Big Ten ‘did not expect the blowback’ they got for moving football games to Friday nights

Submitted by RoseInBlue on

Apparently, Jim Delany and Co. didn't expect the backlash they saw after the announcement of the Friday night games.  Did it seriously never occur to him to, oh I don't know, ask the schools first?  Maybe float the idea and gage reactions prior to just blindsiding everyone and then having a bunch of schools refuse this and that?

https://www.landof10.com/nebraska/big-ten-conference-officials-not-expect-blowback-got-moving-football-games-fridays?utm_campaign=SF_Landof10&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

PopeLando

May 16th, 2017 at 9:31 AM ^

"We're going to do this thing. It'll be great. Everyone will love it. Check it out: all it does is mess with our fans' work week, mess up the student athletes' class schedules, deprive the coaches of an extra day of game planning, and interfere with high school football! I expect widespread support. And a massive pay raise." - Delaney, probably

Bronco648

May 16th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

Great idea, never will work. Homeless know they can pan-handle for tax-free cash without having to do much except shake a cup. I see plenty in Chicago. I've had several refuse food (bagels) I've offered them on more than one occasion. Pull a rickshaw? I just don't see that happening.

JHumich

May 16th, 2017 at 8:24 PM ^

support network.

My wife is a mental health therapist, who worked for years in inner-city Jackson, MS, with the seriously mentally ill. Her client list was full of homeless, almost every one of whom had a very interesting story into which homelessness did not enter until their mental condition degenerated.

XiX

May 16th, 2017 at 5:06 PM ^

Generated power from the feet, followed through with the hips, rotated the abs and created solid tension through her arm by flexing the lat. Just needed a little room for full arm extension but everything else looked great.

9.5...

aplatypus

May 16th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^

I've had similar experiences with panhandlers where I live on a major social/shopping hub street. There are a lot of the same people out there frequently, and most don't have any interest in food help. They want money, cigarettes, booze, drugs, or combination of same. One really nice guy is turning 50 literally every day he's out there, and straight up says he just wants cash for beer. 

But the thing is those that you can encounter like that aren't generally representative of the greater homeless population, there are probably countless more that could actually use the help and would appreciate - they just don't converge on traffic centers as much. 

BlueFish

May 16th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^

"Leaders and Legends"

I recall an article that said something like 94% of survey respondents disapproved of the wacky division names, and it was the highest disapproval rating the surveyor had ever seen.  I can't find the article right now.  But yes, the same crew.  They clearly have their finger on the pulse of their audience.

bronxblue

May 16th, 2017 at 8:59 AM ^

The only people they asked were guys at ESPN, so this isn't a surprise. It was a dumb idea that the conference doesn't need, and I assume they'll just stick with it until we have all given up.

Yo_Blue

May 16th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^

Perhaps the best part of the article is a quote from the B1G offices:

Tenopir said Big Ten officials countered that the intent of Friday games was getting “some better prime-time coverage for some Big Ten teams that are traditionally second-tier compared to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska.

This says a lot about what they think of Penn State (and I feel sorry for Wisconsin).

EDIT:  Tenopir is not a B1G blowhard... he's a Nebraska blowhard.

ldevon1

May 16th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^

guy making that statement.  I see you made note of that in your edit. If I recall correctly, some B1G schools liked the idea, originally. Michigan, OSU, and Northwestern were the only ones to speak up on the matter, until the local high schools spoke up. 

1VaBlue1

May 16th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^

It was Michigan and PSU that said no, then OSU joined.  I believe the NW guy is in big favor of it, but 'can't work out the logistics' for a Friday night game in Chicago (read: commuters and high schools loudly complained).

Also, its funny that a Nebraska guy said it was good for the 'lesser' schools in the B1G.  Nebraska is proudly hosting a Friday game, and playing in a second.  They are with Illinois and MSU in favor of playing on Friday nights.

The People's Jones

May 16th, 2017 at 9:07 AM ^

The epic failures of the boomers' last stand makes me feel better about my future

cletus318

May 16th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^

Making decisions without anticipating the consequences...there seems to be a lot of that going on lately. I wonder if it's contagious.

Tuebor

May 16th, 2017 at 9:52 AM ^

I think it is because large numbers of football fans in the Big Ten footprint attend local high school games Friday nights.  If the college team is playing on Friday that creates a conflict. 

Alton

May 16th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^

Note the schools that are complaining the most:  Michigan, Ohio State, Northwestern.  Those are the schools (other than Minnesota, or perhaps Maryland) that will have the biggest issues with the usual weekday commuter traffic interfering with the gameday traffic.

You would pretty much have to shut down the University, and shut down Pioneer High School at noon as well, to have a home game on a weekday.  This is also an issue in Columbus--too much weekday parking would disappear; you would have to shut down the University again. 

It does all come back to something I think we agree on--Mr. Delany seems to forget about the actual fans who go to the actual games.  For a TV viewer, there's not much difference between a game on Friday and a game on Saturday.  For the University and the city and the fans (and the players), there's a huge difference.

umbig11

May 16th, 2017 at 10:04 AM ^

I would watch the games on Friday night. We usually get to the Ann Arbor hotel in time for happy hour and dinner. If a game was on, our group would be watching. I do understand the dilema. Friday night belongs to H.S. football.

Farmhouse Funk

May 16th, 2017 at 10:24 AM ^

I think Thursday and Friday night games are fine for lower tier teams since it gets them a chance to have a national audience. Though it should be up to the school the conference should not force teams to play on Friday nights.

Not realizing their would be complaints is like George Lucas killing off Darth Maul, yet keeping Jar Jar in a prominant role. Really people didn't love Jar Jar Binks?????