Pigskin Classic Lands Network Deal : Football: Preseason game previously held in Anaheim will be shown on ABC when it is played in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Pigskin Classic has finally accomplished something it couldn’t when it was based in Anaheim Stadium--attract network television. ABC Sports on Thursday agreed to a multiyear contract to televise the preseason college football game.

This year’s game--Virginia at Michigan on Aug. 26--is the first not played at Anaheim since the Pigskin Classic began in 1990. Disneyland pulled its sponsorship after the Ohio State-Fresno State game last August and the game relocated to Ann Arbor, Mich., for 1995. Other college football hotbeds such as Knoxville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., will play host to future Pigskin Classics.

At Anaheim Stadium, the game was an unquestioned success on the field, particularly the 1991 matchup that featured top-ranked Florida State and Brigham Young and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. But attendance was dismal. Only 38,363 watched the Seminoles’ 44-28 victory, for instance.

All four games were syndicated by Raycom, although only the first game, a 31-31 tie between Tennessee and Colorado, was shown on network TV. Raycom purchased time on NBC.

“It was always tough to bring those kinds of teams and their fans all the way across the country,” said Don Andersen, executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., which ran the Pigskin game.

“The other problem was that we had third choice of dates. We had to wait in line behind the Rams and Angels to know when we could play the game. We got some less than desirable dates. The Monday date killed our ability to draw fans from Fresno this past year. It would have been a different story if we had played on a weekend.”