The weekly announcement of Pac-12 college football starting times became such an issue for fans that Utah athletic director Chris Hill broadcast his explanation of the matter on YouTube last week.
“Two of the things I hear from our fans are, during the football season (concerning) scheduling: ‘When are we going to play our games and what day of the week?’” Hill says in the video.
When mentioning the six-day window ESPN and Fox are afforded to announce starting times by the Sunday of that Saturday’s games, Hill said, “It gets a little complicated. I hope I can explain it because I get confused.”
That must be a tongue-in-cheek statement because Hill really knows or else he would not be an athletic director. That statement was made more for the understanding of the frustration fans must feel not knowing when they can finalize their own game day plans.
Many fans have logistical concerns with their employment, babysitting requirements, transportation availability, and the need to attend other functions, etc. Not everybody’s life stops for college football Saturdays.
Uncertainty of starting times until the week of a game “creates problems for our fans, I know that, but you can imagine we’re sitting here saying, ‘What time? What time? What time?’” Hill said. “All the ADs say, ‘Can’t we know more in advance?’ But at the same time, our friends at the TV stations want to have the games that have the most audience and viewership around the country.”
The sad truth is fans have the least say in the matter. The Pac-12’s 12-year deal with ESPN and Fox, worth a reported $2.7 billion through 2023, trumps everything.
The NFL got into flexible scheduling in 2006 for Sunday night games. From Week 5 to Week 17 of the season, a Sunday night game can be swapped with a more enticing afternoon game.
For fans able to attend a Sunday afternoon game only to learn it was changed to the evening — when they have to work or go to sleep early for work Monday morning – well, that’s too bad.
The NFL’s statement regarding its Sunday night flexible scheduling: “Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.” It’s like telling somebody to take the back seat or stay home.
Fans are not factored into the scheduling decisions of the Pac-12 and NFL and certainly neither are politicians.
During an Alabama state senate session last week, Sen. Trip Pittman went to the podium believing he could make a difference influencing the starting times for college football games in the state. At issue was Auburn’s near-loss to Jacksonville State, a game that started at 11 a.m. locally because of TV scheduling. Pittman made a plea for programs to stop scheduling games before noon because it hurts attendance and a team’s performance.
“I think going forward it’s important that the managers of the universities across this state start to consider the fans,” Pittman said at the podium. “For one, Auburn doesn’t play well before noon.”
His comments fell on deaf ears, especially with more pressing matters to discuss.
LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said in May that his “No. 1 priority is night games” at Death Valley. The night-game atmosphere at LSU is one of college football’s most noted traditions, but last season was the first time since 2009 that all of the Tigers’ home games were at night. CBS, the SEC’s primary TV partner, has the most influence on whether LSU plays at night in Baton Rouge. The network usually televises all but one of its SEC games during the day, which means Alleva and LSU’s fans are at the whim of CBS if Les Miles’ team is involved in a big game.
“I don’t care what network we’re on, as long as we’re playing at night,” Alleva said in defiance to The Advocate in Baton Rouge almost four months ago.
Guess what: CBS moved LSU’s home game last week against Auburn to 2:30 p.m. locally.
Alleva did not have a say in the matter. If he has no pull as the LSU athletic director, how can a fan of a Pac-12 team and any state senator out there believe their opinion takes precedence over TV scheduling?
Feature image via YouTube
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