There are bitter rivalries in every PAC-12 state, along with drastically different offensive philosophies from program to program. However, over the last decade, one thing every PAC-12 coach has in common is their hatred of consistent late night kickoffs.
With geography and time zones being what they are, ESPN, FOX and the PAC-12 Network consistently ask teams to kick off as late as 7:30 or 8 pm PT in order to fill out crammed Saturday schedules. As a result, games oftentimes last close to, if not beyond, midnight.
WIth that said – sleep deprived PAC-12 fans could have some relief as early as this year. According to PAC-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, the conference has discussed the possibility of having at least one high profile game kick off this year at 9 am PT on FOX.
“That would be new and out of the box for our conference but I’ve tried to put everything on the table,” Scott told Bryan Fischer of NBC Sports this week. “There’s a lot of frustration from fans in certain markets to the late night kicks.”
When asked about the potential breakfast kickoffs, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly didn’t seem to mind.
“We don’t control our schedule and when we kickoff so tell us when we’re kicking off and where it is, and we’ll be there. If (Scott) wants us to play at 9 am, we’ll play at 9.”
