Hackett on upcoming schedule changes, weight room upgrade, Noon vs Night games
Great interview on WTKA by Hackett.
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On future schedules that were set before Hackett got here-
"There were some decisions made a few years ago that for whatever reason made sense then. I don’t know that they quite make sense today"
LOL
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Future B1G schedules will feature a much earlier B1G opener like the 70s and 80s had.
"For example in the future because of the nine-game Big Ten season, we’re going to have to have an early Big Ten game as the season opens. All the Big Ten teams have agreed to start reconfiguring schedules to allow for that. And then there are some cool surprises maybe that will come. We’re working hard on some things can’t announce yet that I’m excited about.”
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BTN will sell our TV rights to other networks beginning in 2017. We will see Michigan games on FOX for the first time. Probably FS1 sometimes, as well.
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Communication remains open with ND. Harbaugh and Kelly are the ones who initiated the return.
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Fundraising is being done for a new weight room at Schembechler Hall. The building was gutted and the exterior was torn down in 2014 and completely remodeled.......at least the front porch was. Hackett on this-
"I want to say this so it doesn't upset people when we're raising money: the reason we need to do this is we put the important statue out front which is matters to me as much as anything, the museum which matters to our history. We never touched inside the building. We never touched any of the parts the players interact with. Weight room, training room, locker room."
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Harbaugh went back to work at 2:30. An hour after the Signing of the Stars ended.
- On the Noon vs Night battle-
“What happens in ’17, we have to start accommodating more night games and that’s a challenge at Michigan for a bunch of reasons. I’ve been trying to think of a way to get (night games) on a regular cadence. On the other hand, as Bo said toe to leather, playing that game at noon has a lot of attraction for the traditionalists, so I don’t know yet. I don’t know if we’re going to have a night game this coming year. Working on it but not settled.”
February 6th, 2016 at 11:05 PM ^
I love Gus, but he's much better at basketball than football.
He does not quite know where to direct his enthusiasm in football. It can be awkward.
"It's SECOND AND SEVEN!!"
February 5th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
And please, no FS1.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
Gus Johnson is the man. I wish he worked for ESPN.
February 5th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^
Gus Johnson is great. But most of the FOX football guys do NFL games and so everytime I watch all they do is tell me how College football is different than NFL or they screw up the rules and assume it's NFL. I think they've gotten better with more college announcers as they carry more college games. But don't let the NFL guys do the college games.
February 6th, 2016 at 11:09 PM ^
Give ESPN credit, they cover college football like it matters.
The networks that cover the NFL, especially NBC, cover college football as just a way to kill time until the NFL is on.
Most of a Notre Dame half time is used up pimping the upcoming NFL games rather than telling you what is going on right now in the CFB world.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
Hmm... good thing no one cares at all about what you hate.
February 5th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
They have 8 months for logistics. If they really wanted to do it, they could. A lot of schools decide a few weeks in advance that their game will be moved to the 8 pm ABC slot.
February 5th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
UGH get rid of Air Force!! Cincinnati doesn't run the triple option.
February 5th, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^
MOAR NIGHT GAMES*
*They don't HAVE to be against what people consider a "worthy opponent." Night time is just another time of day.
February 5th, 2016 at 2:00 PM ^
I think if we have a night game in October or November, it should be against a worthy opponent. But in August or September, a night game would be enjoyable regardless of opponent just so fans don't have to bake under 90 degree heat. A 6PM game would end around 9-9:30, which should give people plenty of time to get back to their hotels for a night of sleep before hitting the road Sunday morning. And if it's a MAC team, there's a good chance a lot of those folks will be back to their cars before 9PM.
February 5th, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
I would like to see a Notre Dame back on the schedule. But I would like it not to be every year. Maybe every other year or every third year.
As much as I like them, with the 9 game B1G10 schedule, it would prevent other good games like we have scheuduled. (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc)
February 5th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:04 PM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
I thought I read that ND has to join the ACC if they join a conference in football as part of their ACC contract. True or not?
February 5th, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
ND played smart there and got the best of us.
Brandon owes us a home game, he is the one who gave it away.
