Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett said during the April 4 spring game that U-M was close to an announcement about the 2015 night game. Despite obvious safety concerns, some have speculated it would be Michigan State on October 17. Will it?
"There are challenges," Hackett acknowledged last month on the Huge Show with Bill Simonson. "There's not going to be an Ohio State game at night because it's too cold - it's too cold for our fans. There's a challenge with Michigan State because the cities are so close together that you end up with a lot of people in both cities that aren't at the game but maybe are having too much fun [outside] that stress the health and safety system."
MSU remained on the table, however, because it was "one of the big opportunities because it fell in the period of the year when it's warm enough."
What we've heard from someone on the administrative side yesterday - it won't be Michigan State, despite overtures from the athletic department to hold the rivalry game at night. In fact, from solid sources, as of now it appears there won't be a night game at all in 2015. The other options would have been Sept. 12 (Oregon State), Sept. 19 (UNLV), Sept. 26 (Brigham Young) or Oct. 10 (Northwestern), but U-M already has three road night games scheduled, and we're hearing that's enough for head coach Jim Harbaugh.
There will be more night games in the near future (in 2016), as there probably should.
"Next year … get used to more than one game at night at Michigan," Hackett said. "That will be true for all the Big Ten schools. We're working on that strategy. I love the idea of night games in our future. Let this kind of feel like an algorithm that's going to add up … I love that.
"The second thing is, our destiny is more night games. The viewership is higher, and all of our games are televised. There's a high desire to have Michigan football in prime time. The push is more prime time.
"The third thing is, we've got the most unique setting in the country for fan experience. We have a city that shows up. Others can say their stadiums are big, but we have parking, coordination, human safety … all that is in consideration of where we've got to go."
And in the last six years (and for the first time in decades), MSU fans have flocked to Ann Arbor without tickets. One of our former employees was accosted, beaten and had his cell phone stolen by a group of them walking on the street following a 3:30 game for wearing his Michigan shirt on the way to the bar. Another friend was goaded into a fight on the way out of the stadium when a group got in his face.
So - bad idea? Yep. And I'm sure we're not the only ones with stories.
"I'm going to look at everything ... and we're going to make decisions," Hackett said.
It has yet to be announced, but we're confident a couple have already been made - one for the short term, one for the future.
This post was edited on 4/14 4:46 PM by ChrisBalas
"There are challenges," Hackett acknowledged last month on the Huge Show with Bill Simonson. "There's not going to be an Ohio State game at night because it's too cold - it's too cold for our fans. There's a challenge with Michigan State because the cities are so close together that you end up with a lot of people in both cities that aren't at the game but maybe are having too much fun [outside] that stress the health and safety system."
MSU remained on the table, however, because it was "one of the big opportunities because it fell in the period of the year when it's warm enough."
What we've heard from someone on the administrative side yesterday - it won't be Michigan State, despite overtures from the athletic department to hold the rivalry game at night. In fact, from solid sources, as of now it appears there won't be a night game at all in 2015. The other options would have been Sept. 12 (Oregon State), Sept. 19 (UNLV), Sept. 26 (Brigham Young) or Oct. 10 (Northwestern), but U-M already has three road night games scheduled, and we're hearing that's enough for head coach Jim Harbaugh.
There will be more night games in the near future (in 2016), as there probably should.
"Next year … get used to more than one game at night at Michigan," Hackett said. "That will be true for all the Big Ten schools. We're working on that strategy. I love the idea of night games in our future. Let this kind of feel like an algorithm that's going to add up … I love that.
"The second thing is, our destiny is more night games. The viewership is higher, and all of our games are televised. There's a high desire to have Michigan football in prime time. The push is more prime time.
"The third thing is, we've got the most unique setting in the country for fan experience. We have a city that shows up. Others can say their stadiums are big, but we have parking, coordination, human safety … all that is in consideration of where we've got to go."
And in the last six years (and for the first time in decades), MSU fans have flocked to Ann Arbor without tickets. One of our former employees was accosted, beaten and had his cell phone stolen by a group of them walking on the street following a 3:30 game for wearing his Michigan shirt on the way to the bar. Another friend was goaded into a fight on the way out of the stadium when a group got in his face.
So - bad idea? Yep. And I'm sure we're not the only ones with stories.
"I'm going to look at everything ... and we're going to make decisions," Hackett said.
It has yet to be announced, but we're confident a couple have already been made - one for the short term, one for the future.
This post was edited on 4/14 4:46 PM by ChrisBalas
