ABC/ESPN matchmaker serves up early treats

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2008 | by Michael Hiestand

ABC/ESPN programmer Dave Brown checks people's schedules to see if he can bring them together for meetings -- like Saturday's Appalachian State-LSU football game on ESPN.

"We were talking with LSU and they wanted a home game," he says. "Some things didn't work out. Appalachian State would take a shot. It's kind of neat."

Unless the game is canceled because of Tropical Storm Gustav, it will be the first between defending champs of the BCS and Football Championship Subdivision.

Not that Brown tries to make history. Although nearly all of the more than 170 college football games to be shown this season on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 were booked well in advance, Brown served as a sort of broker putting together early-season TV matchups -- including...