The 2015 Virginia Tech football schedule was released this morning, and for the second time in three years the Hokies won't host a Thursday night game.
Virginia Tech athletics director Whit Babcock offered a succinct explanation as to why.
"The ACC and ESPN are aware of our desire to continue to play a Thursday night game in Lane Stadium annually, if possible," Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said in a statement today. "The Thursday night options available to the ACC, in reality, were only weeks 5, 8, and 12, but with our slate of opponents for those weeks (Pitt, Duke, and North Carolina, respectively), at least one of the teams in each game would have had extra rest, which is not allowed by ACC scheduling parameters. We want to have the best opportunity to win and, in the case of week 5, it was important to us that we host a Saturday game on full rest following two consecutive road non-conference games. I am hopeful, though, that we will return to the Thursday night game rotation in 2016."
Again this season Virginia Tech will play a game under the Friday night lights typically reserved for high school showdowns. Babcock explained the ACC's obligation to ESPN to play Friday night football games.
"The ACC television contract with ESPN calls forfive Friday night games per season," Babcock said in a release. "Typically, if we are assigned by the ACC and ESPN to take a Friday night home game, we would prefer to play that on a holiday weekend, such as Thanksgiving, like we did last year against UVa, so as to not conflict with high school football and to make it a bit easier on our fans travel-wise. This year, however, both Virginia Tech and UVa received regular-season, non-holiday Friday night home games as part of the rotation.
"I'm confident, but not certain, we will rotate out of that cycle next year, perhaps for the next two. We will enjoy the night game opportunity this year versus NC State and the national broadcast spotlight for the Hokies on Oct. 9 and hopefully our fans can now plan well ahead to be there. Our desire ideally is to play our home games on Saturdays and a Thursday night, if possible, moving forward. We also value greatly our partnership with ESPN and the tremendous exposure they provide.We understand the complexities of scheduling. In general, I am pleased with our conference schedule in 2015."
Comments
Am I the only one who is more than a little concerned that it appears Whit was completely ignored by the ACC and ESPN when they created the schedule?
I don't think he was ignored. Like he said, they really couldn't schedule us for a Thursday night game because of scheduling rules. As for the Friday night, he may have just had to take what he could get there. ESPN isn't going to bend over backwards to get a Friday night game over a holiday for many teams, especially if that is an ACC team without a spear on their helmets. Still, I'll take the Friday night game against NC State over another nooner on Saturday.
Oddly enough, FSU is really getting the shaft in that department, having to travel from Tallahassee to Chestnut Hill, MA, for a September Friday night game.
Interesting point (and I like the shaft pun, whether it was intentional or not). Still, FSU is probably gonna end up with at least 2 home night games, maybe 3. Their schedule isn't spectacular, but I'm sure ESPN will help them make the best of it.
As networks try to do with all national title contending teams. I feel like alabama plays 8 night games a year
Granted. But looking on the bright side, we're guaranteed three night games, two of them at home) by virtue of the schedule. Now whether we get any Saturday night home games probably depends on what we do in September and October. Furman, Pitt and Duke have noon written all over them, but if we're in contention in mid-November I see UNC being under the lights.
Saying their schedule isn't spectacular is an understatement. That OOC schedule is an absolute dog.
Texas St., USF, Chattanooga, and Florida. I'll give you Florida no matter how good they may or may not be any given season. But we have Hokies questioning playing Purdue this year, which is lightyears above any of the other 3 OOC games FSU has. At least we can claim playing TWO B1G teams OOC.
It's espn's punishment to FSU for letting Jaymus go pro. Now they have to share Jaymus with NFL, CBS, FOX etc.
how was he completely ignored? His statement of the situation makes sense.
How do you get that he was completely ignored? If anything, his explanation of the specifics tells me that he was involved in a process to find a way to make a Thursday might contest happen, and conference rules on extended rest and so forth made it impossible. Sounds like this is a case where there just wasn't any way to make it happen even though people were putting in the effort.
