Question of the Week: Do you like Kansas State playing on a Friday

For those that may have missed it with all the news items over the course of the last month, Kansas State is set to play a football game on a Friday for the second straight season. Last year it was the Wildcats playing at Oklahoma State, but they’ll host a game on Friday in 2024.

As expected, Arizona at K-State is set for a Friday night in Week 3 of the football season. My assumption would be that it airs on FOX as part of the network’s Friday night primetime football plans for the 2024 season.

Some are not crazy about it. Obviously, that can take away eyeballs and people in the seats from high school games that have been designated for Friday nights for years. It can make it tough for some season ticket-holders to attend the Kansas State game if they have children playing on Friday.

Some folks will have to make decisions on what games to attend. And I’m sure that Manhattan High School is probably the school the least excited about the development. But it is just a one-time deal and at least not a weekly occurrence.

I’ve already seen high school football coaches voice their displeasure about it on social media and blame K-State for it. Clearly, this is not the Wildcats’ decision. In fact, I’m sure the coaches don’t love it. Instead of seven or eight home games this year, they already only had six.

This takes away another recruiting weekend for them when Kansas State was already at a shortage.

Do I like it? I’m pretty indifferent on the matter.

I understand the frustration of some just because of the difficult situation it could put them in when it comes to a viewing and fandom experience. I realize the consternation from high school football coaches, but it is just a week. And Manhattan High could just play on Saturday that week.

But I think it’s a good thing that the conference should utilize. The Big 12 has a chance to be overlooked on Saturdays when much of the country is tuning into Big Ten and SEC games, leagues that have inflated in size as well and will occupy most of the major television windows on that given day.

The conference will have a hard time breaking through on Saturdays. Taking advantage of Thursdays and Fridays, to attain larger viewership and not getting lost in the shuffle, is a sound strategy. You’re getting a chance for a primetime slot on linear television. That’s no small thing.

K-State at Oklahoma State did big numbers.

And remember what I said about conference size? Most leagues may have to slip off of Saturdays to an extent at times throughout a regular season. There’s only so many television windows. When leagues balloon to 18-20 teams apiece, there might not be another alternative in general.

Selfishly, I also don’t mind it because it means I get to sit down, lock in and take in a full Saturday slate as if it was a bye week, too.