As much as I enjoy listening to the great Tony Caridi beautifully paint the picture of the action unfolding with his words, it’s absolutely unacceptable that the West Virginia Mountaineers game against the Youngstown State Penguins is not televised or available via live stream.
One of the most alarming parts of West Virginia sports is the fans’ inability to know when and where to watch the Mountaineers play. With so many options available, it’s inconceivable to even imagine that one of them couldn’t pick up all West Virginia games.
Perhaps it’s the overwhelming amount of options available that make it challenging. ATSN, FS1, Big 12 Now, ESPN+, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU? Does anyone know if they even have these channels?
The University of Texas makes it very easy. Games are either on one of the main ESPN channels or on The Longhorn Network. Why is there not a Mountaineers Network? Or West Virginia Network? The West Virginia Mountaineers are the only team in the state worth watching and yet there isn’t one local network capable of or willing to make the team a priority?
During today’s game, local CBS channel WDTV is showing “Xploration: Weird But True” and “Xploration: Awesome Planet” and local NBC Channel 12 WBOY is showing EPL Soccer Leicester City vs. Manchester City. There is simply no way that either of these programming options will get anywhere near the viewers as a West Virginia basketball game.
Maybe it’s not up to these channels and has something to do with West Virginia University making it difficult. The West Virginia University media and communications departments are decades behind the rest of the country, so it wouldn’t surprise me, but I don’t want to make any accusations without full knowledge of the situation.
However, someone is dropping the ball and it’s absolute madness that 1.8 West Virginians (and many more outside of the state) who will be sitting around a radio today listening to the Mountaineers like it’s 1950.
