CHAMPAIGN - First came news that they're doing away with Chief Illiniwek.

Now comes more bad news.

Television viewers hoping to watch and perhaps record the Chief's "last dance" at halftime of Wednesday night's Illinois vs. Michigan basketball game are out of luck unless they have ESPNU as part of their cable or satellite package.

And most viewers do not subscribe to ESPNU.

The game, which tips off at 8 p.m., has been part of the ESPNU television package for months and an attempt by WCIA, the CBS television affiliate in Champaign, to buy rights for the game from ESPNU has failed.

Russ Hamilton, WCIA's general manager, said he was more than willing to make the effort, knowing many, many fans are hoping to tune in to see Chief Illiniwek's final halftime performance.

"They won't let me touch it," Hamilton said Monday afternoon. "I've tried, but they do it exclusively trying to drive people to buy it on cable."

Hamilton also said he's not permitted to telecast the Chief's halftime dance.

A spokesman at Insight Communications in Decatur said cable television subscribers can upgrade to a package that includes ESPNU for $8 a month. The package, which includes 53 stations, can be added to a cable subscriber's menu immediately, the spokesman said.

Hamilton also noted that WCIA's involvement with Illini basketball has pretty much wound to a close.

"Sunday's (Illinois vs. Northwestern) game was our last game after 54 years," Hamilton said. Games will not be offered to WCIA because televised Big Ten events will switch to the new Big Ten Network beginning in August. The exceptions are games the Big Ten Conference designates for national network distribution.

According to the Big Ten office, it has entered into a 20-year deal with Fox Cable Networks and will provide the programming to all cable and satellite systems.


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