Latest news with #TexFischer
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ohio Republican lawmaker wants to ban noon Ohio State football games
Stock photo of Ohio Stadium by Getty Images. 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!' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 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. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio legislator introduces bill to curtail Ohio State football noon kickoffs
Ohio legislator introduces bill to curtail Ohio State football noon kickoffs In recent years, Ohio State football fans have become increasingly frustrated with the high volume of noon kickoffs their beloved Buckeyes have been forced to play. One Ohio legislator is hoping to remedy that. Ohio Representative Tex Fischer has authored a bill that would prohibit Ohio State from playing marquee games before 3:30 p.m. ET. A notable exception would be for the Buckeyes' annual rivalry game against Michigan, which traditionally kicks off at noon. REQUIRED READING: College football fans, donors drove the clown car in NIL era, but was that so bad? Since Fox, one of the Big Ten's television partners, introduced its 'Big Noon Saturday' window ahead of the 2019 season, Ohio State has become a fixture of the earliest broadcast time of the day. The Buckeyes have played 35 noon games since the start of the 2019 season, including seven last year on their way to their first national championship in a decade. Each of Ohio State's final six regular-season games began at noon, three of which came at home. The bill, as written, would prevent any game from being played in the state of Ohio if it meets both of the following criteria: One of the competing teams is a football team from a state university Both teams are ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll of the FBS Of note, only one of the Buckeyes' 2024 games would have fallen under that criteria: The Nov. 23 meeting with Indiana, a game in which the Buckeyes and Hoosiers were ranked No. 2 and No. 5 in the AP Top 25, respectively. Ohio State played only one other top-10 team in the noon slot against No. 3 Penn State, though that was on the road. If the bill becomes law, the ramifications for skirting it would be steep. The legislation states that if a game starts before 3:30 p.m., the Ohio attorney general will impose a fine of $10 million against either the host team's conference (the Big Ten) or the television network, whichever one scheduled the earlier kickoff. While noon kickoffs offer fans, particularly those watching from home, time to take in other college football games from across the country later in the day, they're generally an annoyance for fans attending the game in person, forcing them to wake up earlier in the morning and giving them less time to tailgate. REQUIRED READING: Nick Saban: 'Not sure we really need a commission' to fix college athletics When Fox debuted 'Big Noon Saturday,' it was a way for the network to air a marquee matchup during what's typically a barer early slate rather than having to compete against the SEC's longstanding 3:30 p.m. game on CBS or ESPN's primetime game (CBS now primarily airs a Big Ten game during the 3:30 p.m. slot as part of a new media rights deal with the conference). Fox adds some pageantry to its noon kickoff by bringing the network's pregame show, 'Big Noon Kickoff,' to the site of the game, much in the same way ESPN does with 'College GameDay.' Unfortunately for Ohio State, the Big Ten's most consistently successful program since 'Big Noon Saturday' launched six years ago, that interest in putting the Buckeyes in marquee time slots for Fox often means receiving a disproportionate share of early start times. The bill hasn't yet appeared on the Ohio legislature database, but text of it was published Thursday by journalist D.J. Byrnes of The Rooster.
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Ohio lawmaker proposes bill to ban noon games
Ohio lawmaker proposes bill to ban noon games Tex Fischer (R-Boardman), a State Representative from the 59th District, has proposed a law to functionally ban major Ohio State home games from being played at noon. Buckeyes fans were frustrated last season when FOX picked Ohio State as the team for Big Noon Kickoff a whopping six times. With the news that next year's season-opener against Texas will kick off at noon, some fans have had enough. The full text of the bill, published online by The Rooster, bans any Top 10 game in the state of Ohio and featuring a state university (which would include OSU, Cincinnati, Toledo, Ohio University, Kent State, Akron, and Bowling Green) from kicking off before 3:30 PM. The bill imposes a fine on either the conference or the TV network that compels such a kickoff. While this is perhaps something Buckeye fans would like to see, it's unlikely to become law--certainly not as is. The bill attempts to carve out an exception for the Michigan game, allowing a historic rivalry with a traditional kickoff to kick off at its traditional time. However, its definition of a "college football tradition" is that the kickoff has been the same 95% of the time. The Ohio State-Michigan game fails this test. While the last nine games have been at noon, there have been multiple 1:00 PM kickoffs in the past few decades, and going back further it changed even more. The Game fails the bill's 95% test, and would have to kick off at 3:30 or later based on this. This is not the first time in recent years that Ohio lawmakers have inserted themselves into football issues. After the Michigan game last year, Representative Josh Williams (R-Toledo) proposed a bill to ban planting an opposing flag at Ohio Stadium.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio General Assembly member authors bill to prevent state schools from playing home football games at noon