In all honesty, with how the television contract is written, what leverage does Whit have other than to ask for consideration. Especially given our performance on the field the last three seasons. ESPN controls all the strings when it comes to the TV schedule unfortunately. That is more on Weaver and the power that all of the ACC schools gave to the conference leadership in regards negotiation. I am not as upset by the Thursday snub as much as I am regarding the games that ESPN obviously doesnt want (when we end up on WatchESPN rather than TV) We used to control those games (contract refers to them as third tier) and we could negotiate with a Regional Sports Network to carry them, now contracting them out to an RSN is a deal done by ESPN. Its especially worse in our basketball scheduling but also why we get stuck with so many noon games for football. If we were free to negotiate the third tier like we used to than we would have more say in game time when working with the RSN to schedule the game.
we have to remember there are also 14 and a half if you count ND ADs asking for the same thing we are pretty much. cant please everyone and while we all know the ACC should revolve around us it does not.
It revolves around the Sun...DUH!!!
LOL TIC
We will know if the ACC is ignoring Whit if the rest of our games are at noon...
I believe game times are up to ESPN, not the ACC.
People pay more attention to you when you win 10 games......
Auto-leg for Haycocks reference in the siggy.
Whit gets it. I like how he is forthright and addresses these situations. He knows what WE want. He may not always be able to give that to us however.
Thank you, Joe, for an excellent article that provided a huge insight to the complexity of conference scheduling for games (in any sport). Very insightful. It might seem like something trivial, but it goes to show just how much more detailed all this 'stuff' is in handling college sports.
I do not think Whit was ignored. I think we need to remember that when we ask for something, some times the answer is 'No'.
Another thing to note, Whit was very crafty in getting our first Friday night game scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be the first to guess that we just might have a 'Friday night before Labor Day' game in our near future as Whit tries to minimize the impact of these games on fan scheduling.
Yet another reminder that Whit is doing a great job for us, with much of his effort not being publicized. I'm VERY thankful for this guy, he will be an asset for us for a long time!
Crafty for getting Fri after Thanksgiving, I think not. It was a real hassle for us season tix holders that have to travel from DC or the tidewater, and most of the students were not back and the stands showed it. The fans there rocked it pretty well, but, Sat night in Blacksburg would have been even better. Again, we had almost all early games last year while the loser hoos got several 3:30 starts. Whit hasn't shown me anything on scheduling influence yet.
Would you prefer a Friday night game in Sept/Oct when many people would have to burn an extra vacation day to attend, as opposed to Thanksgiving weekend, when many people already had Friday off?
People need to step back & look at the bigger picture. Whit made the best of a situation he was presented. He did so in a smart way.
When people look beyond their own situations, it should be easy for them to recognize that. The old fantasies of us being a Saturday night featured game do not come anywhere close to coinciding with our recent 7-6, 8-5, 7-6 records. Especially with an offense that hasn't made the top 80 in about the last five years or so. Rationality needs to be used here.
The more I hear and read from Whit, the more I like him. He just seems to "get it".
Leg up in agreement. Whit is progressive, and assertive, for us without being camera hungry. Yet he still helps provide information to the public about stuff like this, which is very much appreciated. He doesn't HAVE to do that, but he does see the benefit in doing it, and there really is a benefit in doing it.
Whit is quietly efficient, yet very transparent, too. That's a very appealing package.
No offense to HS football, but personally I've always thought Friday games would be better than a Thursday anyway. Students don't have class the next day, we workers only need to take a 1/2 or one day off as oppose to up to 2 days off for a Thursday game, and we don't have to worry about a "recoup" day on Friday after a Thursday "festivities". All-round I just like Friday night games better than Thursday and also better than a nooner...
Boom, boom, boom and boom. All reasons why Friday kicks the piss out of Thursday.
"Awww, but it isn't Thursday!!!! *cries*" Yeah, isn't that what people were saying about Thursdays ("it isn't Saturday! Saturday is for college football!") back in the day?
Now the "recoup" day can be saved for Saturday, which is perfect because that means more college football.
Best way to detox is to retox.
I don't think it will be long before Friday night IS the extra night for college football. Just as you said, Thursday night used to be the red headed stepchild games.
With the NFL entering the foray on those evenings for several years now, and especially with CBS picking up games now, you are going to see those contests pull in numbers even though they are bad matchups for the most part, or even if they are good matchups they are sloppy games because NFL teams really do need those extra few days of rest and prep. Thursday Night NFL is more than half way to becoming its own "thing". It will never be MNF status, but it will blow the doors off college games.
I like your attitude, time for Hokie Nation to embrace the Friday. Take 1 day off, party your pants off, make a ton of noise in Lane Stadium for the good guys, and not worry about when you need to get up and drive home the following day. I say you just set up a tailgate again Sat. morning and start over.
