Jan. 13, 2010

DENVER - The end of the decade proved to be the best season ever for the Western Athletic Conference in terms of ESPN viewership with three of the top 10 games having featured Louisiana Tech.

The WAC's games on ESPN during the regular season averaged a 1.61 rating, the highest ever for the league in a single season. One ratings point represents just under one million households watching the game.

Louisiana Tech's highest rated game was the Bulldogs' Nov. 6 date against Boise State where a 1.38 share (over 1.36 million) watched LA Tech pull within two points of the nationally-ranked Broncos in the fourth quarter. That game ranked seventh among the WAC's televised games this season.

LA Tech's Sept. 30 game against Hawai'i, a game in which the Bulldogs dominated in a 27-6 win, close to a million people tuned in as the game recorded a 0.99 share on ESPN2, more viewers than Major League Baseball's AL Central race being broadcasted simultaneously on ESPN. The battle against Hawai'i was ranked ninth among the WAC's televised contests in 2009.

Tech's game at Nevada on Oct. 9 recorded a 0.96 share (close to 950,000 viewers), a game that was the 10th-most watched WAC game this season.

"WAC football - with three BCS appearances in the last four years - continues to rise in popularity with college football viewers," said WAC Commissioner Karl Benson. "And thanks to ESPN, the nation has been able to see some very exciting football week in and week out during the season."

A total of more than 19 million homes watched WAC football during the regular season on ESPN or ESPN2.

Louisiana Tech had nine of its 12 games broadcast on national television during the 2009 season with five of those broadcasts on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. Two of ESPN's national broadcasts originated from Ruston - a first for Louisiana Tech.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.