Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU's Football Game Time Policy
April 07, 2003 | Cowboy Football
Unfortunately, game times and television information are often unavailable until as late as 12 days before the date of a game creating an inconvenience for fans [and athletics department personnel] to make plans. The reason for all this inconvenience? Television.
Oklahoma State and the other Big 12 schools are bound by contracts with two television networks for football: Fox and ABC. The television revenue we receive from these contracts each year is big. In 1998 OSU received $1.9 million in football television revenue. These funds contribute a great deal to the operating budget of the athletic department.
The Big 12's agreement with ABC and Fox list three "broadcast windows" at 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. each week during football season. Fox has the rights to the 11:30 and 6:00 p.m. window while ABC has the rights to the 2:30 window.
One of the most frequently asked questions from our fans is, "Why are kickoff times decided so close to the date of the game, while others are decided before the season starts?" While Big 12 athletics directors request that as many games as possible be pre-selected for television, these pre-selections are only made by the networks because they deem these games to be good match ups.
Games not selected before the season begins then have the potential to be put in a window by either Fox or ABC 12 days, and in rare cases, six days before the particular game of interest. In 1998, OSU received $154,667 for an ABC regional broadcast and $111,704 for a Fox Sports Net broadcast.
For budgetary reasons, one of OSU's goals is to get as many games as possible [home or away] on television.
"There is a bit of give and take we have to do as a program when it comes to balancing our desire for television exposure and minimizing the inconvenience factor for our ticket holders," OSU Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips said. "We have absolutely wonderful fans here at Oklahoma State and our hope is that they will understand our alliance with the Big 12 is crucial when it comes to gaining much wanted television exposure."
To help fans get the latest information on game times, it is suggested they check the okstate.com website regularly or call our ticket office toll free at 877-ALL 4 OSU.
Oklahoma State Football Schedule
