When the Big Ten originally announced last year that conference teams would begin playing games on Friday nights in 2017, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said then that he expected the Buckeyes to host a Friday night game every three years.
That stance has reportedly changed.
In an interview with Todd Jones of The Columbus Dispatch, Smith said that he now does not anticipate Friday night games being in Ohio State's future.
"We don’t think Ohio State is a program that will ultimately play on Friday night," Smith said. "We’re more valuable on a Saturday for our television partners. We don’t need to play on a Friday night."
So will the Buckeyes ever play a Friday game?
"I don’t anticipate it," Smith said. "If you’re running a network, would you put us on Friday night or Saturday? ... Friday night is not our world."
Although he does not expect Ohio State to play on Fridays, Smith told Jones that he is still in support of the conference playing on Fridays.
Still, Ohio State remains in favor of Big Ten games being played on Fridays despite opposition from the OHSAA and many high school and college coaches. Smith said the conference’s 14 members unanimously approved the idea when initially polled.
″(OSU’s support) really wasn’t for us as it was for others in our league,” Smith said. “I supported that, and I still support that. I’m disappointed that others who voted for it have come out publicly against it. But we all voted for it. I’m going to stand behind our vote. That’s for the betterment of the league.”
