Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Keep a Watchful Eye on Your Owls
10/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 10, 2012
Florida Atlantic football returns to action this weekend when your Owls travel to the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Kick-off is set for 8:07 EST. The trip is a long one as the team will leave 11 a.m. Friday and will return home approximately 5 a.m. Sunday. It's also a hard trip for the fans and family which makes it great that the game will be carried on CSS as part of the Sun Belt Network.
There are many advantages to being affiliated with a league, the first and most obvious is scheduling, but the Sun Belt has done a nice job building its television packages and helping the league universities by promoting the institutions. Prior to FAU moving to the Sun Belt, the athletic department served as its own production company and hired crews at various locations to bring the game back to Florida Atlantic fans. This is a time-consuming and expensive task. Fortunately, this was paid for through a sponsorship but the burden was still great on the staff.
The saying is old but true. "The athletic department is the front porch to the university's home." This department values that role. Football games each week provide fans across the country the opportunity to hear and see FAU's message. This week, newly hired athletics director Pat Chun will have an opportunity to express his vision at halftime, so wait to grab your sandwich until just before the third quarter begins and make sure the volume is up.
Providing the television coverage is just part of the battle. As you can imagine, restaurants throughout South Florida are packed. Many serve as host sites for various university watch parties. Some years it was harder to find a restaurant that would carry the game than it was to find a station to carry the game. Not so with Duffy's in Deerfield Beach.
Duffy's in Deerfield has been an outstanding partner to Florida Athletics. Duffy's carries the game, keeps the volume up and the specials coming. Not only do they serve as the host for the official game day watch parties, Duffy's also serves as the host for the FAUSportsPage radio show 6 p.m. each Tuesday, throughout football season. I have also heard that the watch parties have now extended to Sundays so that FAU fans can cheer for Rusty Smith, Rob Housler, Lestar Jean and Alfred Morris.
Catch the football game this weekend on CSS and catch Owl fans at Duffy's in Deerfield. See you there!
