Pac-12 Reduces Night Grid Games, Adds Court-Storming Fines

BOULDER — Pac-12 officials announced Tuesday that the league's CEO group has taken steps to reduce the number of night football games and will also begin fining schools when fans and students storm the court or field.

The CEO Group — made up of presidents and chancellors from throughout the conference — also announced that Pac-12 Networks will begin “eSports” competitions in the upcoming school year.

Night football games — particularly those that start at 7 p.m. or later on the West Coast (8 p.m. in Boulder) have become more and more of an issue for schools throughout the conference. Last season, CU played six conference games in that time frame. When those occurred on the road, it meant the team plane arrived home as late (or early) as 5 a.m. Sunday.

This year, the CEO Group approved a recommendation from the Pac-12 Council to modify the league's agreements with ESPN and Fox. The modification will reduce the number of Pac-12 Networks Saturday night games, meaning a Pac-12 Network game can now start at either 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. Previously, those start times were unavailable because they overlapped with an ESPN or Fox exclusive TV window.

A conference press release said the change could reduce the number of Pac-12 Networks night games by as many as four contests.

“I think it's great,” CU Athletics Director Rick George said. “It fits with where we're trying to go with time demands on our student-athletes. If you can take four opportunities where teams aren't getting home at 3 o'clock in the morning, it's so much better for the health and wellness for our student-athletes.”

The change, George said, will also likely be greeted with enthusiasm by fans.

“It's great for our fans that don't necessarily like that 7 o'clock game, and we had six of them last year,” George said. “It's tough on your team and it's tough on your fans who are traveling from Denver for a game in Boulder. It gets them home earlier and it makes it better for their children who want to attend our games. It's definitely a move in the right direction.”

Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens also said the earlier start times will be a help for fans.

“The Pac-12 has some of the most loyal fans in college athletics and we appreciate our television partners working with us on this important issue for fans,” Mullens said. “The increased exposure and revenue from our contract with ESPN and FOX has been instrumental to our success, but we continue to work hard to minimize as much as possible the negative impact late start times have on our fans who travel great distances to see our teams in person."

The issue of fans storming the court after a basketball game came to the forefront last season when Colorado fans stormed the court after a win over then-No. 9 Arizona. Wildcats coach Sean Miller expressed his concerns after the game.

The new regulations concerning storming the court (and field after football games) will go into effect beginning next fall. Institutions will be fined $25,000 for the first offense, $50,000 for a second offense and $100,000 for a third offense.

“We were in favor of that,” George said. “I think there are a couple of issues: One, we're concerned with our opponents and allowing them to get off the floor safely.  I think if we can get the opponents of the court safely, that's important. Putting in fines adds some teeth to the policy.

“Two, I'm equally concerned about our own players. I walked down on the floor when this was happening and I saw one of our players limp out of the huddle. Two years ago, when Askia (Booker) hit that shot (in a win over Kansas), he talked in the press conference about how his shoulder was sore from that celebration. I worry about our student athletes.”

George also said there is a concern for the safety of students and fans.

“If they want to come on the court and celebrate, OK — but let's get everybody else off the court first,” George said. “The last thing we want is for them to try to rush the court, we hold them back, somebody falls and then people get trampled on. Then you have some very serious injuries. I think the policy is good and we're supportive of it.”

The policy will also apply to fans storming the field after football games.

George said he doesn't think the new regulations will require any significant increase in security personnel.

“I believe we've had the right security in place when they did storm the court; I think we just need to review our policy and procedures and make sure we're doing everything we need to do,” George said. “More than anything, we just need to delay that celebration a little bit.”

The SEC has had a similar policy in place for several years. Last year, the conference increased its fines to $50,000 for a first violation, $100,000 for a second and $250,000 for third and subsequent offenses.

Also, in light of what was termed a “growing interest amongst Pac-12 students in competitive video gaming,” the chancellors and presidents approved plan from the Pac-12 Networks to begin eSports competitions between conference schools beginning this season.

According to a press release from the conference, teams from campuses will participate based on a specific game, and the competitions will include head-to-head matchups in studios as well as a tournament in conjunction with a Pac-12 championship event.

Game titles and event formats are still to be determined, but will be announced in the coming months.

“It's become a viable sport and I learned a lot about it in our recent Pac-12 meetings,” George said. “I know we have a club on campus that is very focused on that area. We'll see where it goes and I'm sure we'll have more discussions on eSports moving forward.”

According to the Pac-12, intercollegiate competition in egaming is in its initial stages. eSports are also closely tied to academic departments at Pac-12 universities such as computer science, visual and cinematic arts, engineering and others.

“eSports is a natural fit for many of our universities located in the technology and media hubs of the country,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “Pac-12 Networks' commitment to innovation as well as its natural tie to our universities and established media platform make it the perfect organization to develop the framework for eSports intercollegiate competition.”

Also Tuesday, the conference announced that the CEO Group has reviewed the Conference's report on student athlete time demands, and has authorized its release. The group stressed the importance of rebalancing time demands of student-athletes as part of the overall effort to modernize intercollegiate athletics. The report includes an in-depth look at the student-athlete time demands, reviews recent national and Pac-12 surveys, synthesizes direct feedback from student-athletes gathered on a Commissioner-led listening tour of all 12 campuses, creates a list of best practices seen in action on Pac-12 campuses, and lays out several possible legislative solutions.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu