Ohio lawmaker wants to ban noon Ohio State football games
By Megan Henry
Ohio Capital Journal
A new proposed bill is trying to get Ohio State football games to start later.
Ohio state Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, introduced a bill last week that would require Ohio State football games to kick off at 3:30 p.m. or later if the Buckeyes are playing a top-10 ranked team in the Associated Press poll.
“A few weeks ago, I said it would be a crime for FOX to put Ohio State vs Texas at noon,” Fischer said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Promises made, promises kept!”
The Ohio State Buckeyes kick off their season against the Texas Longhorns in Columbus on Aug. 30. The time of the game has not been released, but it will air on Fox and is expected to be a noon game.
The game will be a rematch of the Cotton Bowl from earlier this year, which the Buckeyes won 28-14 — eventually going on to win the National Championship by defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Ohio Attorney General would slap a $10 million fine against either the host team’s athletic conference or the television network broadcasting if a game was played starting at noon — “whichever party scheduled the earlier start time,” according to the bill.
Ohio State has played a lot of noon games in recent years on Fox Big Noon Kickoff. The Buckeyes played five Big Noon Kickoff games during their last season. Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer joined the Fox Big Noon Kickoff in 2019 for two seasons and returned in 2022 after coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars for a year.
The Ohio State-Michigan game, which is traditionally played at noon, would be an exception, according to the bill.
Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, is also trying to use legislation to change how Buckeye fans can watch the games. Ohio Senate Bill 94 would ban state universities from entering into or renewing contracts to broadcast a game exclusively on a streaming service.
Ohio State has exclusively streamed some of their football games in recent years on the streaming service Peacock.
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Comment
Another Comment About Frivolous Legislative Proposals
Did they survey the fans that pay for streaming services? Did they survey the alumni who paid tuition while attending OSU? What about the alumni who are Life Members such as myself?
I promise to call both offices this week. Sounds like these two fools cannot generate any meaningful legislative positions, so pick a personal pet peeve. Each party should reprimand their own.
Asinine Bill
As a 1978 graduate, Let me weigh in. Ohio has more important issues to address. Here we see Democrat and a Republican interfering with the rights of The Ohio State University. OSU's content is for them to decide kickoff time and revenue rights in the best use their property. Football revenue supports all athletic programs. Interfering is asinine and should be determined by the university decision makers. Not the personal desires of inept politicians. Focus on the big fish. Like revisions to how real estate is assessed in Ohio.