exposure instead.
"Typically, on a deal like this, it is about broader distribution," Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said in a conference call. "This is not a huge money maker for us."
DirecTV Sports Networks owns and operates three regional sports networks branded as Root Sports. Each of the networks reach more than 8.7 million viewers across 18 states, including Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah and Colorado (all within the Big Sky region).
Big Sky Conference games will be distributed primarily to the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Root Sports networks, which are carried by all major distributors in those territories, including Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network and Cablevision. In addition, as the national television rights holder for Big Sky athletics, DirecTV Sports Networks will have the ability to distribute Big Sky games both regionally and nationally.
DirecTV Sports Networks will produce and televise up to 18 Big Sky Conference football games each season, including the annual Montana-Montana State rivalry game, beginning with the 2012 football season. Under the agreement, it may also broadcast up to 12 regular season conference basketball games as well as Big Sky quarterfinal and semifinal conference men's basketball tournament games.
All events will be produced and distributed in high definition with new state-of-the-art graphics elements customized for the Big Sky Conference and its teams.
"This is a landmark deal for the Big Sky Conference, as it will increase our exposure regionally and nationally in football and basketball," Fullerton said. "We are very excited to begin this partnership with DirectTV Sports Networks. We know our fans will appreciate the high production values, which will be second-to-none."
Seattle-based DirecTV Sports Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of DirecTV and operates three regional sports networks branded as Root Sports. The three networks (based in Bellevue, Wash.; Denver, Colo.; and Pittsburgh are distributed in 18 states and hold exclusive regional telecast rights to over two dozen professional and collegiate teams, including the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, Utah Jazz, University of Washington, Washington State University, Oregon State University and Gonzaga University.
The Root Sports networks also distribute Big 12, Pac-12, Conference USA and other collegiate football and basketball games.
Around the Big Sky
--Home teams won seven of eight conference games last week -- the lone exception being Portland State's 78-76 overtime victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday. That reverses a trend that saw road teams win 11 of 16 games over the previous two weeks.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Montana at Portland State, Jan. 29 -- The Sunday matinee game will have significant implications on the upper-division structure of the Big Sky standings. If the Grizzlies get by struggling Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash., on Jan. 26, they must face the upstart Vikings (6-1 at home this season) and talented senior guard Charles Odum in Portland three days later. Portland State must beat Montana State -- both teams have three-game winning streaks -- first on Jan. 26 to make the Montana game more meaningful. That game will be important nonetheless as Montana must win to keep pace with conference leader Weber State.
Northern Arizona
--Senior guard Durrell Norman is only 6-foot-4 yet he led the rebounding-starved Lumberjacks with 6.4 boards a game through Jan. 22. That was the ninth-highest average among players 6-4 or shorter in Division I. The Lumberjacks were out-rebounded 38-22 in a 78-62 loss at Idaho State on Jan. 21. Norman had four of those.
"Any time you get beat that bad on the boards, you are going to have a hard time winning," said interim head coach Dave Brown.
--NAU's loss at Idaho State was the Lumberjacks' five straight in Pocatello. They are 1-12 away from Flagstaff this season with the lone victory coming against Arizona State on Dec. 17. They are 0-5 in Big Sky play away from home.
--The Lumberjacks can gain some solace from their performance at league-leading Weber State on Jan. 19. They held prolific scoring guard Damian Lillard to 18 points, seven points below his average, and kept the game respectable before losing 81-67 at Ogden, Utah. They did this despite playing without leading scorer, freshman guard James Douglas, who was sick, and sophomore forward Max Jacobsen, who had a sprained ankle.
"I knew it was going to be tough," said junior guard Michael Dunn, who helped share the responsibility of guarding Lillard. "I am proud of our effort tonight."
Weber State
--Despite being held to 18 points -- seven below his average -- in an 81-67 win over Northern Arizona on Jan. 19, Weber State junior guard Damion Lillard still leads the nation in scoring with 25.1 points a game entering this week's games. Lillard went 2-of-2 from the free throw line, the fewest free throw attempts he has taken this year. While his scoring was limited, Lillard showed his versatility by adding six rebounds and six assists for the Wildcats. He also had three steals.
"It's easy," Lillard told the Deseret News, in talking about doing whatever his team needs. "I trust my teammates, and if I'm going to get so much attention, that's when I'm going to make (the other team) pay."
--Weber State, winners of nine straight games and the Big Sky leaders at 7-0 through Jan. 22, shot 56 percent from the field against NAU, compared to 52 percent for the visiting Lumberjacks in an 81-67 victory on Jan. 19. The Wildcats improved to 13-0 this season when leading their opponent in field-goal percentage. WSU also improved to 9-0 when scoring 80 or more points this season.
