Big Ten Commissioner Explains Conference's Friday Night Football Expansion

Tony Petitti says Friday Big Ten games on FOX provide a "showcase" for conference teams.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads his team to the field against the Michigan State Spartans at Ford Field. / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti called the conference's larger Friday night football schedule a chance for national exposure as the Saturday windows grow more crowded with conference expansion.

The Big Ten will play 15 Friday games this fall, with nine airing as night games on FOX. The Big Ten's four new teams (USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington) will play Friday Big Ten games. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota will not.

By expanding to 18 teams this season, the Big Ten needed new time slots to handle the increased inventory of games. Petitti said Friday games would "showcase" more teams.

"If you look at our footprint on Saturday, having the three broadcast partners supported by the cable presence and Big Ten Network, I think Friday is an opportunity for national exposure," Petitti said at Big Ten Football Media Days. "I think you're going to see some programs there really embrace the opportunity to play on Friday.

"Of course, we don't want to burden any one institution. We care about what happens at the stadium as well and what happens on campus. But if you look at it, it's an opportunity to get programs to showcase them as they build in matchups. I think for us to have that footprint is really terrific."

Penn State coach James Franklin is among the coaches who don't want to play Friday night college football. The Nittany Lions have been successful in their last two Friday night games, beating Michigan State 42-0 last season and Illinois 63-24 in 2018. However, Franklin has called himself "old school" and said college's expansion into Fridays has been a product of "greed."

"Friday night is for high school," Franklin said in 2018. "Truly, Saturday is for college, and Sunday is for the NFL. I think that's a great model that's worked for a long time and it allowed each separate phase to enjoy on their own. All those complemented and supported each other."

Penn State has said it has no plans to host a Friday night game at Beaver Stadium, save for perhaps the Friday after Thanksgiving. However, the program likely will play more Friday Big Ten road games in the future. Further, Petitti suggested that certain Big Ten programs will hold sway over Saturdays.

"Look, there are just traditional places that want to play more on Saturday. We understand and respect that," Petitti said. "It's a league discussion that involves all 18 about the best way to format our schedule. Where coaches are embracing opportunities to have that exposure on Friday night, we try to lean into that. That's the way we approach it.

"Where are we looking more likely to go, that will change over time. Collectively we understand we're all doing this together, and we've got to make every telecast opportunity work for the conference to
be as strong and healthy as we can."

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