Move over, high school football, there could be a new sheriff in town on Friday nights, and he calls himself B1G. From Andy Baggot at SportsMadison.com:
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is trying to get feedback to be used in negotiating the next series of TV deals for the league. The current contracts run through 2016 (with Fox for the conference football championship game) and ’17 (with ESPN and ABC for regular-season games).
If the networks want Big Ten games on Friday nights — a slot traditionally reserved for high schools — Delany wants to know where his constituents stand and an idea of what a commitment like that would be worth.
Same goes for Big Ten outdoor night games in late November, something the Badgers have never done at Camp Randall Stadium or on the road, though they did play five November night games vs. Minnesota indoors at the Metrodome.
Unless there is major pushback against this idea... it's definitely going to happen (in my opinion). It would definitely increase the appeal of the Big Ten, and if the networks want it... well, they're the hidden puppeteers of college football after all.