--Sophomore center Kyle Tresnak took advantage of Northern Arizona's meager inside presence by scoring a career-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field in the Jan. 19 victory. "(Going inside) was working, so we kept going to it," Tresnak told the Deseret News. "I've been getting as much work in as I can to be able to shoot over either shoulder. It's definitely been a lot of work, but it's been worth it."
--More bad news for Weber State's Big Sky opponents: The Wildcats were 11-0 at home entering the week. If Weber State holds on to its Big Sky lead, the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament would be played in Ogden.
Sacramento State
--The new Big Sky Conference TV deal with regional network Root Sports may not directly bring programming to Sacramento area, but Sacramento State athletic director Terry Wanless said that it will save the athletic department a significant amount of money. Wanless, who is part of the league's TV committee, told SacStateSports.com that the conference's nine schools paid $100,000 to have games televised on Altitude, their previous television partner. That came to about $11,000 a school. Now Root Sports will pay the Big Sky televise about as 30 events a year.
--Wanless told SacStateSports.com three California schools (Sac State, UC Davis and Cal Poly), NAU and North Dakota are not in the Root Sports coverage area, although though the Root networks can be picked up via DirecTV, Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse. However, he said he will work directly with regional suppliers like Comcast Sports Net to get Big Sky games broadcast locally. Also, with the Pac-12 networks signing on this summer, Comcast Sports Net California and Comcast Sports Net Bay Area will need programming to replace Cal and Stanford events.
"We're still working on finalizing some details," Wanless said. "A good part of this deal too is that we will retain the rights to the secondary market games. If Root takes our Davis game to televise, our Cal Poly game is very attractive and it may be still available for us to sell on our own. We will work with the local vendors to get as many games televised as possible."
--Freshman point guard Dylan Garrity failed to lead Sacramento State in assists for the first time all season when the Hornets lost 85-56 at Montana on Jan. 21. Garrity was credited with only two assists. He had never finished with any number less than four prior to the loss to the Grizzlies. Garrity still has an impressive 110 assists with only 49 turnovers entering this week.
Idaho State
--In a game that pitted two programs with interim head coaches on Jan. 21, Idaho State continued to show improvement behind the leadership of senior forward Chase Grabau and Northern Arizona continued to struggle. The Lumberjacks lost 78-62 and are now 1-12 on the road overall and 0-5 on the road in the Big Sky. Grabau led Idaho State with a near triple-double as the Boulder, Colo., native posted 19 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
"You never have to worry about Chase," said Idaho State interim coach Deane Martin, whose team overcame a 22-point deficit with 11 minutes remaining at Sacramento State the previous weekend. "Chase is going to get shots. He doesn't do crazy stuff. He comes off screens hard, he sets good screens and a lot of times when you set good screens you just happen to be the man open. Chase has it figured out. He takes the ball to the basket, he gets fouled, he takes easy shots and when he doesn't have a good shot he dishes it out to his teammates. He plays hard and he plays the game the right way on both ends of the floor."
--Idaho State has turned it on in the second half of recent games. A week after beating Sacramento State after trailing by 22 points with almost 11 minutes left in regulation, the Bengals went on a 14-0 run at the 9:20 mark of the second half to widen their lead to 25 points against Northern Arizona.
"We knew that if we could get out and defend them, we could make it hard on them," Martin said. "I think what happened was that we came out and got after them and they got a little down and then just folded the tent. That's what you want to do when you are a good defensive team. We have been working on that a lot in practice and if this team figures out a few more things and really bites into it, they could really have a lot of fun on that end of the floor."
--Idaho State had its largest rebounding margin of the season as it out-rebounded Northern Arizona 38-22.
Eastern Washington
--Eastern Washington's 78-76 overtime loss at home to Portland State on Jan. 20 featured 14 ties -- a season high total for the Eagles -- and eight lead changes. Eastern Washington was 3-6 in games decide by 10 points or less through Jan. 22.
"These are all really close games -- we're right there with them," said Eastern Washington first-year head coach Jim Hayford of his team's last two league outings, including a 71-70 loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 14. "We've had an overtime game and a one-point loss in our last two league games. I need to keep coaching, keep grinding and get this thing turned around. I never said it would be easy when I took the job and it's not easy."
--Eastern Washington shot an uncharacteristic 6-of-25 from three-point range in the Portland State loss. The Eagles entered the game ranked second in NCAA Division I with an average of 9.9 treys per game. Collin Chiverton, a junior guard, made four of those six three-pointers in the game, finishing at a 4-of-11 clip. He entered the game ranked seventh nationally making an average of 3.4 threes a game.
--Chiverton had his fourth-straight 20-point game in Eastern Washington's loss to Portland State on Jan. 21. It was his 10th such performance in 20 games this season.
--Eastern Washington had just nine turnovers to Portland State's 11, marking the 19th time in 20 games this season the Eagles have had fewer turnovers than their opponent.
Montana
--Senior forward Art Steward, 6-foot-4, continued his remarkable shooting in league play in the Grizzlies' 85-56 victory over Sacramento State on Jan. 21. He led the Grizzlies with 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting, boosting his field goal percentage to a league-best 73.3 percent in seven Big Sky games.
"He's strong as an ox and he knows how to post up," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. "His teammates screened well for him to get him open and the perimeter guys got him the ball in good areas. When he's dialed in he's a really good finisher down there. He has big, broad shoulders and he's a tough matchup when he's guarded by a perimeter player."
-In last week's sweep of Northern Colorado and Sacramento State, the Grizzlies shot 54 percent from the field, forced 45 turnovers and held their opponents to 43 percent shooting. That should provide some momentum for a team that plays five of its next six games on the road beginning Jan. 26 at Eastern Washington.
"We knew we weren't going to be home for a while, so we had to take care of business this weekend and our guys responded," Tinkle said after his team's 85-56 victory over visiting Sacramento State.
--Tinkle might want to tinker with Montana's defense more, specifically its man-to-man defense. The Grizzlies came to life after switching from a man-to-man to a zone against Northern Colorado in a 76-58 win on Jan. 19. Northern Colorado made 10 of its first 16 shots to take a 28-16 lead with 9:28 to play in the first half. From that point until Montana took a 26-point lead -- a span of only 22 minutes -- the Bears were 5-of-17 from the field and turned the ball over 21 times.
"You could say it was the zone, but I thought we just got more aggressive," said Montana guard Will Cherry, as quoted by the Missoulian. "Even in the zone we were aggressive. Coming out in the man-to-man we were kind of lackadaisical, in a fog. When you don't play hard, that's when doubt creeps in and you play in a fog, you start thinking too much. But when we started playing hard and letting the game come to us and started being more aggressive on defense, they started to pull back on the reins a little bit."
Montana State
--After losing four straight games, including the conference opener by 16 points at home to Big Sky second-division team Eastern Washington, the Bobcats have caught fire. They have gone 5-1 since, with their only loss at league-leading and unbeaten Weber State. Montana State's 84-72 victory at home against Northern Colorado on Jan. 21 is indicative of how the Bobcats have answered challenges as of late. The Big Sky defending champion Bears made runs throughout but Montana State always answered to keep a double-digit lead.
"When it got to nine in the second half, we answered," Montana State coach Brad Huse said. "We didn't look emotionally too high or too low tonight, and that's important in league (games). I thought we handled the lead better."
--The Bobcats hit a season-high 13 three-pointers against Northern Colorado and turned the ball over only six times (a season-low). MSU's 48 first-half points was the team's most since the Northern New Mexico game on Nov. 13.
--Six of Montana State's eight Division I victories this season have come by seven points or less. "Our guys have been there before so they knew what had to be done to get the win," Huse said after the Bobcats held on to beat Sacramento State 72-65 at home on Jan. 19.
Portland State
--Senior guard Charles Odum backed up his Big Sky Player of the Week honors by scoring a career-high 29 points in an 80-68 victory over Idaho State on Jan. 16 and then hitting a game-winning shot with two seconds left in overtime at Eastern Washington, lifting the Vikings to a 78-76 win on Jan. 21. Odum finished with 20 points, his eighth 20-point effort of the season, seven of them coming on the road.
"That was a big shot. He came up huge," said Portland State coach Tyler Geving of his guard's 12-foot leaning shot. "Charles was huge down the stretch. We just ran a four-low for him and he made a big play."
--Portland State's overtime win at Eastern Washington was its first overtime game in two seasons and its first win in overtime in three seasons.
--The Vikings were not dismayed by an incredulous bank-shot three-pointer by Eastern Washington's Collin Chiverton with 31 seconds left in overtime that tied the game at 76. That set up a game-winning shot by senior guard Charles Odum, who has come up big on the road this season, scoring 20 points or more seven times. Odum nailed a 12-foot jump shot with two seconds left for the victory.
"When (Chiverton) made that, it was like 'C'mon on!'" Geving said in disbelief. "But we had the last shot, the last possession. We were able to make it, so it was good. It was a gutsy performance."
Northern Colorado
--Montana State drained 13 three-pointers against visiting Northern Colorado in an 84-72 win on Jan. 21. The Bobcats became the ninth Bears opponent this season to hit 10 or more three-pointers in a game, and the third to do it in the last four games. The Bears made 26 of 50 shots from the floor and shot better overall than the Bobcats (52 percent to 44.8 percent) and outrebounded them 32-30, giving them a rebounding edge in seven of eight games. Their three-point shooting defensive struggles made both of those efforts for naught.
--Northern Colorado's plus-4.4 rebounding margin is the top mark of the Big Sky Conference's nine programs entering this week. The Bears have out-rebounded their opponents in seven of their last eight games and 14 times in 18 games this season. It's not equating to a lot of wins, though. Northern Colorado is 5-9 when outrebounding opponents this season.
