Texas AD Explains Refusing to Reschedule Ohio State Game to Sunday Night

Ohio State hoped to move its season-opener against Texas to the late afternoon or evening window on Sunday, Aug. 31, but the Longhorns had no interest in doing so.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte explained the decision to keep the game on Saturday, presumably earlier in the day.

“Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week? I’ve got to go to church," Del Conte said, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Though college games traditionally aren't played on Sunday because the NFL occupies that day, Ohio State and Texas could have moved the game to Sunday since the NFL won't have started by then. Playing on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend likely would have led to a rowdy environment inside Ohio Stadium, but the Longhorns weren't willing to alter the original plan.

The move to keep the game on Saturday was entirely Texas' decision and had nothing to do with the network broadcasting the matchup. Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Michael Mulvihill confirmed to Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel that Fox gave Ohio State the green light to move the game to Sunday.

According to Glasspiegel, Fox expected a "minor" viewership loss since the matchup would be competing with the Notre Dame vs. Miami game on ABC, but the network was still willing to make the change.

But despite permission from Fox, Ohio State still needed the go-ahead from Texas, and the Longhorns weren't on board.

It makes plenty of sense why Texas would prefer an earlier kickoff to a night game on the road. The Longhorns will already have a tall task going up against the defending champs, who beat them in the College Football Playoff semifinal in January, and playing at night would only make things tougher.

Still, it has to be frustrating for Ohio State, considering the Buckeyes had six consecutive noon kickoffs last season. Ohio State will likely get plenty of early kickoffs again this year, with Fox traditionally airing its top matchup of the week at noon to follow up Big Noon Kickoff.

Noon kickoff or not, the matchup between the Buckeyes and the Longhorns should be a good one. Both teams will have a new look this year following the NFL draft departures of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, along with plenty of other talented players. Still, both schools are gold mines for producing talent year in and year out, and that's no different heading into this season.