Yet another FCS school will receive national, over-the-air TV exposure when The Citadel faces Clemson on The CW. On Monday, the network selected the game as part of their TV selections for November 23rd. Clemson’s lack of an appearance on the network so far this year played a role in this selection.
This game on The CW is arguably the best exposure The Citadel will receive in over four decades and possibly its most impactful non-conference game ever.
While The Citadel has games on local over-the-air networks thanks to the Southern Conference’s deal with Nexstar-owned stations in the South, they have not received exposure to this degree in decades. The Bulldogs benefitted from being one of the few FCS schools competing in the Fall 2020 season. Additionally, they played before the Big 10, PAC-12, MAC, and Mountain West began to play, creating limited competition for viewers when they played USF and Clemson on linear TV, your traditional cable networks. However, ESPNU aired the USF game, while the ACC Network aired the Clemson game, leading to low viewership numbers. Sports Media Watch has no viewership figures for either game.
While the Citadel has played numerous Power Five opponents in the past, regional sports networks and conference networks aired nearly all of those contests.
One would have to go back over 40 years for the last time The Citadel received this much exposure. In 1983, CBS aired The Citadel’s game with Appalachian State on nine stations as part of a regional slate that featured Ohio State-Iowa, Tulane-Kentucky, and Oklahoma State-Texas A&M. Less than two weeks later, TBS aired their game against VMI, The Military Classic of the South, in front of a national audience on a Thursday night. (Check out the mini-documentary I did on that game here). The best exposure The Citadel has received has come from local over-the-air TV appearances since this game.
Multiple FCS schools have benefitted from appearances on The CW. Below are ratings via Sports Media Watch for past games featuring FCS schools on the network:
- September 16, 2023: VMI @ NC State, 205,000 viewers
- November 18, 2023: North Alabama @ Florida State, 1.33 million viewers
- August 31, 2023: Idaho State @ Oregon State, 381,000 viewers
- August 31, 2023: Portland State @ Washington State, 223,000 viewers
The Bulldogs also benefit from playing one of the conference’s most well-known brands in Clemson. This brand power showed when the Tigers’ game against NC State on The CW last year was the second-most viewed regular season game on the network in 2023.
The Citadel’s appearance on The CW is over four decades in the making. It is an opportunity for the Bulldogs to showcase one of the most unique programs in college football. If the Bulldogs can play well against Clemson, it could provide even more momentum for a vastly improved team. More importantly, it is a showcase game for the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs can improve the national perception of the Southern Conference with a respectable performance.