February 5th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
Actual podcast is here if you want to listen:
http://www.wtka.com/2012/09/06/podcasts/
Not sure this link will work.
http://embeds.audioboom.com/publishing/playlist/v4?bg_fill_col=%23ecefe…
February 5th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^
This doesn't make sense to me: "BTN will sell our TV rights to other networks beginning in 2017. We will see Michigan games on FOX for the first time. Probably FS1 sometimes, as well. "
Obviously, everybody knows the TV contract is up for negotiation. Is Mr. Hackett announcing that FOX has outbid ESPN? If so, that's a pretty big deal, and presumably he shouldn't be announcing this before the conference office announces it, right?
Or is he announcing that ESPN and FOX will split the television rights? Again, that's a pretty big deal and hasn't been announced anywhere else.
Or is he just saying that the conference is accepting bids from both ESPN and FOX, and the statement got garbled somewhere between there and here?
Like it or not, FOX/FS1 does not pull in the viewership that ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 have (and they only have 2 national channels for football instead of the 5 or 6 that the ESPN networks have), and if the conference ends up with a FOX contract that will be a huge step down from its current status. I would hate to see an early season noon creampuff on Fox Sports Detroit instead of on ESPNU.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^
The Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American regional sports network that is owned as a joint venture between the Big Ten Conference (which owns 49% of the network) and the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox (which owns a controlling 51% interest), and is operated by Fox Sports.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
Yes, I knew all of that.
That doesn't have anything to do with what the OP implied Mr. Hackett said (I haven't listened to the podcast yet). It was implied that it has already been determined that under the new contract the FOX television network and the FS1 television network would be broadcasting Big Ten games. If that has already been determined, that is huge news and should have been announced somewhere else as well.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^
I think you're overblowing that aspect. The language was probably in the initial contract to get the BTN started. It probably had something to do with helping the network get its footing by having most games exclusively on BTN. Now that the network is running fine, they can sell rights to other FOX networks and get the games more exposure than they might get by being on the BTN's 5th overflow channel.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:07 PM ^
No, ESPN will also get games. It's in the article. I just mentioned the Fox part because they've never done one of our games.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
So this TV contract has already been negotiated and this is the absolute first detail of it to leak out anywhere. This is extremely big news! Did he give any other details of the new contract? Do you know when the Big Ten will be announcing it?
February 5th, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
Last year's Utah game was on FS1.
February 5th, 2016 at 1:35 PM ^
I meant Fox proper.
February 5th, 2016 at 2:36 PM ^
Pac-12 has a contract with Fox.
February 5th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^
yup. rights to away games belong to the 'home' school's rightsholder
February 5th, 2016 at 12:15 PM ^
i read that as BTN (the network, not the conference) will sublicense their rights to certain michigan games to fox/other networks. not uncommon in the broadcast industry.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
Not sure what Hackett is talking about, but I expect the B1G to sign a new deal with both Fox and ESPN/ABC for its Tier 1 content. It hasn't been announced anywhere but it has been widely rumored as such:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/11/23/Media/Spor…
I imagine that Fox would get the 3:30 game that would normally go to ESPN/ABC. ESPN/ABC would still get the majority of the B1G's content though since as you said, it has the highest viewership. ESPN/ABC would still be able to show a primetime B1G game. I would also expect an increased presence on FS1, a game or two that normally would have been seen on ESPNU or ESPNEWS.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^
Right. That's an article from November speculating on what the new TV rights deal will look like. If Hackett is releasing that information, it seems Sports Business Daily got it pretty much right.
That's too bad that ABC/ESPN isn't paying money for "exclusive" (Tier 1 & Tier 2) rights the way they did in the last contract--Fox is definitely second banana to ABC in the college football world, and any game that ends up on FS1 instead of ESPN or ESPN2 will be a ratings disaster for the conference.
February 5th, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
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February 5th, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^
Remember this year the emphasis made on playing The Game later in the day by Woodson. It is VERY likely it will be played at 3:30 regularly in the coming years.
February 5th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
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February 6th, 2016 at 11:12 PM ^
They've done it a few times, both in A2 and in Columbus, and it's worked out fine.
February 5th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:17 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
Well Nike, donations, and ticket sales too
February 5th, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
February 5th, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^
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