Why is UCF Playing Navy at 11 in the Morning?
If you are a UCF Knights fan that hangs out on any one of several different social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably seen numerous posts, and complaints, about the 11 a.m. kickoff time for Navy.
Even if you just heard about the kickoff time, not many Knights fans that fall into that category were likely happy with the early start time.
This early kickoff not only impacts the players and coaches, but it’s not very friendly for fans of the Knights. So why is the game being kicked off so early?
Money. It’s all about money. UCF had absolutely nothing to do with wanting an 11 a.m. kickoff. Zero. Zip. None. Nada.
Advertisers and the television companies negotiating with them decided the 11 a.m. kickoff time. That’s the bottom line. It’s also important to mention something else with this situation.
That’s part of UCF not being in the Big 12 just yet and instead being in the American Athletic Conference. That will change next year with the Big 12 being UCF’s new home, but for now, it is what it is.
For instance, even though Ohio State will trample Maryland, that game is on ABC at 3:30 p.m. The No. 2 ranked Buckeyes have a massive following and are likely going to help Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, earn big bucks from the OSU faithful tuning in to watch the game. Maryland has always been a big state school, and in the Power 5, so there’s plenty of fans following that Big 10 team as well.
Same deal with Miami playing at Clemson at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, as Clemson’s big following will help the same company make money, and it’s another Power 5 matchup, this time in the ACC.
Fair or not, that’s how college football scheduling almost always works. The big conferences bring in the money from the television advertising revenue, and that usually comes with kickoffs in the middle of the afternoon and during the evening.
Thankfully, UCF will be in a far different situation being in the Big 12 Conference.
Sure, the Knights might have a few noon kickoffs as members of the Big 12, but most of the games will have a strong chance for a 3:30 kickoff or later. For now, UCF fans need to just cheer on their favorite team, earlier than usual, but pack the stadium and yell like crazy for the Knights against the Midshipmen!
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