The biggest mistake I've ever seen on ESPN
Today, I was watching a segment on Outside the Lines First Report. The story was on big football schools having small-college opponents in non-conference games, and the money it brings in. The example given was Auburn taking on Buffalo, a Mid-American Conference team.
The story was one thing.
Buffalo originally had West Virginia and Rutgers, but changed the schedule in March for Auburn and Wisconsin.
The story in itself was fine enough, but then something strange happened.
Buffalo head coach Turner Gill said the move was made to "have enough resources to be competitive in the Mid-American Conference. (emphasis mine)"
OK. A few minutes later, when describing a schedule switch, ESPN reporter Kelly Naqi said this "Mid-Atlantic Conference commissioner Rick Chryst says he suggested the schedule changes to Buffalo."
Now, wait a minute. It's one thing to call a conference by the wrong name. It's a pretty big mistake for the World Wide Leader in sports. But to call the conference by the wrong name, within a report in which the correct name was said earlier, is borderline insane.
Bob Ley, the host, did not correct the mistake when the show came back to the studio.
I'll come clean. I went to a MAC school, graduated from a MAC school, and covered MAC schools. I have always been proud of that, and proud of the sports programs, and the recent success they have had. So I'm insulted by the mistake, probably more than most.
And I understand that no matter how much research and work is done, mistakes will be made, even on a media giant like ESPN.
But given that the piece was a recorded package, and the right name was said before the wrong one within the story, it makes me wonder about all sorts of things. Why didn't someone notice the error? Why wasn't it corrected by Ley?
It's by far the biggest mistake I have ever seen on ESPN.