But making a television deal to have its programs play on Friday nights starting in 2017? That initial idea already was bad enough. Now that the Big Ten actual Friday night schedule has been released for next season, the execution makes it a lot more hateable.
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How much so? Let us count the big ten ways:
It further infringes on the tradition of high school football. This has been the constant complaint of men who respect the game at every level. It was the argument for the SEC staying away from the Friday night lights. The two best Big Ten players-turned-head coaches, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, have been outspoken about the disappointing development. The league is still mostly set in the heartland and Midwest metro areas, where for many families, preps rule most fall Fridays. That’s easily the biggest Friday fail.
The B1G already has a great thing going on Saturdays. Over the course of the following six years, there will be six Friday night games spread over six weeks before November, with both ESPN/ABC and FOX involved in the broadcasts. According to the Big Ten, the goal was to have more national TV spotlights. But turn on games during any window on Saturdays, and there’s a prominent B1G game early, middle and late, many aired to huge audiences. With the exception of the SEC, no conference claim that kind of consistent, wall-to-wall presence. The Big Ten’s most popular programs are about as easily to find featured as Notre Dame. This dilutes the punch of the league.
It’s terrible from an athletic standpoint. Coaches in the Pac-12 especially know this well. Moving around games to all different times and days doesn’t account for creating very tough short weeks, and thus reducing the quality of play in games. You can bet for the teams not playing off a bye, going from Saturday game to Friday game won’t play as well. That’s already well in play in the NFL, whether a team is going into a Thursday or coming out of a Monday matchup. The Big Ten deserved a lot of respect for its steady slate. Now it’s caved to put more of a physical burden on its student-athletes.
It’s worse from an academic standpoint. Oh yeah, college football players are student-athletes. The Big Ten prides itself on classroom excellence and prolific graduation rates. Northwestern and Wisconsin have led the way in this. There’s already a built-in challenge of balancing books with the gridiron. Making its kids play on Friday disrespects this calling card.
It admits that some B1G programs are a lot bigger than others. How shocking that Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State weren’t forced to part of this schedule. How dare one of those storied programs with monstrous stadium stoop so low into playing prime-time games during the week? It’s weird that the B1G is going for more exposure but isn’t putting all of its marquee attractions there. Wisconsin, with just as much punch, was included in the intiial mix with a non-conference game. It’s really just way to spotlight its national draws on Saturday while burying its lesser ones.
It admits regret with the newer B1G programs. Of course, the two latest additions to the conference, Maryland and Rutgers each have Friday night home game in ‘17. Sure, throw the transplants from the ACC and Big East that are used to playing in midweek matchups from their previous conferences back in the fire. Remember when you added them to try to dominate the D.C. and New York/New Jersey markets? Now you’re throwing them away on Fridays, still grasping for the casual East Coast audience.
It’s another dump on Northwestern. Of course, the program with the smallest loyal following in the B1G was the only one who got stuck with two Friday night games, one home and one away. Fitzgerald’s teams already don’t tend to play their best under the lights. Thanks for sticking it even more to the Wildcats.
It’s another example of the conference not respecting its programs. Big or small, the conference under commissioner JIm Delaney has made a lot of decisions that throw off the schedule of its football programs and stretch them to the limit. See the pushing of games after Thanksgiving. There are money-grabbing decisions made without the input or the best interests of the schools in mind.
It actually makes the conference look more bush league. In the Midwest, you already have that #MACtion going on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That’s good for that smaller conference, the Big Ten’s unofficial geographic little brother, because it gives some good and needed brand marketing. The ACC has been a lot more established on Thursdays and sometimes Fridays, so they’re OK there. But the B1G going to Friday games seems forced gimmicky, a la the NFL and Thursday night games.
It means the conference is becoming too B1G for its own good. Speaking of the NFL, there’s a saturation point for everything on the schedule there. The Big Ten isn’t immune. Change isn’t always good, bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes you have a great thing going because it just works in pleasing all the consumers. You can get too big and fail, even when counting the extra dollars.
