Oklahoma not happy with prevalence of 11 a.m. kickoffs
Oklahoma’s game against West Virginia on October 3 was selected for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff time. The game, which will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, is the fifth Oklahoma home game of the last seven home games to have an 11 a.m. start.
Unsurprisingly, Oklahoma officials aren’t too happy with all of the 11 a.m. starts.
“We were extremely disappointed to learn today that the television network had set our West Virginia game for 11 a.m,” Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a statement to the Oklahoma Daily. “As illustrated by 100 consecutive sellouts, our fans are loyal and resilient, but we understand completely the hardship this creates for them, especially if it happens too often or consecutively.
“On their behalf, we registered our concern with the Big 12 office immediately this morning and are working closely with the conference staff to address this problem and minimize early starts in the future.”
The only two games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium that haven’t been 11 a.m. starts in the seven-game span were against Oklahoma State in 2014 and the season-opener against Akron this season. The Akron game was televised via pay-per-view rather than a part of the Big 12’s television contract.
Oklahoma’s dissatisfaction with 11 a.m. kickoffs isn’t isolated. Minnesota’s governor tried to ban the practice at the end of 2014 and an Alabama state senator brought up the topic in a legislative session last week.
The school realizes the necessity of the starts, however. The television contracts the Big 12 has are an important source of revenue for the schools and more games on television equal more money and more exposure. But you can also understand Oklahoma’s frustration; the Sooners are a blue-blood program and would like to have more starts in the afternoon and evening.
“I do have a problem with it,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said when asked about the topic on Monday (via NewsOK.com). “I’m sure our administration does and fans do. We’ll express that to the league. Hopefully, everyone can have a fair amount of early and late kicks and mix it up a little better.”
For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
