Home › Football
CU still discussing contract extension with KOA
LINCOLN, Neb. --- The voices of the Colorado Buffaloes --- Mark Johnson, Larry Zimmer and Charles Johnson --- packed up with the rest of the crew from KOA radio Friday evening at Memorial Stadium with no assurance they will be back to call CU football games in the future.
STORY TOOLS
More Football
- Expect another green herd of Buffs
- Buffs say heartbreak will be motivation
- CU kicked out of bowl party
Share and Enjoy [?]
The five-year radio agreement between KOA, CU and its licensing partner, Learfield Communications, Inc., ends when the men's basketball season is over. Talks are well underway for another five-year extension, but nothing has been finalized.
KOA has been broadcasting the Buffs continuously since the 1985 season, and has generally extended the deal in five-year increments. Athletic director Mike Bohn said the school is happy with its relationship with KOA, which provides a powerful signal that can be heard throughout most of the state during the day and throughout many neighboring states at night.
But Bohn said there has been interest from others who have proposed providing similar coverage through a network of stations. Learfield, which recently agreed to an extension of its relationship with CU, is responsible for securing a radio deal.
"I've got a lot of confidence in our rights holder to continue to escalate our visibility and our partnership and would anticipate them completing a radio agreement early in the new year," Bohn said.
Tough stuff
True freshman safety Patrick Mahnke played in place of Walters for the second consecutive game and produced a sack of Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz that ultimately led to the game-winning 57-yard field goal.
Mahnke finished the game with five tackles and was praised by coach Dan Hawkins for playing with a broken rib and a separated shoulder suffered during the game. Nebraska held a huge advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes, compared to 20 for the Buffs.
"It hurts, but you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess," Mahnke said.
Jones finishes strong
Senior linebacker Brad Jones served as defensive team captain Friday in place of fellow senior Ryan Walters, who was unable to play because of a sprained ankle and knee. Jones registered two of the Buffs' four sacks Friday and led the team this season with seven sacks.
Jones had produced just 2½ sacks in 1,545 plays in his first three years in the program, when he was used more in pass coverage than pass rushing.
J-Fly moves up
Josh Smith produced the best outing of his young career in terms of all-purpose yardage. He finished the day with 245 all-purpose yards, pushing him to No. 2 on CU's single-season list.
Only former tailback Rashaan Salaam has produced more total yardage in one season than Smith. That came during his run to the 2004 Heisman Trophy, when he racked up 2,349 yards.
Smith finished the 2008 campaign with 1,987 yards, the vast majority of which came from kickoff returns. He also caught 32 passes for 387 yards. Smith passed former running back Eric Bieniemy and Byron "Whizzer" White on Friday.
Notable
Colorado has now missed a bowl game in four of the past nine seasons. ... According to CU sports information staff, 44 of the 70 players who traveled to Lincoln had never been in Memorial Stadium before. ... Wide receiver Scotty McKnight finished the season with 46 catches for 519 yards, becoming the first player to lead the Buffs in receiving in consecutive seasons since Javon Green did so in 1999 and 2000. McKnight now has 1,007 career receiving yards. ... Despite his struggles this season, CU place-kicker Aric Goodman led the team in scoring with 45 points. It is the lowest total to lead the team since Sal Aunese and Bieniemy each scored 36 in 1987. ... CU sold 3,600 of its allotment of 3,800 tickets for the game, but the black and gold section in the stadium appeared to be smaller than previous years.
Posted by leezee40 on November 29, 2008 at 12:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've been rather harsh with the Buff fans,players,etc. recently.Have to say you played one heck of a tough game.You displayed talent and poise.The school,fans,students,can be proud of the program you displayed tonight.Well played and well coached,you'll be back.It's awfully disappointing to be down and especially as down as we Huskers have been for four years.Keep on keeping on and a Happy Thanksgiving and Christmas Season to all the Buff people out there.Here's one Husker fan you impressed,tonight.
Posted by robinsje on November 29, 2008 at 6:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Classy post, leezee40. Thanks. I agree. If the Buffs pick up next year where they left off this year, they will be on their way. Hopefully, the North will rise again. Go Buffs!
