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Fox will formally announce Wednesday the complete on-air lineup it has cobbled together to cover the biggest games in a sport the network otherwise doesn't cover.
Fox this season inherits four of college football's Bowl Championship Series games ? ABC retains the Rose Bowl ? including the Jan. 8 national title game.
But since Fox doesn't cover college football ? and didn't want to use ABC/ESPN or CBS announcers, even if they were made available ? it will pop up with a college lineup borrowing heavily from its NFL ranks.
The final on-air slots being announced:
Pat Haden, an analyst on NBC's TV package of Notre Dame home games, will work with
Terry Donahue, a Fox NFL analyst, and play-by-play announcer
Matt Vasgersian ? who called XFL action and has proven it wasn't a career-killer ? to call the Jan. 2 Orange Bowl.
Other Fox NFL announcers working BCS games include
Kenny Albert,
Howie Long and
TerryBradshaw on the Jan. 3 Sugar Bowl. But, says Fox's
Dan Bell, BCS coverage won't cause anybody at Fox to miss any NFL on-air assignments.
But BCS coverage might slightly alter Fox's NFL coverage.
Pat Summerall, who'll call the non-BCS Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, has called one Fox NFL game this season and might work another. Says Fox's Bell: "We want to give him some reps before the bowl."
Fox announcer
Thom Brennaman, ex-Wisconsin coach
Barry Alvarez and TBS analyst
Charles Davis? who'll call Fox's Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl and the title game ? get reps Saturday when they do an off-air practice call of the Buffalo-Wisconsin game Saturday.
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