Could Pac-12 After Dawn Be Coming Soon?
Last week during Pac-12 Media Day, Commissioner Larry Scott said he was thinking about games at 9 am for teams in the Conference. Is this a good idea?
Several years ago the Pac-12 Conference had an idea to have early 11 am games in the hopes it helped exposure for the Conference in the afternoon, specifically on the East Coast. For years now Pac-12 After Dark has been not only a well-followed hashtag but something to be followed on social media. It meant a big upset, s surprise play, and even an overtime thriller or two.
Now, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has the idea and the network to make games in the Pac-12 even earlier. 9 am. The Conference has heard from fans over the last few seasons that the number of night games was getting – well, exhausting. Moving games earlier may not be the worst idea, but it may not be the best either. It means early morning drives, super early tailgating and some arriving at the stadium before the sun comes up.
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According to Scott, early games are among the ideas they are kicking around, “We’ve discussed it recently. That would be new and out of the box for our conference but I’ve tried to put everything on the table. There’s a lot of frustration from fans in certain markets to the late night kicks.” Scott added that it would likely be two games that would have 9 am kickoffs on the West Coast.
The Conference of Champions makes it seem like it is already a done deal with FOX as the television partner for the early games. He added he has just stared discussions with Athletic Directors and the decision to participate in such games would be voluntary.
The move to 9 am would add exposure to the East Coast, I believe more so than night games. People would actually be awake past halftime to watch the entire game and Pac-12 teams would be in competition with other conferences rather than having the evening mostly to themselves, at least for their marquee games.
It is not known when this may be implemented and with month to go to the 2019 season it is not known if it would be this season or not.
Oregon Football opens the 2019 season in the Advocare Classic on Saturday, August 31st at 4:30 pm on ABC.