ANN ARBOR, MI – APRIL 04: during the Michigan Football Spring Game on April 4, 2015 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

This week, Fox Sports released its 2015 college football schedule and opening its nearly 100-game slate on Thursday, September 3 will be Michigan at Utah. And while it is a big game that marks the debut of Jim Harbaugh as coach of Big Blue, it could also mean bigger things for Fox.

Because it’s the season premiere, Fox Sports 1 will treat the game as a big event as it will be a handful of college football games airing on TV that night (all times Eastern):

Florida International at Central Florida — CBS Sports Network, 6 p.m.
North Carolina vs. South Carolina in Charlotte — ESPN, 6 p.m.
Michigan at Utah, Fox Sports 1 —  8:30 p.m.
TCU at Minnesota — ESPN, 9 p.m.
Duke at Tulane — CBS Sports Network, 9:30 p.m.
UTSA at Arizona — Pac-12 Networks, 10 p.m.

And while Jim Harbaugh’s debut with Michigan will be the game of the night, Fox also wants to make this a big game for other reasons. The Big Ten’s media rights with ESPN/ABC for football and ESPN/CBS for basketball expire after the 2016-17. Fox would love nothing more than to begin airing Big Ten football and basketball in 2017-18.

Now Fox is already connected with the Big Ten by owning 51% of the Big Ten Network plus having the rights for the Big Ten football championship game. However, Fox wants to expand its portfolio beyond its current holdings to Big Ten content for the Fox Television Network, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Net. And with Maryland and Rutgers having entered the league this season, the conference has schools in Chicago, New York and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metros which are huge television markets.

So as Fox prepares for the college football season opener, expect Fox Sports to throw its resources for Michigan-Utah with perhaps an on-field set, an extended pregame show and other programming leading up to the game. Fox wants to show the Big Ten that it can give the conference “Most Favored Nation” status.

However, if there’s one thing that has to concern the Big Ten is Fox Sports 1’s ratings for Big East basketball. We have reported on FS1’s Big East ratings woes and how they might scare off the Big Ten.

Our Ed Sherman writing in the Chicago Tribune back in March notes that the Big Ten has some things to consider:

Industry observers point to the sagging ratings for Big East basketball on Fox Sports 1. League games are averaging 96,000 viewers on the network. Meanwhile, the Big Ten averages 1.2 million viewers per basketball game on ESPN.

ESPN’s lowest-rated Big Ten game (553,000 viewers for Georgetown vs. Wisconsin on Thanksgiving Day) had a higher audience than the highest-rated Big East game on Fox Sports 1 (500,000 viewers for Indiana-Butler on Dec. 20).

Here’s another telling stat: Big East teams averaged more than 500,000 viewers in 21 games on ESPN and ESPN2 in which they were the visitor; the home team’s games were part of the ESPN package.

So as Fox prepares its presentation for the media rights, it knows it has some arguments to combat going it, but it can retort that the Big Ten is a bigger fish than the Big East and will attract a bigger audience. In addition, Fox can point to its ratings for last year’s MLB Postseason plus NASCAR programming which have helped to pace Fox Sports 1 to improved numbers, but overall Fox Sports 1 still trails ESPN, NBCSN, ESPN2 and MLB Network in total viewers and is 4th in viewers 18-49.

But should Fox get a piece of the Big Ten contract, not only would it be a big feather in its cap, but also be a sports property that could build Fox Sports 1. But that’s farther down the road.

As you watch Michigan at Utah on Fox Sports 1 in September, know that the network hopes that it will be enough of a showcase to convince Big Ten officials and most importantly, Commissioner Jim Delany that it can air its games. Of course, money will also have a major role in any decision. We’ll see how it all plays out.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.