It’s 9:35 p.m. on a cool, breezy mid-autumn evening in Happy Valley, with Beaver Stadium packed with frenzied Penn State Football faithful.
The game is close.
The intensity is at its peak.
A single mistake or a single miracle could decide the outcome. It’s college football euphoria—perfection. Hated by many, admired by all, in 122 decibels of unrestrained heaven.
It’s The Penn State White Out Game.
It’s the pinnacle of college football. The greatest show on Earth in the sports world. And it needs to be protected.
The Big Ten recently signed a deal to distribute $80 million to $100 million per year to each of its 16 members. According to USA Today, the league distributed $54.3 million to most of its members prior to this agreement.
Imagine getting DOUBLE the TV revenue.
The Details: The Networks.
NBC. CBS. FOX.
All three networks will carry future Big Ten football championship games.
Fox, which will remain the Big Ten’s primary broadcast partner (to the disappointment of many), has carried the title game since its inception in 2011. Fox will broadcast the championship in 2025, 2027, and 2029. CBS will carry the game in 2024 and 2028, and NBC in 2026.
The Big Ten Network will continue to air football games—up to 50 per year from 2024 through 2029—as well as most of the league’s men’s and women’s basketball games and Olympic sports. The Big Ten will add a second Black Friday football game on CBS (Iowa and Nebraska have traditionally played a Black Friday game on Fox).
Fox will carry 24-32 football games per season during the agreement, while NBC will carry 14-16 games on its linear network and eight games per year on Peacock. Beginning in 2024, CBS will carry 14-15 Big Ten games per season.
The Rub: The Networks’ Power
Fox got dibs. Priority.
We have three clearly defined blocks of Fox at noon, CBS at 3:30 p.m., and NBC in prime time. So Fox, despite any tradition or regard for any of the schools, takes the best matchup and slaps it on their BIG NOON KICKOFF. It’s extremely popular.
Games that should absolutely be in prime time are moved, and fans go nuts. You can barely tailgate for noon. Honestly, it’s barely even lunchtime.
But it’s about the $$$.
The rub is when the Big Ten inked the deal, they sold it. Any control. There were no guardrails in place. No protections (Sounds like something else college football leadership messed up?).
Big Ten and Network execs’ faces hurt from grinning. Now the teams and fans pay the price of not having just some input or guidance.
Next year, Oregon plays at Penn State. Unbelievably phenomenal matchup, in the greatest environment in all the land. That game needs to be the peak of the college football regular season.
That game will feed families. That game MUST BE A WHITE OUT.
I’m challenging the PSU Athletic Leadership to start NOW. Get on the networks now, and do all you must—use all your power—to ensure Penn State and Oregon is what football should be: a game for the ages…under the lights.
MORE: ESPN Extremely Bullish on Drew Allar
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He has been recognized for his work as a photographer and has also contributed to various publications including PennLive and The Weather Channel.
Brad is an Air Force veteran, coach and competitive runner that grew up a Nittany Lions fan as his family is originally from the State College area.
His diverse skillset and experiences provide for interesting perspectives on the college football, and sports topics of the day.
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