The men who head the sports divisions of ABC and CBS say the networks did not do well financially...
The men who head the sports divisions of ABC and CBS say the networks did not do well financially in their telecasts of NCAA football games last season. "We had the worst year financially in our history for college football," said Jim Spence, president of ABC Sports. CBS Sports President Neal Pilson said the situation was the same for his network. The network officials, meeting in Oregon, blamed the lack of profits on overexposure and too high a price tag for the right to show the games … The Justice Department yesterday urged Supreme Court Justice Byron White not to stay a lower court order which nullified the NCAA's existing television contracts and opened the way for colleges to make their own TV deals.
The Miami News, 7/20/1983. Twenty-nine years ago "A bad year for college football" meant something just a little bit different than it does now.