Villanova football has been on national television. The semi-finals and finals that Villanova played in 2009 and 2010 were carried live on ESPN, and the CAA arranged to elevate a game with James Madison in 2008 to the Versus network. Now, the CAA has a deal with the NBC Sports Network to air 5 games on its national cable platform and thirteen others on regional Comcast networks.
The decision over which games will air nationally will be made in the next few weeks when the league office and NBC look at the schedule. According to a Richmond newspaper, the decision will be, "based on matchups, game-day environments and other factors."
Each league member is guaranteed at least one appearance on regional television, but there are no guarantees for the national package.
The strongest candidate for national television on Villanova's conference schedule would be the annual season-ending clash with Delaware. It is a game that always has great atmosphere, a competitive contest and features two of the more well-known schools in the Championship Subdivision.
Another candidate could be Villanova's roadtrip to Atlanta to face Georgia State. That game will take place in one of the subdivision's largest stadiums and will feature the teams from the CAA's two largest football markets. Georgia State hopes to be competitive in its first season in the conference, and NBC's expectations for them will be determinative.
The 'Cats should also play highly competitive home-games against Richmond, Towson and James Madison. JMU has been a strong attendance draw, enough to lure West Virginia into a neutral site game, and that draw may carry over to television as well. If so, the 'Cats may be a candidate to host a television game at Villanova Stadium this season.