Larry Scott and the Pac-12 are nixing the early kick-off’s idea

Mulling some new ideas for the Conference, it appears Larry Scott and the Pac-12 are nixing the idea of early kick-off’s for football.

Perhaps good news or bad new depending on which way you slice, but after some discussion of potentially moving a few kick-off’s for the Pac-12 Football games up to 9 am PST, it seems that it won’t be happening after all.

Making the rounds via social media the other day was the news of the Conferences’ decision, after serious discussions were being had prior to.

Arizona Wildcats

Good idea? Bad idea? I guess it really depends on which way you look at it, but the conference and more specifically Larry Scott, are going to have to get creative in how they can really showcase their conference, meanwhile competing against the likes of the SEC, the ACC, the Big 10, etc.

It’s no secret the Pac-12 has suffered the past few years in terms of its exposure, viewership, it’s competitiveness, and general overall reputation. But why?

Well, let’s look at some of the facts of why that might be. Well, for one, their has only been two Pac-12 teams in the College Football playoff since its inception in 2014-15, with the last team being Washington in 2016-17, when the Huskies were walloped by Alabama 24-7.

So far starters, not having a consistent, competitive team that competes for a National Title, certainly doesn’t help the conferences’ exposure on the national stage!

Additionally, it’s hard to get over the logistical challenges of where the conference sits, and the respective time zone we are in. Unfortunately, people on the East Coast are just not interested in watching a USC-Washington game kicking off at 9 pm on the East Coast, like they might have been about 20-25 years ago, when both programs were elite.

For Arizona specifically, the challenges of having late kick-off times, are things that cannot be controlled. For instance, it’s hot until about the middle of October, so kick-off times before 6 pm are not wise nor are they good the general well-being of the public!

Adversely, if you were to move up a game or games to 9 am, attendance would still suffer due to families likely being busy with other activities earlier in the day, and students likely being disinterested in being at a game that early.

So what can the conference do? Well, in short, put out better products! More winning equals more exposure. And for Arizona, it’s exactly the same. Win more and put out a better product, and the fans and exposure will be there!

Either way, it’s good to see the conference being mindful of their struggles and are at least being a little proactive in how they can overcome its obstacles. Hopefully things can improve! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!