The 2003-04 college football season is under way, and fans around the country are settling back on the couch, potato chips in hand, ready to yell at the television screen because the receiver should have caught the ball.

But as fans flip through the network and cable channels looking for a good game, most give little thought to the time that goes into choosing which games are aired on which channels at what time.

It's a puzzle that's put together sometimes months in advance, but at times with as little as six days' notice.

For example, ABC's college football schedule posted on the Internet in August shows six games on September 6. But on September 20, only one game is listed. Of course, other games will be shown, but the network will wait until later in the season to pick the matchups that are likely to produce the best games, which usually translate to the highest ratings.

"The real goal here is to put the best schedule you can out there, while at the same time making sure you don't do something earlier in the season that's going to cost you late in the year when maybe a conference title or a BCS berth is on the line," said Loren Matthews, senior vice-president of programming for ABC Sports. "In some cases the games pick themselves. It's not brain surgery to pick Michigan-Ohio State. I think my beagle could look at the schedule and pick that game."

Arranging the pieces

For the first three weeks of the season, games that will be shown on ABC generally were selected in May or June, Matthews said. So-called 12-day picks (games picked for broadcast 12 days before game day) generally start in the third week of September. Networks also may have the option of picking games only six days out -- though in many contracts with conferences there's a cap on the number of times this can be done in a season.

"In football, the result of one game can totally change the perspective or attractiveness of (another) game and that's why you have to wait as long as you can," explained Tom Odjakjian, associate commissioner for the Big East Conference.

While it can be frustrating for teams, and their fans, to not know if a game will be on television or what time it will start until a week or so out, some conference officials say it's the only fair way to ensure teams deserving of television appearances get that exposure.

Tim Allen, associate commissioner for the Big 12 Conference, noted that if all games were picked before the season started, only the marquee teams would be broadcast in every time slot. Lesser-known teams, which may be playing for conference championships or BCS berths by the middle to end of the season, would not get the publicity that comes with a television appearance.

"What conference offices try to do is to make sure that the networks are always reviewing that information and are up to speed on what's happening and what some of the stories are in a fair and balanced perspective," Allen said.

Some conferences have provisions in the television contracts that guarantee each team must appear at least once during the length of the contract. In other cases, there's a cap on the number of times any one team can appear. In the Mountain West Conference, for example, there is a maximum of six appearances allowed per institution, though networks can request a waiver of that rule. In the Big 12, however, no school can appear on television in more than eight games a season without the league's permission.

Matthews described the process as a balancing act between the contractual obligations to the various conferences. For example, he said, ABC would not want to be in a situation where it's late in the season, there's a Nebraska game that really matters and he has used all his Nebraska appearances.

"I'd probably jump off a bridge if that ever happens," he said.

Connecting the pieces

In the world of college football, ABC is the network with the most Division I-A conference contracts, while ESPN, including ESPN Regional, has the most contracts for cable outlets. CBS has a contract with the Southeastern Conference, while NBC is contracted to broadcast all Notre Dame home games. Fox Sports Net also has contracts with conferences, such as the Big 12 and Pacific-10, but can pick the games it will broadcast only after ABC has chosen its games. Regional networks, such as Jefferson Pilot and Sportswest, also have contracts with certain conferences.

ESPN, in many cases, also can pick its games only after ABC and CBS have picked theirs. However, ABC and ESPN both belong to the same corporate family -- Disney Sports -- and in some instances, ABC will "give" ESPN a marquee game.

For example, on October 11, ESPN, rather than ABC, will broadcast the Ohio State-Wisconsin game. Matthews said that "on paper" the match between the Buckeyes and the Badgers technically looks like the best Big Ten game that day, but he stepped aside because Wisconsin was willing to play Ohio State at night so it could be shown on ESPN.

"I did not need to be piggish," Matthews said. "This works out best for the corporation, for college football."

Looking at Jefferson Pilot's ACC and SEC schedules posted on its Web site, for many dates it lists two, three or even four possible games that could be shown on any given Saturday. That's because ABC has the first pick for ACC games, followed by ESPN. With the SEC, CBS has the first pick, followed by ESPN. After those picks are made, Jefferson Pilot can choose its game.

Teams may often choose nonconference opponents that will get them the greatest television exposure.

Duane Lindberg, Pac-10 assistant commissioner, said his teams would often look for games that will attract national attention, especially outside of the West Coast. Lindberg acknowledged that games involving nonconference participants outside the West Coast generally have a better chance of getting national exposure than games with just Pac-10 teams.

Those conference contracts, however, apply only to home games. For example, CBS gets first dibs on any Florida home game, but when the Gators head to Miami (Florida) September 6, ABC will broadcast that game because ABC has the contract with the Big East.

Maximum exposure

Matthews said ABC has 30 windows, or time periods, it must fill with college football during the season. The network's main time slot is 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Saturdays, but it also shows games at noon and in prime time Saturdays, plus on days such as the Friday after Thanksgiving.

"ABC's philosophy is certainly of a regional nature that you're going to get the most interest and higher ratings primarily by showing the telecast that is of greatest interest to that region," he said, "although we certainly do nationals and split nationals as well."

ESPN, meanwhile, will show 109 games this season -- with games airing nearly every day of the week, not just the traditional Saturday games.

Dave Brown, director of programming and acquisitions for ESPN, said its high number of time slots allows it to showcase teams and players that may normally be overlooked by the networks. He said ESPN likes to show players such as Miami (Ohio) quarterback Ben Rothelsberger or quarterback Byron Leftwich, who was at Marshall last year.

"We love putting guys like that on," Brown said. "There are a lot of good football players, not just in the biggest conferences and the biggest schools. They're all over the map."

Brown said 37 percent, or 40 games, this season are not on Saturday, which gives ESPN the flexibility to showcase lesser-known schools, as well as the better-known programs.

"For us, with Thursdays and Fridays and some of our mid-week games and Labor Day and everything else, we are always on the hunt to fill all these windows," he said. "We are able to fill a lot of programming time with really high-quality games."

ESPN's weekday games also are a boon for some conferences.

"We have scheduled more games on weeknights than our contract requires because it's great exposure. The ratings are higher than on Saturday and you get tremendous coverage and it's been really good for us and really good for ESPN," said the Big East's Odjakjian. "There's so many games on Saturday that you can get lost in the shuffle. A football game on a weeknight when there is not other competition on will generate a very good number."

Spreading the message

Conference officials say television appearances in general, no matter the network or time slot, boost a school's profile, help in recruiting, increase revenue and provide fans and alumni with greater access to their favorite teams.

For conferences such as the young Mountain West, which was founded in 1999, television is crucial.

"Our television agreement has been one of the key cornerstones in the inception and growth of this program," said Bret Gilliland, associate commissioner of the conference. "I think in nearly five years we have progressed very well, and that exposure and that revenue and that brand recognition have been very important to us."

Even for more well-established conferences, such as the Big Ten, the television exposure is essential.

Big Ten Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner said his conference has the largest footprint of any conference, with fans spread throughout the country. Television allows fans, no matter where they live, to see their teams in action.

But television does more than highlight the football team, Rudner noted. Highlights of the campus and other aspects of the universities are often shown during games.

"I think that's probably one of the more singular improvements that we've seen in the last 20 years is the fact that the telecast does include more feeling for the institution than just a football team," he said. "When those institutions are appearing on television, it's really a message about the institution and higher education, so we try to capitalize on that message."