Rebels brokering deal with ESPN

Steve Addy

Thursday, May 11, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

The next time you tune in a Rebels football or basketball game, brace yourself for the familiar ESPN theme music, over and over.

UNLV and ESPN are deep into negotiations for the sports network to purchase radio and TV rights to the university's athletic program, and a multiyear deal could be completed this month.

While not naming ESPN, Rebels athletic director Charles Cavagnaro said Wednesday that talks are progressing with a major sports network to take over UNLV's radio broadcasts and selected games on television. Other UNLV sources confirmed the talks are with ESPN.

If a deal is struck, ESPN would pay UNLV an annual rights fee and handle all aspects of the broadcasts -- production, hiring broadcasters, selling advertising. Under its ESPN Regional banner, the network owns the rights at other schools including Kansas, Oregon, TCU and South Florida.

ESPN officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Cavagnaro would not discuss the negotiations, but radio industry sources said the package could pay the university as much as $2 million over a five-year period -- a significant increase over proceeds generated by the current in-house productions by the Thomas & Mack Center.

Cavagnaro said selling the rights is beneficial to UNLV in myriad ways.

"It is a partnership that will raise the profile of the entire program," Cavagnaro said. "We have a great brand name with UNLV and we should have a brand name rights-holder.

"We're trying to market our school and our product like the major institutions in the country. This is a step up, but it is not a short-term fix or a purely financial thing. We hope this will help us extend our reach in Southern California. That is our main recruiting area for students and student-athletes."

Cavagnaro said under the new contract, football and basketball broadcasts would remain on ESPN 920-AM, which is not owned by the network, but carries ESPN Radio programming.

Aside from ESPN stamping its personality on the broadcasts, the partnership could result in changes in on-air talent. Though there is no indication that changes will be made, and UNLV will retain talent approval, ESPN would be paying the on-air salaries. So there's no guarantee the current broadcasters would be held over.

"Anybody on the air would be somebody that we approved of," Cavagnaro said.

Since 1992, the Rebels' basketball broadcasters have been Ken Korach on play-by-play and ex-UNLV star Glen Gondrezick on color. Tony Cordasco handles football play-by-play. Hunkie Cooper won't return as football color commentator, having resigned after last season.

Though ESPN's influence will be felt predominantly on radio, it will also televise football and basketball games not covered under Mountain West Conference contracts with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Regional and SportsWest. Those deals pay UNLV more than $1 million a year.

"We had one football game and one basketball game last season that would have fallen into that category," Cavagnaro said.

Selling the rights will have an impact on the Thomas & Mack Center. Because the T&M has held the rights, radio advertisements were promised in contracts with several sponsors. But the T&M will no longer control that advertising, so those contracts will have to be reworked, T&M corporate sales director Bill Townsend said.

"We were prepared for this (the rights being sold)," Townsend said. "We think we have done a good job marketing the UNLV program. We hope the new rights-holders will carry that on. We will need to renegotiate six or seven sponsor contracts, but we'll be all right."

Steve Addy covers UNLV basketball for the Sun. Reach him at 259-4087 or by e-mail at addy@lasvegassun.com.