Friday night game > Saturday noon game, IMO.
And Friday night >> Thursday night. The NFL owns Thursday night now. The ship has sailed. Every bar in America will have the college football game on its TVs on Friday; on Thursday now, college football is on the lone 17" tube set in the corner.
Folks need to get over the nostalgia for Thursday night. NOBODY except for the fans of the teams playing are watching Thursday night college football anymore. VT and Whit Babcock should be getting ahead of the curve and lobbying for Friday night games and leave Thursday night games to the MAC.
Agree with caveats. We should use Fridays strategically like we did with Thursdays. Be the only football on TV when there's an audience. Friday is a bad day for TV, so you need to be selective. Friday before Labor Day, when fans are hungry for the start of the season. Black Friday when lots of people have the day off and are tired from the holiday and shopping, less likely to go out. November Fridays in general because HS football is over and the weather is colder, meaning more people in bars as opposes to out doing things, so better chance of seeing us on the TV in the bar.
idk the NFL had some snoozers of games for thursday nighters last year and i think alot more folks than you think would rather watch CFB more than NFL because of the energy, passion, and non madona egos. kinda the same as NCAA basketball people would rather watch university of phoenix online play against tulsa welding school than watch the bulls and cavs play again.
There will always be the college football fanbase. But I do think that Joe Sportsfan is more likely to tune into an NFL game than a college game. Just by virtue of their being competition, ratings of the Thursday games will probably go down.
The ratings say otherwise. Even once they stopped the tnf broadcast on cbs and did only nfl network, their worst game drew 5 mil. Most of them drew closer to 8.
Compare that with the best Thursday night cfb game all year (fsu-Louisville) which drew 5 mil. Most of the games drew under 1.5, including both of ours.
i went back and looked and there were actually some good games on the NFL slate lol i just feel asleep before they got good. i guess your right though, i was pretty shocked to see. but after thinking a little more i do realize alot of people will watch football just because they like to have football on in the back ground while they do other things and i think alot more would turn to the NFL to do so. also seems odd to me that the NFL would have so much better ratings i dont know about in other areas but here only 1 of the main providers for cable TV offers NFL network with out having to pay extra for some sort of sports package were as ESPN is pretty much accessable to everyone. (the dishes i believe do offer NFL network in the base package but not 100% sure on that)
Bottom line is that the nfl KILLS cfb in ratings. Go to sportsmediawatch.com if youre curious how lopsided it is
"The ship has sailed. Every bar in America will have the college football game on its TVs on Friday; on Thursday now, college football is on the lone 17" tube set in the corner."
Exactly. I remember meeting some friends for the the Thursday night NFL game at BW3s in Chandler, AZ the same night we played Pitt this season. I had to ask the bartender to get the Hokies on TV, and the NFL game was literally a nothing game
I'd further refine by saying VT should be trying to get ahead of the curve by establishing our Friday night requirement as the annual Commonwealth cup game (as others have no doubt suggested elsewhere).
Thursday games were about "Anytime, anywhere", right? Well, by that logic, we don't have to play on Thursday nights. We'll play anytime, anywhere, and beat the pants off of anyone, including NC State on Friday night.
Big time props to Whit for giving fans a lengthy explanation, instead of the Jim Weaver "I talked to a handful of people who don't like Thursday night games, so I didn't schedule one" answer.
Yup. No matter where you stand on the Thursday night xor Friday night debate, everyone seems to agree (myself included) Whit handled that like a boss.
This is the silver lining for me. We have an AD that realizes the fans are unhappy, responds to that realization, responds quickly and actually provides some insight into what happened. A very pleasant change.
I'm with you, Whit really seems to have an understanding of the alumni and fanbase. In the event he can't deliver what those groups want, Whit at least makes a statement in regards to why and they always make sense. I love this guy.
Huge, huge agreement there. Whit actually takes the time to address his customer base - something the previous AD NEVER did in a credible manner. Sugar cookie silliness and all the other punch lines aside, Weaver was a complete negative in public relations. Whit is a superstar in that. He does not seek attention, but he takes the time to explain things that are not nuclear secrets, like Weaver pretended everything from sugar cookies & above were an example.
Truthfully, that is one of the best things about both Whit & Buzz, is that they both are as transparent as necessary (which is WAY more than we have gotten for decades now), while taking the time to explain that 'all the details' about how the sausage is made need to be exposed.
