I had posted this in another thread, but it was an older thread and no one responded (which was mildly surprising), so I thought I'd make it the subject of a separate thread.
SIAP, but I read in the SF Chronicle a few days ago (November 6, to be precise) that the Big Ten announced it will play six (6) Friday night games per season, starting in 2017 and continuing through 2022.
The Friday night games are being added to the B1G's television agreements with ESPN/ABC and Fox, according to B1G senior associate commissioner Mark Rudner.
There are a couple of caveats, however. First, Penn State announced that it won't play any Friday night HOME games. Second, Jim Delaney told the Chicago Tribune that Michigan "said no" to playing either home or away on Friday night.
Usually, the TV money ends up deciding things. If the TV networks want a game on Thursday or Friday night, they usually get their way. The Pac has been doing this for the past couple of seasons. Frankly, I loathe these games (give me Saturday afternoon every time), but money talks.
But the carve outs that the B1G have apparently made for PSU and Michigan are surprising to me. Aren't these decisions normally made by the Conference as a whole, and aren't all conference members obligated to accede to the will of the majority? Shouldn't they be? I say that, but I also understand that, given State College's location, weekday night games make it tough for fans who live in Pittsburgh or Philly to attend.
SIAP, but I read in the SF Chronicle a few days ago (November 6, to be precise) that the Big Ten announced it will play six (6) Friday night games per season, starting in 2017 and continuing through 2022.
The Friday night games are being added to the B1G's television agreements with ESPN/ABC and Fox, according to B1G senior associate commissioner Mark Rudner.
There are a couple of caveats, however. First, Penn State announced that it won't play any Friday night HOME games. Second, Jim Delaney told the Chicago Tribune that Michigan "said no" to playing either home or away on Friday night.
Usually, the TV money ends up deciding things. If the TV networks want a game on Thursday or Friday night, they usually get their way. The Pac has been doing this for the past couple of seasons. Frankly, I loathe these games (give me Saturday afternoon every time), but money talks.
But the carve outs that the B1G have apparently made for PSU and Michigan are surprising to me. Aren't these decisions normally made by the Conference as a whole, and aren't all conference members obligated to accede to the will of the majority? Shouldn't they be? I say that, but I also understand that, given State College's location, weekday night games make it tough for fans who live in Pittsburgh or Philly to attend.