Posted by Buff_Fan_in_Nebraska on November 29, 2008 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Regarding the fan turnout: I sat in the NU section near the 50 yard line and was surprised how many Buffs fans were near me. Whenever CU did something good there was plenty of cheering. But when I looked over toward the visitor section, it looked like half of it was empty. I think there were more CU fans outside the stadium than in it.
Some of the NU fans that sat next to me said that this was the first season they can remember when parts of the stadium were empty during the games in the NU sections. The tickets are still selling, but many fans would rather watch the game from home. This game however, was packed in tight (except for the visitor section). This was a great game to watch from the stadium.
Posted by charlenegrelli on November 29, 2008 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
KOA - what is the point of the Pesavento "I'm a critic of this coaching staff" show? His qualifications are thin as a player, with no known coaching experience. Having an ex-Gary Barnett disciple (with strong ties to ex-CU coach Shawn Watson) throw stones at everything this team has done is NOT entertainment. Pesavento is no more qualified to assess the coaching job at CU than literally thousands of us who played years of football (we're all experts after all in at least our own minds). Not all of us have played that silly game of "arena football" like Pesavento, but we know a program in the making. Get this guy and his obvious "agenda" off the air or give up the Buff telecasts. It's distasteful to give this guy a platform like this!
Go Buffs!
Posted by donintucson on November 29, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is called "free speech" in my book. And this team has really done nothing, quite frankly. This coach deserves to be criticized. His players layed it on the line and made it close, even with this guy coaching them.
And although you don't believe Bobby Pesavento has the qualifications to criticize the coaches, (If I remember right, he did QB the 10-2 2001 team that beat Neb. 62-36, and was not the QB that lost to Fresno St. the 1st game of the year)you believe you are most qualified to know what a "program in the making" is?
When are you guys going to stop drinking the koolaid. You think that mediocrity is good and staying home with a losing record is progress. And boy, what motiviation, if you lose the game you get to spend more time conditioning with Pittman.
It is all BS in my book. And this head coach should be criticized. Nebraska is NOT very good, average team, beatable, yet this guy manages to not make any effective adjustments after halftime and his miracle offense genius puts the Buff defense on the field for 40 minutes of a game.
You Koolaid drinkers enjoy the cold Colorado winter this year, and watching CSU, AF, and Neb. in their bowl games. I will sit back in the sun in Tucson and wait for Colorado to hire a coach who really understands BIG BOY football. This one does not.
By the way, we are all proud of the kids, and feel for them deeply. They go into every game at a disadvantage with this head coach, and did manage to overcome it 5 of 12 weekends.
Go Buffs!!!
Posted by donintucson on November 29, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
PS. This would be a really dumb decision on Bohn's part, the power of KOA is unmatched in the West, you can hear the Buffs nearly everywhere when they play at night, and all over the state of Colorado for sure.
Go Buffs!!!
Posted by Buff_Fan_in_Nebraska on November 29, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I just wish I could hear the games in Nebraska! I can hear games from Kansas & K-State, Iowa, sometimes Texas. But I never hear a CU game from where I live. Whoever they go with for their radio agreement should be moving their broadcasts east too.
Posted by RalphieRepresentah4 on November 29, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
hard year 2 be a BUFF fan,recruiting has taken 2 steps back this year.as much as i wanted to win yesterday a part of me is glad its over.i really hope next year brings better results.Colorado appears stacked with good recruits in the 2010 class and CU better get on them NOW.footballs over and now Hawk can hit the road and start recruiting.Go BUFFS,still love ya!!!!
Posted by gkups on November 29, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
hi, c.u. get away from that republican station! we had good annoucers mark schrieber, john henry, starr yealand, zimmer until he fell asleep! he woke-up saying a comercial! get tim everett and bobby pesavento. i miss bobby anderson. get rid of motor-mouth!-touchdown!touchdown! c.johnson is not the answer! he has a bad show! bobby pesavento, and le? best two in years! smart, direct talk-show. great callers! even the nebraska callers are respectful!
Posted by tklyons1 on November 29, 2008 at 11:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It would be a shame to see Larry Zimmer not continue to call the games.
Posted by gkups on November 29, 2008 at 11:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
hi, koa rid of lou from detroit, bronco talk! put pesavento and le?
Posted by Bo_Knows on December 1, 2008 at 6 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Larry Zimmer is the WORST radio guy I have EVER heard in my life!!! These 3 need to be replaced if you want to have any radio listeners.
(Requires free registration.)
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.