By Andy Matarrese
This fall, two home games for the women's soccer team will be aired on national television. The Oct. 25 game against San Diego will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on the Fox Soccer Channel, and the Oct. 28 match against Santa Clara will air on ESPNU at ?2 p.m.
The Athletic Department is excited about showing off the team and university on such a grand scale. Home games, when they are televised, usually only appear on local stations in Portland.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for us to display excellence," Athletic Director Larry Williams said.
Williams said that televised games are a kind of public relations tool. Schools are glad to show off their athletic programs and facilities, and conferences are happy to display the caliber of their teams.
"The television medium is one that can reach thousands and thousands eyeballs that we may not be able to get on campus," he said.
The Fox Soccer Channel reaches more than 30 million households in the U.S. and Caribbean countries. ESPNU, a member of the ESPN family of networks that airs only college sports, reaches about 20 million households. Local station KPDX, which has broadcasted Pilots games in the past, reaches about 1.5 million households.
Both games are high profile WCC conference match-ups, with both opposing teams ranked nationally in the latest polls.
According to Williams, the renovations to the Clive Charles Soccer Complex over the summer have made Portland's soccer facilities even more media-friendly than they already were and will limit the impact of the broadcasters' presence to a few TV platforms and lifts for cameras.
Williams hopes that the broadcasting-friendly environment of Merlo Field will encourage more broadcasters to come to Portland, and maybe persuade the NCAA to hold playoff games at UP.
"We really do want to fully utilize the television tool because we can reach a much broader audience than the 5,000 we're limited to within the confines of our stadium," Williams said.
The WCC has the broadcast rights of all the games held by its member schools and has in the past worked deals for broadcasting basketball with ESPN in the past.
ESPNU, having experience with the conference, approached conference and school leadership about the Santa Clara match. The Fox Soccer Channel also came to the WCC and the university, and wanted to broadcast the San Diego match as its Thursday game of the week.
"It's an emerging market we want to cultivate and grow," Williams said.
According to Media Relations Director Jason Brough, both networks were interested in the high-profile match-ups, and came to the school and conference with the proposition of broadcasting the games.
Brough said it's harder to generate as much excitement among broadcasters and viewers for women's soccer, but thinks that the television coverage will help alleviate that sentiment.
"Not a lot of women's soccer teams are televised on national TV," Brough said.
The prospect of presenting Portland's soccer program as a whole was very inciting for the university.
"I think it's good for the sport," he said.
Brough echoed Williams' sentiments, saying that he hopes the games will show that women's soccer can pack 4,000 to 5,000 fans into the stands, and will show off the soccer program, facilities and fan support.
"We're very proud of our women's soccer program," Brough said. "It's our goal to showcase that as much as possible."
On the field, the nationwide audience won't make much of a difference for the team, according to Head Coach Garrett Smith.
Although the attention might rattle other teams, Smith said the Pilots have been to Final Fours, National Championships and the like, and are no strangers to the spotlight, but added that he is pleased to see the team and the sport receive further publicity.
He knows many on the team will be happy that out of town friends and families will be able to see the matches, adding that he and the team always welcome more fans.
Televised matches make it easier on parents who can instead see matches on television, said redshirt freshman Sophie Schmidt.
"It takes the stress off (my parents), to not have to travel and physically be here," said Schmidt, whose parents live in Canada.
Schmidt said that parents who can't make it to games really enjoy seeing their daughters on television.
"It just allows your families to support you," said Schmidt, saying parents often call after televised games and offer up their congratulations and "good jobs."
According to Schmidt, the national TV hype doesn't really make any difference when playing.
"You just go out and play the game," she said. "But it is awkward when there's a camera in your face. You don't know whether to smile or be serious."