Is it just me or does Whit look like a bad-ass secret agent in this photo?
Almost too much like a secret agent...
Looks like hes about to use his secret agent tactics and sneak in for some tailgate food
"Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock watches as the team walk begins on Spring Road before the William and Mary game. [Mark Umansky]"
Looks to me that he is watching something alright, and it isn't the team.
I was thinking:
And I was thinking...
I much prefer Friday to Thursday night. Still get to take a full day off for the game day festivities but don't have to take the extra day to recover. Plus it dovetails nicely into the weekend. Plus the NFL owns Thurs nights now. Plus I think it will lead to more people being able to go and get a full day of tailgating in (see above re: 1 vs 2 days off work) which leads to the best possible atmosphere in Lane.
See you at TOTS the morning of 10/9!
Can we just take a second to recognize how amazing Whit's tie is? Hokie colors integrated into a classy tie you could wear to work. Bravo, sir.
And further props for pulling off the unbuttoned-top-button look.
It was hot as hell that day, but Whit looks cool as a cucumber.
At least Whit has a real reason and not "some of the older fans don't like being out late"
This was actually legitimately the reason given by Purdue's AD when asked why the stadium doesn't have lights and why he always pushes to have games scheduled at noon. A girl in my program went there for undergrad. He's basically a poor man's Weaver (doesn't relate well to younger fans, to put it lightly, really good with the books, etc.)
Side note: don't expect anything later than 2 for that Purdue game.
Wait. They dont have lights? The football field?
What's even more surprising is, per Wikipedia, they are one of three B1G programs with stadiums that lack artificial lighting.
Michigan didn't have them until 2011. Notre Dame had it in their NBC contract from ~'90 until ~2011 (after NBC paid for lights in the 80s) that their home games couldn't be at night.
Both are now singing a different tune.
What really is shocking is OSU only had temporary moveable lighting as their stadium lighting (like those seen around campus brought in for our night games) until last season's home opener against us.
I wonder if that was one of the three and Wikipedia is outdated.
So I decided to look this guy Purdue guy up. Holy ____! - how does this guy keep his job.?!
His response about pushing to not make the 2012 Michigan game a night game (despite the fact that probably 90% of their fanbase would want one) is like something out of The Onion...
"I probably could've had a night game with Michigan, but I lobbied them for late afternoon so it wouldn't be late for our people to get home," Burke said.
He later added:
"I realize there are some people out there that feel that's a real benefit. They have to stand back, as do I, and look at it from every possible angle. I know there's a vocal group who feel that's the right thing to do, but they don't have any logic other than it would be nice to have a night game."
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/50501/purdue-left-in-the-dark-w...
And our fans thought Weaver was out of touch!
Weaver would have been beloved in the B1G. He had their mindset in spades.
Gotta remember that Weaver started out at Penn State, so he did indeed have that B1G bloodline early.
Leg for the history lesson. I did not know that.
Back atcha. JW was an asst for JoePa back in the day. He actually played ball at PSU, then did the grad asst thing, etc. Back before JoePa became sainted, which was 1970. JoePa's team finished their second straight undefeated season(1969 reg season), but Richard Nixon watched Texas beat Notre Dame (led by Joe Theesman) in the Cotton Bowl & went on TV saying they were national champions.
There was a lot of media sympathy for Paterno because he'd had two straight undefeated seasons with little accolades for it. He was viewed as 'the clean guy who did it right' even back then, and suddenly became the face of what was good about college sports while other coaches like Barry Switzer (shortly after), etc. were viewed as what was wrong with college sports.
Anyway, Jim Weaver was an asst coach on those teams under Paterno, after playing at PSU in school.
Sports history... it'll get after ya.
And suddenly it all becomes clear...
I thought I was missing something regarding the Week 12 opening the ACC would have for a Thursday night game for VT. Looking at the schedule, we have UNC visiting. Neither team has a bye week in Week 13, so neither team has the "too much rest" problem. However, upon further inspection, UNC would have two away Thursday night games if they did that. And trying to change our GT game to a home Thursday night game so that UNC could host VT for Thursday night would create all kinds of scheduling nightmares since we'd then have two teams of back-to-back years in the same location. Now my head hurts after analyzing Whit's statement about why we can't have a home Thursday night game!