With the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, 2024 will bring plenty of change for the Big Ten.
But thanks to the conference’s recently revealed 2024 schedule, we now have some insight into how the league plans to proceed from a broadcasting standpoint.
While the crossover matchups for the next few years were previously known, the Big Ten’s 2024’s schedule provided a glimpse of how the conference plans to leverage its expanded footprint. Of note, the league is looking to expand its presence on Labor Day weekend, with a yet-to-be announced game set to be played on NBC on Sunday, Sept. 1 — the same day that USC is set to open its season against LSU in primetime.
“The goal is to really capture every night of that Labor Day weekend short of the actual holiday on Monday,” Big Ten chief operating officer Kerry Kenny told The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman. “I think from a baseline perspective, it would be one game on Thursday, one game on Friday and then one game on Sunday in addition to the full slate on Saturday.”
As had been previously reported, the Big Ten will also be featured more often Fridays, thanks in part to Fox helping secure the funding to add Oregon and Washington to the conference earlier this year. While the league will host five Friday games and a Black Friday doubleheader in 2023, next season will see at least nine Friday Big Ten games, as well as another Black Friday doubleheader.
As for which games will be played when, Kenny said he expects those decisions to be made soon.
“We work collaboratively with the TV partners to understand which games are eligible to move to Friday based on the parameters that are in place, which games are non-negotiable — that they can’t leave Saturday because of the broadcast position — and the selection process,” he said. “That will be over the next several weeks and hopefully not months. But something that we’re hopeful to get done here sooner than later is identify which of those games will be eligible to move to Friday.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.