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As HBO’s Hard Knocks begins their latest season chronicling the Oakland Raiders, the cable company is reportedly looking into a similar style show for four collegiate programs. The schools under consideration? The Alabama Crimson Tide, Penn State Nittany Lions, Arizona State Sun Devils ... and the Washington State Cougars.
HBO has chosen four college programs to run a Hard Knocks like show later in the season. ASU will be featured during the week of home game versus Washington State who was also chosen for the show along with Penn State and Alabama.
— DevilsDigest.com (@DevilsDigest) August 13, 2019
It’s hard to get a feel for exactly how the episodes would be set up given that info, though it seems likely the teams would be featured on the show on a rotating basis. At first glance, two Pac-12 programs doesn’t exactly seem like an eyeball grabber for viewers across the country but Herm Edwards has never been one to shy away from a camera and Mike Leach is, well, Mike Leach.
WSU wouldn’t come out and say they’re going to be on the show but did at least confirm to KXLY’s Derek Deis that HBO has been in touch.
WSU source says the university has been contacted by HBO, but that's all they could confirm. #GoCougs #4NewsNow https://t.co/goZ39QRDnT
— Derek Deis (@DerekKXLY) August 13, 2019
As Derek noted, if Washington State is selected for the show alongside two of the most storied programs in college football’s history, the exposure they would earn is second to none, especially given it’s likely a no dollars out the door situation. More eyeballs on your program is, in most cases, never a bad thing, especially for a team in a location as remote as Pullman.
There’s no word yet on when HBO could finalize the show, though they likely would not begin filming until later in the season or next year at the earliest,