OPINION: Friday Night Games Belong to High School Football

Written by Ethan Roberts

IU football continues their 2023 campaign this Friday with a matchup against Indiana State. The question on a lot of minds: Why Friday?

IU head coach Tom Allen spoke loud and clear about this recent Big Ten phenomena. 

“You know how I feel about Friday night games,” Allen said. “That’s not a decision that we make. That comes straight from the Big Ten. Somebody wants to complain about that, don’t talk to me.”

The media rights deal for the Big Ten allows for Friday night games. Adding another prime-time slot for football is one of several telling instances where conferences prioritize the size of their wallets rather than other people.

“I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face,” Allen said. “Until somebody tells me to shut up – and I’ll probably say it again: Friday night is for high school football.”

The root of the problem remains two-fold. For coaches hosting a Friday night college football game, this eliminates the chance of bringing in recruits on an official visit because they are typically playing in their own sport during these games.

For college players, it means that there is one less day for game-planning and practicing which can hurt their time in the classroom. 

Allen argued that it also overshadows high school football and the effort that gets put into those games.

“I am a 15-year high school coach and have a lot of respect for what (high school football) coaches do, and how that night is special,” Allen said. “I’ve been consistent. I’m not trying to just keep bringing it up. I just think that it’s important. And I understand the whole dynamics of it all with different variables with media (rights deals) and everything. But there’s certain things that if anybody wants to know my opinion, they know what it is.”

With the expansion of the Big Ten, schools like Washington and USC would be playing their Friday night games well into the morning on the east coast, which contradicts the reason for the implementation of Friday night games to begin with. 

Friday night football should be left for the high school players who work their tails off all week for the opportunity to play under Friday night lights, and college football should stick to their traditional Saturday slate.