Ohio State wanted to be off Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, but Texas said no.
Buckeyes fans were furious with the number of noon games their beloved team had to play last season. They obviously aren’t going to like the way the 2025 college football season starts, either. And despite some protests from those adamant that Ohio State shouldn’t play its season opener at noon, it was to no avail.
The defending national champions had hoped for a more favorable timeslot, especially for a game of this magnitude. There was even a reported push to move the game to Sunday, August 31 — part of the Labor Day weekend slate — where it could breathe a little more and avoid Fox’s early window. But that proposal was shut down.
And now we know why. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte didn’t want it.
“Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week?” Del Conte said via ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Chris Del Conte said they were reached out to about moving the game at Ohio State. “Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week?” He said he said no to Sunday game. “I’ve got to go to church.”
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 28, 2025
Fair question, to be fair. Texas hosts San Jose State the following Saturday, and that’s likely another early kickoff. With a game six days later, the short week wasn’t appealing. Had Texas drawn a bye in Week 2, maybe this conversation would have played out differently.
But that wasn’t the case. And Del Conte made it clear he wasn’t interested in accommodating anyone, even the defending champs.
“I’ve got to go to church,” he quipped.
According to Del Conte, when Big Ten media partners reached out, the conversation was never about changing the time of day; it was about changing the day. Ohio State wanted to move the game to Sunday. Texas wasn’t interested in playing on the road with a short week ahead.
Texas AD Chris Del Conte says UT was “reached out to” by Big 10 media partners about moving the Ohio State game to Sun. night.
“It was never about moving the time of day, it was do you want to move the day.”
Says he said no to not force a short week onto the football team.
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) May 28, 2025
If the game had been scheduled for Sunday, it would have aired in primetime, but it would also have gone up against Notre Dame-Miami on ABC, the only other major network game scheduled for that night.
So it wouldn’t have been a clean national stage anyway.
