The relationship between Fox Sports and its biggest college football partner, the Ohio State University, has been a fraught one for years. But the network’s reliance on the Buckeyes to prop up Big Noon Kickoff may just push it to the point of no return.
The drama around the Buckeyes on Big Noon has been a storyline for years. And it’s built around a simple, but inflexible dilemma. Fox has put all of its eggs into making the noon window its biggest game of the day and a way to have a premier window for themselves, avoiding stiffer competition at the afternoon and evening timeslots.
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The strategy has in large part been successful. Fox has chalked up its fair share of ratings wins and huge audiences. And for multiple years, it was the most-watched college football television window. But that success has been hugely dependent on the Big Ten’s biggest brand in Ohio State. And that has been met with feelings from the Buckeye state ranging from mild annoyance to furious rage.
The announcement of Ohio State facing Northwestern at noon in two weeks cemented that the Buckeyes will be without a home night game this year for the first time since 2018. And for some in the Ohio State universe, it’s the final straw for a relationship with Fox that they feel has been completely one-sided.
The matchup against Northwestern will be the 33rd time that Ohio State appears on a Fox Big Noon Saturday game. That’s over four games per season since Big Noon‘s launch. In fairness to the folks who say that playing so many noon games is a competitive disadvantage, the Buckeyes actually have a very good record in the timeslot.
But when you add in the obligations that OSU has to play two Big Ten Network games, Peacock always pining for a Buckeye exclusive, West Coast games, and CBS and NBC looking to secure Ohio State games of their own, the schedule quickly fills up as everyone gets their piece of the Buckeye pie.
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The Big Noon dynamic has never been a popular one in Columbus, and not just with Ohio State’s famed Lunatic Fringe, but with people inside the program as well. Athletic director Ross Bjork has publicly politicked for more night games. Even state representatives have tried to enact legislation to better protect the program’s interests. Even “Ban Noon Kickoffs” shirts are popular among fans. But Fox and the Big Ten have a contract through 2030 with the Big Ten Network, and Fox partnership in place until 2036. There is simply no reason to believe anything is changing anytime soon, especially with the conference pulling in over $1 billion annually in media rights.
Ohio State does share some responsibility in this with the school’s long-held policy against playing night games past the first Saturday in November. But exceptions have been made before, and likely could again under the right circumstances.
Forget about timeslots for a moment. How deep is the drama around Dave Portnoy going to cut in Columbus? The Barstool firebrand exited Big Noon Kickoff this year, but not before repeatedly taking a blowtorch to his arch rivals as a Michigan alum. It’s no secret that OSU didn’t approve of the move, and it’s quite possible that there is a lasting effect on the school’s relationship with Fox for bringing Portnoy into the fold in the first place.
The question for Fox and Ohio State is what happens next. It’s going to be a new college football world with a 24-team playoff. And given the Buckeyes are bearing the burden of the Big Ten-Fox contract so disproportionately, what is going to stop them from pulling a move out of the playbook of the ACC? Or something much more drastic?
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Big schools like Florida State, Clemson, and Miami were able to get a greater share of television revenue from the league to keep them from defecting to greener pastures. Instead of everyone getting equal payments, a majority of ACC distributions are now built on a formula rewarding teams with the best television ratings. In what universe should Ohio State be getting the same payouts from the conference that Purdue is? Or Minnesota? Or Northwestern? Or heaven forbid Rutgers and Maryland?
It’s an idea that was floated by former Ohio State president Ted Carter, before he resigned under a cloud of controversy after misusing his office in a controversial personal relationship. And it’s likely something that’s going to be front and center of the next round of negotiations for the conference.
If Ohio State is going to sacrifice the allure of home night games, thinking that they are hurting themselves from a recruiting, local economy, and fan-experience perspective, then they are going to want some other form of compensation. If the Big Ten continues moving forward with the triumvirate of Fox, NBC, and CBS, then some serious changes will have to be made to keep everyone happy. But even that might not be enough. Oklahoma left the Big 12 for for the SEC and didn’t pull punches in citing Fox’s Big Noon Kickoffs as a major reason for the move.
College football is changing at a rapid pace. The sport has already seen a number of transformations take place in conference realignment, NIL, the transfer portal, and the looming playoff expansion. And it’s already been proposed that the new era of the sport could lead powerhouse programs like Ohio State or Michigan to leave the Big Ten behind in its entirety and go independent once their Grant of Rights expire.
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And after another year of being stuck in the Big Noon Vortex, that may be becoming a more and more attractive position for Ohio State. Yes, the Big Ten’s revenue model is extraordinary and has led to an incredible wealth advantage for the Buckeyes and other teams in the conference. But how much longer will Ohio State accept scheduling inflexibility and propping up so many others? And how much more could they receive if every game was put to the open market?
Ultimately, Ohio State is going to have a ton of leverage entering any negotiation that would take place. After seeing what is happening throughout the sport, and the years of built up frustration over so many noon games, it may be one of the most pivotal events that will happen in the college football world.
How much will Ohio State demand if they do ask for an unequal revenue split? Who would join them? Surely schools like Michigan, Penn State, and maybe even Oregon would also want to be rewarded. The Big Ten is in some ways more like the ACC than the SEC where it is top-heavy with huge brands. And if a threat of independence truly exists, the school could put the conference in a very challenging spot.
Ohio State fans have a difficult time being truly happy with their program given the impossibly high standards in Columbus. And Ryan Day is on the hot seat again after a loss against USC where the Buckeyes looked poorly prepared to help true freshman backup quarterback Luke Fahey. The team is a few inches on the Indiana sideline away from being 5-5 in their last ten games.
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And if their television partner is seen as more of a hindrance than a help to their national championship aspirations, then it could mean a big change is on the horizon. Not just for Ohio State and the Big Ten, but maybe the sport as a whole.
The post With more friction over kickoff times, is Ohio State-Big Ten relationship sustainable? appeared first on Awful Announcing.
