The Pennsylvania State University
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications INTERCOLLEGIATE FOOTBALL AND EDUCATIONAL RADIO: THREE CASE STUDIES OF THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF SPORTS BROADCASTING IN THE 1920S AND 1930S A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Kathleen M. O’Toole © 2010 Kathleen M. O’Toole Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August, 2010 The dissertation of Kathleen M. O’Toole was reviewed and approved* by the following: John S. Nichols Professor of Communications Chair of Committee Dissertation Advisor Associate Dean of the Graduate Program College of Communications Matthew P. McAllister Professor of Communications Patrick R. Parsons Professor of Communications Stephen F. Ross Professor of Law Ronald A. Smith Professor Emeritus of Health and Human Development *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, broadcasting of intercollegiate sports at many state institutions migrated from educational radio stations to commercial networks. Amid the economic pressures of the Great Depression, the sale of sports broadcasting rights provided universities with a steady revenue stream, while the publicity from the broadcasts raised their profile among citizens and legislators whose support was crucial to state institutions. Yet, commercialization bolstered critics’ claims that intercollegiate athletics had become a business rather than an extracurricular activity. Drawing upon the scholarship of critical political economy, this dissertation examined the process by which commercial radio became the venue for big-time intercollegiate athletics—even at institutions that had their own radio stations—at a time when reformers insisted that only an amateur status and educational purpose for sports could justify the presence of big-time athletics on campus. In case studies of three land-grant institutions—Penn State, Ohio State, and the University of Wisconsin—this dissertation found that the decision to sell broadcast privileges was resisted by directors of educational radio stations on campus, supported by athletic and conference directors, and largely ignored by administrative pragmatists who were distracted by the daunting task of keeping their institutions solvent throughout the Depression. This study concluded that the decline of educational radio as a purveyor of college sports mirrored the overall decline of non-commercial broadcasting in the 1930s. It also reflected the wider debate on the role of the state as the representative of the collective interest in a free enterprise system. The partnership between big-time football schools and commercial broadcasters, forged in the Depression Era, created the climate of collaboration in which television broadcasting of intercollegiate athletics would flourish in subsequent decades. Ohio State and Wisconsin were exceptions in that they continued to carry intercollegiate sports on their own university stations. In doing so, each demonstrated the feasibility of an economic model for iv sports broadcasting that was grounded in the public service outreach and extension missions of the land-grant institution rather than the competitive, profit-seeking model of commercial radio. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 18 Review of Literature ........................................................................................................ 29 Scope of Project ............................................................................................................... 38 Land-grant Institutions ............................................................................................. 38 Radio ........................................................................................................................ 39 Intercollegiate Athletics ........................................................................................... 42 Organization of Chapters ................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 2 College Football on the Air ..................................................................................... 51 The Land-Grant Colleges ................................................................................................. 52 Rise of Intercollegiate Sports ........................................................................................... 58 Birth of Radio ................................................................................................................... 64 Regulating Radio .............................................................................................................. 70 The Federal Radio Commission ....................................................................................... 72 Radio and Football ........................................................................................................... 77 Backlashes Against Football and Radio ........................................................................... 79 Sidelined By the FRC ...................................................................................................... 85 Commercializing Football Broadcasts ............................................................................. 92 Chapter 3 Ohio State ................................................................................................................ 99 Early Sports Broadcasting ................................................................................................ 100 Managing Football’s Growth ........................................................................................... 104 Rightmire and the FRC .................................................................................................... 109 A New Assignment for WEAO........................................................................................ 111 Relations with Lawmakers ............................................................................................... 114 Depression and Declining Gate Receipts ......................................................................... 115 To Broadcast or Not to Broadcast .................................................................................... 120 Sponsored Broadcasts ...................................................................................................... 125 Outcry Over Exclusivity .................................................................................................. 131 Going It Alone ................................................................................................................. 135 Shifting Attitudes on Commercial Broadcasts ................................................................. 140 Sponsorship for All .......................................................................................................... 142 Chapter 4 Wisconsin ................................................................................................................ 144 Radio and the “Wisconsin Idea” ...................................................................................... 146 Sports Broadcasting ......................................................................................................... 149 Developing a Foundation ................................................................................................. 154 Commercial Offers ........................................................................................................... 155 Co-existing with Commercial Radio ................................................................................ 158 The Frank Era ................................................................................................................... 169 vi Frank and WHA ............................................................................................................... 174 Creating an Economic Model ........................................................................................... 177 Another Challenge ........................................................................................................... 181 Another Clear Channel Attempt....................................................................................... 182 Football and WHA ........................................................................................................... 186 The Lure of Advertising ................................................................................................... 189 Sponsored Broadcasts of Badger Football ....................................................................... 192 Chapter 5 Penn State ................................................................................................................ 197 Origins of Penn State Sports Broadcasting ...................................................................... 199 The Thomas Era ............................................................................................................... 201 Radio and Football ........................................................................................................... 205 Patent Problems ...............................................................................................................