The new and unprecedented Pac-12 football contract stipulates that all conference championship games will be played on Friday nights, either on FOX (in even years) or an ESPN network (odd years). And they're going to get moving with that plan this year as well. Dan Bell, vice president of communications at Fox Sports, tweeted that this year's Pac-12 title game will also be moved to Friday night, December 2.
Originally, only the MAC Championship game by ESPN was broadcast on Friday nights, as the big conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC) took up all the big games on Saturday. Larry Scott's decision to switch things up to Friday night is an interesting, but sensible move. The Big Ten (on FOX) and ACC (on ESPN) will have the Saturday night market cornered, and the SEC (on CBS) will have the Saturday afternoon market swallowed up. Picking Friday night gives the Pac-12 its own market to dominate.
All in all, it looks like a shrewd move by Commissioner Larry Scott, unless the ratings bottom out. Considering the demand for college football these days though, that's looking unlikely. It's a good time to fight for the Roses.
What are your thoughts of future Pac-12 football title games on Friday nights?