July 2, 2007

"Weather" once held the distinction as the most-talked about topic in Oklahoma. Then television networks got hold of college football and the weather was replaced by... kickoff times.

Word has it that the Hatfield-McCoy feud started over a kickoff time. Same for the rivalry between cats and dogs.

Mention kickoff times and the torch is lit for spirited debate.

Merchants and hearty tailgaters hate the morning kickoffs. Fans that come from a distance dislike the evening. I can't recall anyone being ticked off about the afternoon starting times, but rest assured somebody is.

And since people are mad, there is just one thing left to do. Place blame. It is at this point where anger and sound judgment part company.

There is a faction that is certain Oklahoma Athletics Director Joe Castiglione could simply pound his crimson fist on the table and get things changed. To be sure, Joe protests, and he has scored minor victories here and there, but there are well-defined bounds to what even he can accomplish.

When the networks handed over all that cash to purchase the television rights for the Big 12 Conference, they did so with thick strings attached. The ability to set starting times is among those.

TV needs that flexibility to plot games in such a way as to maximize viewership. And high ratings translate into big bucks from advertisers. Profit for the networks in turn benefits the Big 12 and its members.

The benefits derived from those television dollars help make it possible for OU to do a lot of things that fans enjoy most, not the least of which is compensate a coach that rates as fairly popular in these parts.

Television's impact goes beyond the dollars too. While hundreds of thousands of fans around here critique the start times, there are millions in other parts of the world that are simply thankful that the games are on at all. Those people don't have the option of attending in person and rely on TV for a visual link to the program.

And what about recruiting prospects?  The last football signing class at Oklahoma pulled in players from nine states. Many of them became acquainted with OU through television and many of their parents were assured of seeing their offspring play in college via television.

There is no question that television's upside far outweighs the inconvenience it causes with early, late and varied start times. This is a topic that must be viewed on balance.

For the record, most OU Athletics Department employees line up with the fans on this one. Do you think any of us like arriving here at the crack of dawn for 11 a.m., kickoffs? Surely the players (you remember the value of sleep during the college years) dislike the morning starts.

But there is a bigger picture, 60-some inches in High Def for some folks, which must be considered. 

Curse the networks for kickoff times if you must, but pay at least some lip service to the incredible benefit they bring to the OU program. And cut Joe C., a break. He fights for the most palatable schedule OU can get, plus he likes his Saturday morning solitude just as much as the next person.

P.S.:  One member of the media raised this question relative to kickoff times earlier this spring... If OU and Texas could reject ABC's proposal to move the Red River Rivalry to an evening kickoff, why can't schools reject other starting times? That answer lies in the existing contract. ABC has specific windows in which it can schedule Big 12 games. The prime time game that the network is introducing this season falls outside those windows and is therefore not subject to the agreement.

P.S.S.:  I do think college baseball players have a beef when it comes to starting times. After OU defeated Rice to force a third game in the super regional, the two teams had to wait well into the evening before finding out what time they would play the following day. When the starting time was set by ESPN, it was set for noon, which means only 16 hours passed between the announcement of the time and the start of the game.

 
  
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Kenny Mossman, Associate Athletics Director for Communications, provides his perspective on Oklahoma Athletics in his regular column on SoonerSports.com.