It appears that sanity has once again taken hold of the Pac 12. Last month, it was reported that the Pac 12 was considering 9 AM local kickoff times in some markets. Network executives had floated the idea and in turn the conference had considered it, but for at least this season, there will be no kickoffs before noon local time.
The Pac-12 is not moving forward with a proposed plan to have 9AM kickoffs. 🕘🛌 pic.twitter.com/c1NEAv0ALu
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 22, 2019
Although the proposal was picked apart in the media and fans weren’t happy with the idea, some coaches had expressed a desire to play at 9 AM. Chip Kelly and Kyle Whittingham were the two most vocal proponents of the move, and Justin Wilcox also noted that he would be open to the idea.
While there won’t be any early morning kickoffs this year, the topic will certainly be addressed this offseason. Pac 12 Vice President for Public Affairs stated as much when he said:
“Our interested schools need more lead time for discussions with all relevant stakeholders,” Walker said. “There is interest from Fox and there is interest from some of our schools, but need more time to plan properly.”
If the 9 AM PT kickoffs do come to fruition, its expected that the four schools in the Mountain Time Zone will be hosts for those games. Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State would all see kickoffs at 10 AM local since they are one hour ahead, making the idea a little more manageable.
The Pac 12 has been known for thinking outside the box. Their television network is set up in a different way than any of the other conferences with each school having their own sub-network, and they have tried to take their brand international. California and Stanford started their seasons in Sydney, Australia in 2016 and 2017.
It will be interesting to see whether or not this idea works, but it will at least give us viewers more flexibility in the noon time slot if it happens.
H/T ESPN
