Penn State Football: Are Friday Night Big Ten Games In The Cards For Penn State?

Friday night Big Ten football? It could be coming to a town near you soon according to Madison.com

“Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is trying to get feedback to be used in negotiating the next series of TV deals for the league. The current contracts run through 2016 (with Fox for the conference football championship game) and ’17 (with ESPN and ABC for regular-season games)”

 “If the networks want Big Ten games on Friday nights — a slot traditionally reserved for high schools — Delany wants to know where his constituents stand and an idea of what a commitment like that would be worth.”

With the Big Ten set to expand this upcoming season and with new TV contracts just around the corner, there is little doubt the Big Ten stands to gain a lot of money. The new television deals are projected to be astronomical with the conference expanding into the New York and New Jersey markets. A larger conference with more programs and games to showcase could benefit from special Friday night games.

But as always there are potential issues that arise for schools like Penn State. While the Nittany Lion faithful are just that, the majority of the fans packing Beaver Stadium each weekend come from 1-6 hours travel outside of State College. Friday night games mean more travel on a work day, less tailgating and more obstacles across the board. That’s an obvious attendance issue for an athletic department still regaining its financial footing.

That being said if each school only has to deal with a Friday night contest once a year, it could become an interesting novelty game — one that many people might look forward to. Either way, Delany notes that these games would be years away even if approved.

What are your thoughts? Vote in our StateCollege.com poll. 

Popular Stories:

Penn State Football: Franklin And Staff Hit The Six Commit Mark Faster Than Ever

Dickey’s BBQ Is The Result Of One Couple’s 20-Year Journey

Students Continue Day of Service to Counter State Patty’s Day Partiers

Friends Remember Col. Gerald Russell’s Contribution to Country, Community

Lead Teller Accused of Stealing $30,000 from State College Bank

Judge Rules in Spanier’s Favor, Okays Delay in Freeh Lawsuit