Saturdays in the fall are what college football fans live for. From tailgates to traditions to the games themselves, every Saturday becomes like a holiday. However, having a few games on other days can be really fun too, and it’s something I hope is adopted on a more widespread basis.
Pros
Take the NFL for example: Monday and Thursday night football gives fans a treat during the work week, and provides a spotlight for teams that might not get one otherwise. College football could use more of this. There are some conferences– particularly the Pac-12 and MAC– that have games during the week, but it would be cool to see this adopted by other conferences.
Although it was due to outside causes, namely Hurricane Ian, the SEC has rescheduled some of their games for week 5. On Thursday night, South Carolina faced SC State, and Florida is set to play Eastern Washington on Sunday. Just look at South Carolina-SC State: realistically, not many people outside of the fans of both teams would’ve tuned in on a packed Saturday slate. By having a more isolated game, fans get college football after a long work day, and the players and schools themselves get the spotlight.
If more mid-tier teams played midweek games, it would arguably help them get more scouting by the NFL. If NFL scouts aren’t deciding between SC-SC State or Ole Miss-Kentucky, it creates more opportunity for players in the midweek games. Additionally, college students are already going to be on campus during the week. With enough marketing, it could be fairly easy to pack a stadium for Thursday night college football.
As a college student myself, it’s safe to say a football game during the week would be welcome. Who wouldn’t want to get a respite from all the class work and settle in to party and watch a game after a long day?
College football is entering a greater era of marketing and revenue with NIL rules. Creating promotions around a Thursday night, Monday night, or Friday night game would be a great marketing strategy. Just imagine a raucous Friday night crowd in LSU’s Death Valley, or even a uniform scheme similar to the NFL’s color rush jerseys. The possibilities are endless, and there are plenty of ways to profit off midweek games.
Cons
Midweek games don’t come without a downside, though. Similar conversations regarding a shorter rest period have been ongoing in the NFL, and it’s a legitimate argument. Especially with college players who have a professional future, it might not be worth the potential health risks involved with a short rest week. While that’s true, there are definitely some options such as pairing a midweek game with a bye week, or just moving the game to Friday rather than Saturday.
To be honest, that’s right about where the cons end. Hosting a few midweek college games is beneficial to nearly every party in some fashion, whether that be increased exposure or more opportunities to watch the game we love.
Quad Sports 