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Michigan and Penn State don’t want Big Ten football on Friday nights

By Brad Berreman

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany speaks with the media during one-on-one interviews as part of Big Ten media day at Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany speaks with the media during one-on-one interviews as part of Big Ten media day at Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Big Ten is set to play football games on Friday nights in 2017, but two notable member schools want nothing to do with it.

The calendar moving to November widens the swath of weeknight college football games with the MAC being featured on ESPN’s networks. The Big Ten is mostly out of the mix for weeknight football, except for season openers, but the conference is moving to change that.

On Wednesday, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced a package of six Friday night games split between Fox and ESPN/ABC in 2017. But Michigan and Penn State have both come out publicly stating a lack of interest in playing on Friday nights.

First up is Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel:

"“We fully support the Big Ten’s scheduling decisions as well as conference peers who are able to play on Friday nights,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “With our large fan base, Michigan fans and alumni travel significant distances to attend games, making Saturdays our preferred day for all football games.”"

Penn State released a statement of its own, saying it had informed the Big Ten it would not host any Friday night games, with respect to high school football in the state of Pennsylvania.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh offered the same sentiment as Penn State, during an interview with 97.1 WXYT-FM.

"I think Saturday, it’s a Saturday game. I’m for traditional Saturdays. Friday is for high school games. That’s my knee-jerk reaction to it, ” Harbaugh said on 97.1 WXYT-FM."

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Television revenue is obviously a driving force in college sports, and the Big Ten clearly wants to tap into a day of the week it hasn’t yet during football season. But the bigger schools in the conference, like Michigan and Penn State, don’t necessarily need the added exposure to get attention from potential football recruits. As matter of coincidence, or not, the Big Ten’s new television deals with both Fox and ESPN start next season.

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