It's been quite a well since we've seen a massive regular season game played at night in Ohio Stadium. The reason? Big Noon Kickoff.
Ohio Representative Tex Fischer made waves this week by introducing a bill that would essentially outlaw noon kickoffs for Ohio State football—except for the Michigan game, of course, that is traditionally played at noon every season. The bill would prevent any other game involving a state university from kicking off before 3:30 p.m. Eastern, according to reports from On3.
Interestingly enough, the bill — if passed — would impose a $10 million fine for any conference or TV network that tries to schedule the Buckeyes at noon in violation of this law. Plus, the bill goes so far as to threaten the university's relationship with the NCAA, conferences, or networks that might force their hand into an early kickoff.
Now, let's be clear. This bill isn’t law yet—and who knows if it ever will be. But the fact that it's even been introduced tells you something about how fed up people are, particularly in Ohio. Buckeye fans have been loud about it, and let’s face it, they have a point.
Last year, Ohio State had seven—yes, seven—noon kickoffs. Five of them were at home, and four of those were Big Noon Kickoff showcases on Fox. What has brought this to a boiling point, though, is the announcement Ohio State's matchup with Texas would be FOX's Big Noon Showcase game, which is traditionally played at noon.
While there has been plenty of backlash, we still have reason to believe that the game will ultimately be played at noon.
Could this bill actually pass? We wouldn't expect it to, but it's not as far-fetched as you might think.
According to On3, similar bills have popped up in other states—Louisiana lawmakers tried to make sure LSU played all its September games at night, and Arizona has a heat-related law that bans certain early kickoffs. So it wouldn’t be unprecedented.
At this point, we'd say that this is more political posturing than anything and, perhaps, an attempt to "strong arm" FOX into broadcasting the Texas game at night. But, we also wouldn't be surprised if something of this magnitude actually gains traction down the pike if things don't change.