I like Andy Staples, but this ($$) is the saddest piece he’s ever written.
This newest idea? At first blush, it sounds nuts. Starting games at 9 a.m. local time on the west coast?…
Though this becomes a big ask for the home fans who would then be expected to show up bright and early, it does make sense from an exposure perspective when we consider how the other leagues prefer to program their games…
The imposition is on ticket-buying fans who would prefer to leave their homes at a reasonable hour, attend a day game and drive home at a reasonable hour.
Oh, attending fans. Them.
Y’all keep telling yourselves that player compensation is the existential threat to college football.
Get The Picture 
My first thought when I heard about the 9:00 am kickoff was the players. So was yours Senator. Apparently nobody in the PAC 12 or in sports journalism has had that thought even now. Shame on them.
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it does make sense from an exposure perspective
You’re wrong, Andy. No one east of the Mississippi will chose a PAC12 broadcast over their own school, conference or region that kicks off at the same time. Since you already have the West coast fan, who are you trying to reach with this early kickoff?
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Agree with this in general, but can’t say there aren’t some PAC 12 games that won’t get some attention in the East. Some weeks the noon options are sketchy and I wish we had other choices. Would never choose them over any UGA game of course, but I look for the next best choice regardless of where the game is played. ACC and Big 12 are no better than the West Coast as leagues.
I watch the PAC 12 late night 5-6 times a year when the match ups are interesting, worst part is the announcing crews often sound like they are college students. In general, I think this is a bad idea, especially since Urbie will never be a draw in my household. SEC Network is what I watch every Saturday morning, unless UGA is involved in the Gameday broadcast.
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Bingo.
They are so much better off scheduling throughout their day: 12, 2, 4, 6 and 8. 5 slots and you only have to double up on one.
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Larry Scott wants to sell a large stake in the PAC 12 to a hedge fund. I guess the hedge fund managers live in the east and want to see their asset play before they watch the SEC game of the week.
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As a California resident, I must say breakfast tailgates can be fun, and we’re already used to tuning in to Game Day before the sun rises. But actual attendance at an actual game at 9:00 local time would produce an uneasy choice between staying up all night or donning school-color jammies.
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The games may as well be played in front of a green screen in a Bristol studio.
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Direct “player compensationP is an existential threat to college football. Not the only one. Another is the conferences and schools have to take back the control from the networks or risk losing all power to the networks because no one else will be watching.
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And they wonder why attendance is declining.
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Unless you are considering COA as direct compensation (I do not) then I do not know what you are referring to.
The same way they got into this mess. Through negotiation. One network wants to give you 1 billion one wants to give you 1.1 billion. You concede the 100 million to the network that will let you have most of the control over start times or what ever is deemed most important.
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Well, that’s certainly convenient for you.
What makes you believe TV contracts are negotiated the way you think they are?
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I fail to see how this will really help at all. As others have said, Big Ten Fans are going to watch the B1G game that week. SEC and ACC fans ditto. The only exception would be if say USC and Washington and Oregon are back among the nation’s best and they are playing. But we all know that even if they go to something like this, it will be more like Oregon State and Arizona on at that time. I love thinking out of the box, but this is the dumbest thing since the flat earth club formed up.
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You left off Wazzou which had the best record in the PAC 12 last year.
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