College Football

Pac-12 night games aren’t going away, but some problems can be fixed

Pac-12 football game details are just weeks away

Yes, it’s true that Pac-12 fans don’t like late-night games. USC fans want either the 12:30 game or the 4:30 game on Saturdays, for a better tailgating experience or, in the case of the 4:30 p.m. game, the prime Chris Fowler-Kirk Herbstreit slot which brings the Trojans maximum national visibility. Washington Husky fans don’t like late-night kickoffs because they lead to transportation problems getting home from games late at night and, in the latter half of the season, can be bitterly cold and rainy.

Yet, we know that when other conference games end around 10 p.m. in the East, there’s that big window for Pac-12 action in the West. No one will dispute the fact that the Pac-12 needs games in that late-night window.

The key point to make is that the night games themselves aren’t a problem. The bigger and more central problem is when fans can’t adequately prepare for those games.

Jon Wilner of The San Jose Mercury News explains:

As the Pac-12 formulates a strategy for its upcoming media rights negotiations, one component seems clear: Eliminating football night games altogether isn’t realistic — or smart. Instead, the conference is focused on an issue that doesn’t receive as much attention as the late kickoffs: Reducing the number of six- and 12-day selection windows for its TV partners.

“That’s a high priority for us,” said a source with knowledge of the Pac-12’s negotiating strategy. “We need to find the right windows for the right games, specifically for football but generally for all sports.”

That strategy is far easier to plot than to execute, however, and the conference could end up with some version of the current process once the next media contract cycle begins in the fall of 2024. Ultimately, the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors must approve whatever preliminary deals commissioner George Kliavkoff strikes at the negotiating table. With the six- and 12-day selection windows as with the night games, there are important…

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