MOBILE, Ala. — Ladd-Peebles Stadium will have a video board for instant replays at South Alabama football games this season, athletic director Joel Erdmann confirmed.
The university will rent the video board for the season. It will be set up in the northeast corner of the stadium, similar to the arrangement used for the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
Six Home Games
South Alabama will play six of its 12 games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium this season. The Jaguars open the season at home against Southern Utah on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Erdmann told AL.com that the absence of a video replay board is unusual for Football Bowl Subdivision programs and that the university decided renting one was the best way to improve the fan experience.
Producing Its Own Content
The GoDaddy.com Bowl and the Senior Bowl both use a portable video board, but those games are televised. Because some South Alabama games will not be broadcast, the university will produce everything shown on the screen itself, using four or five high-definition cameras at each game.
Erdmann said South Alabama will provide HD camera systems, replay directors and graphics packages. Some Jaguars games will or could be broadcast on CSS, ESPN3 or ESPNU, and in those cases the university will try to use the broadcast feed on the board, if permitted.
The cost to produce content and operate the cameras will be about $24,000 per game, Erdmann said. A university intern created the graphics, player headshots, lead-ins, replays and other video content that will be shown on the board.
South Alabama, coached by Joey Jones, competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
