It would appear the MAC is the biggest beneficiary/victim of ESPN no longer having the Mountain West to plug in during the fall on just about any day they need to fill program space. Miami (Ohio) has found itself playing on Sunday evening — it’s homecoming game this year. This is a Dayton/Cinci area story so the high school coaches aren’t worried. In fact it isn’t their problem.
To many, though, Sundays aren’t the main concern. The idea of playing on Friday night — the customary bastion of high school football — is the big worry.
And that concern continues, as 10 Friday-night college football games will appear on ESPN channels this season. The American Football Coaches Association has gone as far as taking an official stand against college football on Friday nights, said Grant Teaff, the AFCA executive director.
If his membership had its way, he said, college football would be restricted to Saturdays.
“I’ve not talked to one coach who really likes it,” Teaff said of non-Saturday games.
Steve Specht, who coached Cincinnati St. Xavier to the Division I state championship last season, isn’t bothered much by the University of Cincinnati hosting Pittsburgh on Friday, Sept. 8 for an ESPN2 audience. His team plays on Saturday, Sept. 9, against Lakewood St. Edward at Paul Brown Stadium.
For the teams playing on Friday night, though, Specht said there shouldn’t be concern in Cincinnati about falling attendance. “I honestly believe in this area people care a hell of a lot more about high school football than they do about college football,” Specht said. “I think it hurts the college game playing on Friday nights around here.”
You know, Cinci better do its best to make sure the Friday game is a sellout. You would hate to be outdrawn by a high school game.
While inching closer and closer to full-fledged Friday night football, some athletic directors are still drawing lines, they say. Pitt’s Jeff Long has given the Big East Conference his position on putting a Friday-night game at Heinz Field.
“My commitment has been we would not play a home game on a Friday night, and our conference has respected that,” said Long, a Kettering native. “The conference does have the ability to say, ‘You’re going to play on Friday night, and you’re going to play at home.’ But they haven’t done that.”
…Yet.
Sooner or later it will happen. The other BE football programs are not going to say, that Pitt should be given special treatment to never have to host a Friday night game. This year Cinci, UConn and USF will all host Friday night games. Last year Rutgers, Louisville and UConn hosted them. Sooner or later the Big East will go to Syracuse, WVU and Pitt and tell them it’s their turn.
As AD Long pointed out, the conference can compel them. So he can say that the school won’t but if ESPN and the Big East say otherwise, Pitt will find itself hosting a home game. Whether it’s “under protest” or not.
Friday games don’t just “compete” with the high schools, it hurts the hosting team with local recruits. They won’t be at the games or seeing the team play because they have their own games to play that night. It’s one less opportunity to get them to see a game.
