9am PDT Football?

[PlainsUte]

So apparently Larry Scott is saying the Pac-12 is open to 9 am PDT (Noon Eastern) Saturday kickoffs.   For East Coast media exposure.   Please, really? What is the earliest time you would show up at the stadium for a game?

Larry Scott on SI

[Tony (admin)]

Of course whenever the Utes are playing I’d be there. I wonder if it is possible a little more airtime for the Pac-12 on the east coast would help recruiting. 

[Charlie]

September anytime of day can work for me. Odd times create opportunities to watch other games that day. By November, early games are not so good and late games can become awful. Late games in November need to be in Arizona or on the coast, can’t be that hard to schedule.

[dystopiamembrane]

A 9am start feels amazing. Sitting at a sports bar, enjoying a morning beer or three, watching our Utes while other east coast games are on sounds perfect.

[PlainsUte]

It’d have to be an Irish Coffee, Screwriver, Bloody Mary or something like that for me.

Just can’t get all pumped-up for football at 9 am on a Saturday.  I don’t really even like the 11 am Central kickoffs.  Back in the day my friends and I called those the “pancake games”; we’d have brunch just before kickoff.

How many hours before the game do the players get rousted from bed for breakfast, bus to stadium, taping and warming-up?  Are they getting up at 5 am for a 9 am kickoff?   

[UtMtBiker]

Can’t get a beer in Utah till 11 i think. You must be a lucky out of state fan.

[dystopiamembrane]

I believe I am.

[KiYi-Ute]

Hard pass. I have season tickets so if it was a home game, I would be there. But that’s too damn early to start. Negates any kind of home field advantage and ruins the atmosphere of the game.

Add to that, that the games would likely be on PAC12 network and not seen around the country, as you would rather put your marquee programs in prime time, it would be pointless.

More 3-5pm MST kickoffs.

8pm kicks tend to be fun games. RES and the MUSS are rocking. Just layer up if you’re cold. If it’s past your bedtime, well then I don’t know what to tell you.

[Grimmetal]

I’d be there. I think attendance might be lacking, so might be best to try that out with OOC games. 9 AM vs Idaho State? Alright. 9 AM vs USC or Washington? Gross.

[Ute Bc]

I would draw the line at 6:00 AM

[Duhwayne]

[noneyadb]

Why alienate your own fanbases that pay for tickets, parking, tailgating, etc.. just to appease East coast bias reporters? This is absolutely asinine. 

Here’s an easy way to evaluate the absurdity of this game time. Review the record of W’s vs L’s or even ATS records where teams have traveled 2+ timezones from West to East coast. It’s not pretty. Starting games at 9AM is a stupid gimic introduced by an idiotic commissioner trying to do anything he can to increase viewership, and conference positioning to save his job. 

#firelarryf**kingscottalready

[GameForAnyFuss]

Help me understand how a 9 a.m. kickoff would “alienate” our fanbase? I’m pretty sure our games would sell out no matter what time they started.

I’m guessing what you mean is that a 9 a.m. kickoff would alienate you because of the way you like to enjoy games. But I don’t think that automatically extends to everyone else. In fact, earlier kickoffs would make attending easier for a lot of fans, such as those who work or have other commitments on Saturday nights. So for every fan who would be “alienated” by a 9 a.m. kickoff, it would open up a door for another fan.

The unfortunate bottom line of CFB is that real outcomes are affected by pollsters, and most pollsters are on the east coast. CFB is, sadly, more of a popularity contest than any sport I can think of except ones like figure skating and gymnastics. And 9 a.m. kickoffs would help our popularity vastly more than the 8 p.m. ones do.

[noneyadb]

Nice narrow-minded response, and kudos to you for being enthusiastic about a 10AM mountain start time. But unfortunately the conference isn’t just Utah. People do have families and kids that also have games Saturday mornings…

9AM kickoffs are not helping popularity when the product on the field is playing like s**t due to a lack of sleep. East coast poles are always going to be bias because that’s the teams they care about. Nobody back East is going to care about a game at noon between Utah and Joe Blow get over yourself. The only teams that are going to move the needle back East- is USC…

If Larry Scott wants to improve the perception of the PAC12- fix the officiating, fix the replays, fix the Pac12 Network and limited access. Fix empty stadium’s, Fix an empty Pac12 championship stadium.  Get teams OOC schedules to have legitimate P5 schools to travel West. Quit scheduling byu they do zero as far as East coast bias. Utah isn’t helping playing Idaho St, NIU, and BYU…

[GameForAnyFuss]

Narrow minded? I’m the one thinking about all fans, not just myself.

[UtMtBiker]

Exactly. Over paid and under produces. The distribution woes are rediculous

[Thlete]

9 am (10 am MT) is much preferable in Oct and Nov over 8 pm start times in the freezing cold. I’m a season ticket holder and will show up at any time but getting home at 2 pm is better than 1 am IMO. Also better exposure to east coast audience (and voters). Nobody on east stays up for Pac12AfterDark and we don’t want any crazy upsets this year anyway.

[CapitalUte]

To get national broadcasts on Fox I’m all for it. A 10 AM Mountain Time start is far more reasonable for local fans than a 2 AM Sunday finish for East Coast fans. Living in DC I can tell you no one is watching the PAC12 after dark beyond hardcore alumni. Friends I have converted to Ute fans constantly apologize for missing even the start of late games. Even the highlights from those games are wasted by Sunday morning when everyone focuses on the NFL instead. An early PAC 12 game highlights would be on replay all Saturday to interested, and most important, awake college football fans and media on the east coast. 

 

[Duhwayne]

Happy to help wax Oregon at 9 AM if it moves us from 8 to 4 in CFB rankings.

Would probably rather wax Oregon State later in the day….

[PhiladelphiaUte]

I believe this will ultimately be advantageous to the teams in the Pac-12.  BigTen and SEC schools get all the noon EDT kickoffs, and pretty much wrap up their games by 8pm.  At which point, east coasters generally turn off their TV and go out.  This is the audience we’re missing.  

Plus, I’ve always HATED those late kickoff times.  It had gotten to the point where I’m stocked we’ll be seen on the Pac-12 Network, because that’ll mean a 4pm kickoff.

[Central Coast Ute]

One major problem is the players would have to get up at 5 or 6. Studies have shown that they play better with a full 8 hours of sleep. Not many college kids are going to bed at 10 PM on a Friday night.

Plus, tailgating that early in November? No thanks. Even two hours later would still give the PAC 12 east coast exposure.

[Gugstanley]

I prefer the earlier starts as opposed to the later especially when it is cold.

[UtMtBiker]

4 pm