Correcting the record

The Mountain West Conference has a new feature on its Web site that seeks to clarify errors made by the media when discussing the conference. The first correction was of a brief that appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the penetration in Fort Worth of the MWC TV deal. The Star-Telegram in a college notes column the other day printed that the addition by Charter Communications of CSTV marked the first time fans in Fort Worth would benefit from the league's TV deal.

Someone in Colorado Springs got upset and thought it was time to correct the record. Five TCU football games were broadcast last year on Versus, available on Charter, themwc.com pointed out. To be fair, this is true. But what kind of a sports league wastes staff time correcting an error made in a college notes column? I understand the MWC is sensitive about all the talk about its sub-par TV deal. But the league would have been better off to have the staffer who wrote the correction call the Star-Telegram and report the error. Establishment of a protocol to call attention on the Web to errors by the media is highly unusual for a sports league. Again, the proper way to do so is to call someone at the paper -- usually the writer or editor -- and discussing the mistake.

Maybe the MWC feels burned by the media. That's fair. But my contention is the media have just sought to tell the story of the league's unraveling credibility as accurately as possible. Sometimes, mistakes will be made. The MWC made a colossal mistake when it decided cut ties with ESPN and establish a network of its own. The last thing a league struggling to gain national exposure needs to do is remove the little possibility of nationwide penetration of homes that exists. The Mountain West's new TV deal is on life support, just as it was last year, when TCU appeared on Versus five times. The arrangement with Versus would not have been necessary had CSTV been more established. But the bosses in Colorado Springs don't want to advertise this.

Before publicly calling out the media, the MWC needs to take a long look at how it is doing business and the perception that is creating across America. Once it does, maybe it will realize what those of us who care enough to pay attention have known since the deal with the mtn. was first announced: that the leadership needs to find itself or step aside in favor of someone who knows how to run a sports league.