For the first time in their 12-year arrangement with the University of Maine, WVII ABC 7/WFVX Fox 22 will broadcast all five Black Bear home football games this fall.
The Bangor-based station usually televised three per season.
“This is the first time they’ve been able to find air time for all five home games,” said Justin Barnes, the general manager of Van Wagner, which oversees the UMaine athletic department’s sponsorships and multimedia rights.
“We’ve had a really good partnership with them (WVII, WFVX) over the years,” said Barnes.
Mike Palmer, vice president and general manager of WVII and WFVX, said in a press release that the ongoing partnership with the university and Van Wagner is exciting.
“I could not be happier broadcasting all five home football games,” he said.
Barnes said they needed a special clearance from UMaine’s football conference, the Coastal Athletic Association, to air the games.
All of the CAA football games are streamed live on FloSports, a subscription-based service.
Four of the five locally-televised games will be CAA contests.
Barnes said the station doesn’t have to pay a rights fee to the university because they share advertising time during the broadcast.
The list of games being aired by WVII/WFVX begins with the non-conference season-opener against Colgate at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30. That will be shown on Fox 22.
Colgate was 6-5 a year ago, 4-2 in the Patriot League, and has been picked fourth among seven teams in the preseason coaches poll.
That game will also be shown on MeTV in Portland.
UMaine was 2-9 overall for the second straight season and was 1-7 in the CAA. The Black Bears were picked 13th out of 16 teams in the preseason coaches poll.
The four CAA games will all be Saturday afternoon encounters.
The Black Bears will face Monmouth on Sept. 14 (3:30, ABC 7); Villanova on Oct. 19 (1 p.m., Fox 22), Bryant on Nov. 9 (1 p.m., ABC 7) and New Hampshire on Nov. 23 (1 p.m., ABC 7).
Monmouth was 4-7 last season, 3-5 in the CAA, and will be quarterbacked by transfer Derek Robertson, who was UMaine’s signal-caller last fall.
Villanova shared the league regular season title with Albany and Richmond a year ago by going 7-1 in league play. Villanova reached the Football Championship Subdivision where it lost to eventual national champion South Dakota State 23-12.
South Dakota State had beaten its three other playoff opponents by an average of 40 points.
Villanova is the preseason favorite in the CAA.
Bryant is making its CAA debut this season after going 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big South-OVC last fall.
Bryant was chosen 15th in the preseason poll.
UNH was selected seventh after going 4-4 in the CAA a year ago and 6-5 overall.
Barnes said having the games on a local station has a number of positive aspects.
“It gives the football program extra exposure. It’s good for the advertisers and sponsors and it can attract future partnerships,” he said.
He doesn’t think it will hurt attendance.
In fact, Barnes thinks it will help the turnout because it will draw attention to the team and the game-day atmosphere which will encourage fans to come to the games.
The University of Maine will produce the telecasts which is a benefit to WVII/WFVX because it will save them the cost of producing the games, said Barnes.
Jim Churchill and Bryan Stackpole comprise the broadcast team.
