Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced that the conference will play six Friday night games in 2017, but are we sure this is a good idea?
The Big Ten is as good as it has been in well over a decade on the gridiron. One could argue that the Big Ten has the best football teams at the top of its conference in the Power 5. Major reasons for this are the explosion of the Big Ten Network and the accumulation of great coaching in the conference.
On Tuesday, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced the conference’s plan to have six primetime telecasts annually on ABC/ESPN on Friday nights. Though Delany is excited about the idea of having Power 5 football on Friday nights, what’s the point and is this a good move for the conference?
Delany is quoted as saying, “All things considered, we thought it was worthwhile to dip our toe into the water.” Friday nights have been historically reserved for high school ball, but the Big Ten is trying to expand its reach nationally by playing a few games on primetime at the end of the work week.
The biggest problem with this is that the big money-making programs are not going to be asked to host Friday night games. Michigan straight up said no thank you and it is unlikely that Ohio State or Penn State would want to host a Friday night game either.
What this Friday night proposition is doing is forcing smaller Big Ten schools into the national spotlight for high-profile games at their stadiums. Is college football ready for Purdue and Rutgers home games under the Friday night lights? That’s what it will be more likely than not.
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If Delany isn’t careful, this will end up creating rifts of resentment within the Power 5 conference. Do programs like Michigan and Ohio State deserve preferential treatment? Yes, but it doesn’t need to be this painfully obvious. There is little to be gained by having mediocre Big Ten games being played on Friday night.