Members of the Ohio General Assembly are very concerned about college football. A bill has been introduced in the legislature to prohibit Ohio State and other state schools from playing most of its home games before 3:30 p.m. Under the terms of the proposal by Rep. Tex Fischer (R), games including at least one state school and games including top-10 teams would be prohibited from starting earlier than the mid-afternoon. With one exception. 'Division (B) of this section does not apply if an earlier start time of a college football game between two teams is a college football tradition,' the bill states. 'For this purpose, a 'college football tradition' is a start time of a game between the teams of two institutions whose football teams have competed against each other at least fifty times and the start time has been the same for at least ninety-five per cent of those games.' Rep. @texfischer is out with a bill designed to curtail the Big Ten from scheduling Ohio State football games at bill includes an exception that allows the Michigan game to kick off in its traditional noon have been in heavy noon rotation thanks to Fox. — The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) May 15, 2025 Of course, that caveat would exempt Ohio State's annual rivalry game with Michigan from the ban. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have traditionally played at noon ET on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The bill comes amidst much consternation among Ohio State fans with the Big Ten's media rights contract with Fox. The network gets the pick of the conference's top game every weekend in football season and places its marquee game of the week at noon ET as part of its 'Big Noon Saturday' programming. With other top games around the country later in the afternoon and in the evening, Fox has been rewarded with strong ratings in the time slot. That time slot has heavily featured Ohio State. Seven of the Buckeyes' 12 regular-season games were at noon ET in 2024 and six of those games were at home. Marquee contests vs. Penn State, Indiana and Michigan were all on Fox at noon. The early start times have drawn frustration from fans who attend the games for many reasons, including the inability to tailgate during the day. But Fox is a big reason why Ohio State and other Big Ten teams get so much money per year. It's hard to see OSU and other Big Ten schools trading less TV money for fewer early kickoffs. The bill to ban early kickoffs comes just months after a bill was introduced to ban flag-planting at a football stadium. That bill was spawned by Michigan's flag-planting display following the Wolverines' 13-10 win over the Buckeyes in 2024. Ohio State went on to win the College Football Playoff after the loss to the Wolverines.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio General Assembly member authors bill to prevent state schools from playing home football games at Noon
Members of the Ohio General Assembly are very concerned about college football. A bill has been introduced in the legislature to prohibit Ohio State and other state schools from playing most of its home games before 3:30 p.m. Under the terms of the proposal by Rep. Tex Fischer (R), games including at least one state school and games including top 10 teams would be prohibited from starting earlier than the mid-afternoon. With one exception. 'Division (B) of this section does not apply if an earlier start time of a college football game between two teams is a college football tradition,' the bill states. 'For this purpose, a 'college football tradition' is a start time of a game between the teams of two institutions whose football teams have competed against each other at least fifty times and the start time has been the same for at least ninety-five per cent of those games.' Rep. @texfischer is out with a bill designed to curtail the Big Ten from scheduling Ohio State football games at bill includes an exception that allows the Michigan game to kick off in its traditional noon have been in heavy noon rotation thanks to Fox. — The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) May 15, 2025 Of course, that caveat would exempt Ohio State's annual rivalry game with Michigan from the ban. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have traditionally played at Noon ET on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The bill comes amidst much consternation among Ohio State fans with the Big Ten's media rights contract with Fox. The network gets the pick of the conference's top game every weekend in football season and places its marquee game of the week at Noon ET as part of its 'Big Noon Saturday' programming. With other top games around the country later in the afternoon and in the evening, Fox has been rewarded with strong ratings in the time slot. That time slot has heavily featured Ohio State. Seven of the Buckeyes' 12 regular-season games were at Noon ET in 2024 and six of those games were at home. Marquee contests vs. Penn State, Indiana and Michigan were all on Fox at Noon. The early start times have drawn frustration from fans who attend the games for many reasons, including the inability to tailgate during the day. But Fox is a big reason why Ohio State and other Big Ten teams get so much money per year. It's hard to see OSU and other Big Ten schools trading less TV money for fewer early kickoffs. The bill to ban early kickoffs comes just months after a bill was introduced to ban flag planting at a football stadium. That bill was spawned by Michigan's flag-planting display following the Wolverines' 13-10 win over the Buckeyes in 2024. Ohio State went on to win the College Football Playoff after the loss to the Wolverines.
