When ESPN decided to mimic its weekly Saturday morning college football preview show into a similar college basketball program, the network ran into difficulties.

College football has its day – Saturday – and it’s easy for the network to arrange the weekly schedule to feature a new location every week.

But basketball? Saturday is just one of seven days when basketball runs rampant, so finding a concrete schedule of games proved difficult.

Instead of starting the concept several years ago like it first wanted to, ESPN had to settle for this winter. The scheduling finally fell into place and the network found a full slate of primetime games and locations.

While Syracuse has never been a location for the football version of GameDay, the Carrier Dome will host the basketball version on Saturday. ESPN will broadcast three shows, starting with an hour-long show at 11 a.m. A second show starts at 8 p.m. and leads up to the Orange’s 9 p.m. game against Notre Dame before an expected record-breaking crowd. The final show premieres from the Dome at midnight.

‘We’re excited about coming,’ said Mac Nwolu, a spokesperson for ESPN. ‘The response has been very good so far.’

When finalizing its schedule for GameDay last winter, Nwolu said, ESPN looked for rivalry games that not only appeared strong then, but showdowns that would grab strong attention this year. The network also had to find games that could be televised later at night for primetime ratings.

But that wasn’t all the station had to worry about. With football, ESPN often locates its pre-game studio set outside with crazed fans in the background. But for basketball, the advance location scouts planned for inclement weather while touring locations last winter. Thus, all set locations are planned indoors.

When ESPN televised from Storrs, Conn., two weeks ago for its initial telecast prior to Connecticut’s game against Pittsburgh, 3,400 students showed up for the 11 a.m. show. The set was located inside Gampel Pavilion, overlooking the court.

But last Saturday’s GameDay featured a set in a hallway of Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas. The strange setup limited the number of students in attendance, and Nwolu admitted it was an awkward location born out of necessity.

‘That’s what happens in winter,’ Nwolu said.

After its visit to Syracuse, GameDay will also hit College Park, Md. (Maryland), Lexington, Ky. (Kentucky), and Stillwater, Okla. (Oklahoma State).

The GameDay setup at Syracuse will be reminiscent of the one Connecticut utilized. The set will be built on Friday in the upper part of Section 101, which borders the pep band section.

The GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Digger Phelps and Jay Bilas will have their backs to the crowd as they broadcast shows at 11 a.m., 8 p.m. and midnight.

When Syracuse learned of ESPN’s involvement with Saturday’s game, it soon became ‘the game of the year,’ Carrier Dome Managing Director Pat Campbell said. The athletic department then made the decision to also market the game as a ‘Break the Record’ night. Organizers hope to shatter Syracuse’s existing record for the largest-attended college basketball game in an on-campus venue.

Syracuse set the record on March 7, 2003 against Rutgers when 33,071 fans showed up at the Carrier Dome. That game received a boost because it was former Syracuse standout Carmelo Anthony’s final home game and it wasn’t televised locally.

As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 31,500 tickets had been sold to Saturday night’s game, which is televised nationally on ESPN.

While more than 1,600 tickets have to be sold to ensure Saturday’s game breaks the record, Campbell sounded optimistic. He pointed toward Notre Dame’s win over Connecticut on Saturday night, a warm forecast for the rest of the week and the athletic department’s continued efforts in marketing the game as reasons why the record will fall.

‘I’d like to be a little closer (to the record),’ Campbell said. ‘I’d like to be sold out on Friday afternoon.’

Campbell said that if necessary, the box office will cap ticket sales at around 33,500 tickets and officially sell out. Every seat, Campbell said, will have a sightline to the court, though binoculars might be handy for those farthest away.

Fans wanting to buy tickets on Tuesday had the option of Section 322 Row W, high up in a back corner of the Dome.

Nwolu said ESPN wasn’t aware of Syracuse’s efforts in breaking the attendance record but said the network would ‘love to be a part of it.’

It’s safe to say a throng of Syracuse students will be a part of the action early Saturday morning.

Campbell announced via e-mail to Syracuse student season-ticket holders last week that they’d be allowed into the Dome through Gate E starting at 9:30 on Saturday morning for the initial broadcast. Students can sign up online at a special Web site to win prizes throughout the morning (carrierdome.syr.edu/espn.asp).

Registration is not necessary to be a part of the broadcast. Campbell said more than 500 students signed up over the weekend. He anticipates at least 1,000 students will show up and Nwolu said ESPN has been tracking the number of fans at the early taping through a ‘Fan Meter.’

Only students will be allowed in for the 11 a.m. show and they will be asked to leave at noon.

‘The students are great about it,’ Campbell said. ‘They’ll show up and their whole bodies will be orange. It’s like they go jump in a big orange dunk tank.’

Published on February 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm