The Big Ten announced last year that its teams would play in six Friday night home games in the early months of 2017. That total is down to four, with Maryland and Northwestern scrapping plans to host them.
The Big Ten has Friday night football games now. Coaches aren’t happy about it.
The Big Ten’s new Friday night slate starts with two games in Week 1.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The first two are Sept. 1: Rutgers hosting No. 7 Washington (8 p.m. ET, FS1) and No. 9 Wisconsin hosting Utah State (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). Purdue and Illinois will host them later in Sept.
The Big Ten plans to hold six Friday games a year for the next five seasons after this one, all for broadcast by ESPN, Fox, or the in-house Big Ten Network.
Friday night games put college coaches in a difficult spot, especially so in the Midwest. High school football is king on these nights in rural America and some cities, and most Midwestern states, have one or two major college teams.
When those colleges play, they suck up lots of oxygen. That could lessen turnout and attention for high schools, and that could anger high school coaches, whom college coaches need for recruiting pipelines. It could also upset fans who prefer going to high school games on Friday nights and watching college games on Saturdays. A state representative in Iowa is trying to bar Iowa and Iowa State from them.
The reaction from Big Ten coaches and players was tentative, at best, from the outset.
Last year, Michigan said it wouldn’t play on Fridays. Penn State said it wouldn’t host them, and several other schools put conditions on specific weekends. Labor Day weekend, when there’s no high school ball in much of the country, came up a lot as a possible time.
At Big Ten Media Days in July, Friday night games got little love.
Maryland coach DJ Durkin:
I think there’s some specific examples of particular weekends where it makes sense and works, but overall, I don’t think it’s a great idea. Especially in our area, those Friday nights are for high school football, and that’s what it’s all about. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the programs, coaches, players in our area, and that’s their night. That’s what they do.
Like I said, we feel very strongly about those guys, so we don’t wanna impede on that. There’s particular holiday weekends and this and that where Friday games obviously make sense, but overall, I don’t think it’s something that we should just be going to frequently.”
Indiana coach Tom Allen:
I’m very concerned about it. I’m not going to sit here and try and make a big issue in terms of what I think. My history as a high school coach for 15 years is strong. It’s who I am, it’s how I started, and it’s been so many years. I think that’s a special night. I don’t like playing games on Friday night.
I think that’s high school night. But it’s not always my decision, but I’m one of those I’m not going to just not tell you what I believe. I think that’s a situation where I would prefer that we didn’t. But I understand there may be factors outside of my control for that ... I would like to keep that night special for high school football. That means a lot to me.
Rutgers coach Chris Ash:
In my opinion, at least in the Big Ten, Big Ten football is for Saturday, and high school football in our landscape is for Friday night. We’re playing Friday night of Labor Day weekend, which I’m completely fine with, because high school football has not started in our state, and it’s not a conflict, and it’s the opening game of our season. That makes sense to me.
But to have Big Ten conflict and rival high school football on Friday nights, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. And I’m glad that there’s ongoing conversation about that in our league, to make sure that we’re doing the right thing and trying to preserve Friday night for the people that should be playing on Friday night.
Opposition isn’t total. Some are willing to see how this year’s games go.
Illinois coach Lovie Smith, whose team will play twice on Fridays:
I think you can try things and see how it works. We’ll see the type of impact that it has. I just know there was a time when NFL games were only played on Sundays, but they’re played different times. That’s it. People are playing games at different times right now. I think if you’re a football fan, there’s enough games to go around.
If you’re a football fan, you’re always craving a little bit more football. Here’s another option. Why not have another option? We’ll see how it goes. I know we’re excited about the two games we’re playing.”
Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis, from North Carolina:
“I haven’t really thought about that. I definitely think it’s a night for high school kids to showcase their talents ... I feel like it goes either way. There’s a lot of football to played, or not played.”
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck:
“The one thing I’ll say is that I think it’s worth talking about. But there are so many issues … I come from a conference where we played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Mondays, MACtion. So for me, I’m probably the wrong guy to ask, because I’ve been around it, and I’ve made numerous schedules on different days, had short weeks, had long weeks. I would prefer the consistent part of the preparation equal on both sides and things like that, but as long as we could do that, I would be OK.”
The most comment sentiment: I’ll do it, but Fridays are for high school.
Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow, a native Texan:
If the University of Texas was playing on Friday nights, it’d be pretty weird. I’m not sure. Either the high school games’ attendance would take a hit, or UT’s would. And frankly, in Texas, if you were to play on Friday night, the university would more than likely be the one taking the hit, because high school football in Texas is kind of a lifestyle.
So I wouldn’t be opposed to playing on a Friday night, obviously. I’ll play whenever they tell me to play. But I do think Friday night should be for high school ball.”
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