The need to play more college football games on late-summer Sundays is something we dealt with in a separate article at Trojans Wire.
The Pac-12 is trying to get maximum dollars in its media rights deal. Getting more games on the Sundays before Week 1 of the NFL season could give networks some prime viewing windows and opportunities. This plays into a larger attempt to be ambitious throughout a season in terms of getting more visible slots for Pac-12 games, for the inventory the conference wants to make more accessible after the disastrous Pac-12 Network run.
When we consider the possibility of playing a lot more early-season college football games on (pre-NFL) Sundays and at other points in time through Labor Day weekend, we need to remember that early-season games can’t be played in the middle of the day in punishing, hot sunshine. If they are going to be on campus, as most college football fans and pundits want, they have to be at night, played in shadows with reduced heat and overall exposure to the elements.
Yet, it’s not as though the TV networks can just play games at night. They would certainly love to have games all day on a late-August Sunday and get some attractive standalone properties to showcase.
How can that be done, then? Not through those on-campus games.
More early-season games will be facilitated in and through the use of neutral sites. Why? Because those neutral sites — Atlanta, Arlington, Las Vegas, and others which are available to use — are domed-stadium sites.
Glendale, Arizona.
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Houston.
Minneapolis.
Detroit.
If the Pac-12 wants to improve its media rights package, it would get SoFi and Glendale into the mix for more early-season neutral-site games in weather conditions which would be comfortable.
College football needs more of these games, not fewer … and there’s a lot of money to be made by doing so. Athletic departments shouldn’t turn this down.
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