Not happy to see Iowa-Maryland game moved to Friday
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The first word that came to mind upon learning that the Iowa football team’s game against Maryland had been moved up one day to Friday, Oct. 1 was yuck.
I never have been a fan of playing college football games on Friday night because it takes away from high school football.
Call me old-fashioned or outdated, or whatever you want, but high school football shouldn’t have to compete with major college football for an audience.
But that’s what happens when a team such as Iowa plays on Friday night.
Friday games are becoming more common as conferences and television networks look for ways to increase viewership and revenue.
So yes, money is the driving force behind playing college games on Friday night.
The Iowa-Maryland game was originally scheduled for Saturday Oct. 2 in College Park, Md.
Iowa has only played Maryland once in College Park, losing 38-31 in 2014.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz isn’t a fan of Friday night football, partly due to his respect for high school football, but also because it messes with his day-to-day preparation.
Ferentz is meticulous in his approach to details and preparation, and to move a road game up one day is a significant change.
But sadly, there is no stopping the thirst for more money, for more exposure and for more viewers.
Big-time college football is big-time business, and television revenue is the driving force behind it all.
This will be Iowa’s second Friday night Big Ten game. The first was last season when Iowa won at Minnesota.
The starting time and television network will be announced at a later time, but the game will be played at night.
Iowa has won seven consecutive Friday games, with five of the wins coming against Nebraska on Black Friday in games that were played during the day, and when no high school football games were being played at the same time.
It’s the Friday night games that are a problem, because Friday night for decades belonged to high school football.
But now it belongs to the television networks, and high school football suffers because of it.