TGIF. It’s an abbreviation that every 9-to-5er knows all too well. Not only is it the final day of the normal work week, but it also means that you have the next two days of rest and relaxation.
Down here in Texas, it also means Friday Night Lights. Football is King in the Lone Star State, and it truly is something like no other. Small towns shut down, streets are filled with school pride, and it’s the one sport that brings an entire community together.
Coming from a small Texas town, wearing the town name across the front of your jersey was special. Running through the banner while the fight song is playing and the crowd cheering, it’s a feeling that I will never forget.
And for Texas Tech chairman and big-time booster Cody Campbell, it’s something he is trying to preserve. Last week, the Big 12 had interest in rescheduling Texas Tech’s conference opener against Houston from Saturday, September 19th, to Friday, September 18th.
That idea didn’t appeal to Mr. Campbell at all. “They (TV partners) have the draft or whatever, and the conference doesn’t want to really acknowledge it, but they do have an ability to influence those decisions,” Campbell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “They just chose not to because they were chasing ratings — which I do understand on one hand, but on the other hand, high school football is important in the state of Texas.”
Campbell vs. Yormark: Are Both Right?
Both things can be true here. Yes, the Big 12 is chasing ratings by playing on Friday night, and there is no doubt that high school football is important in the state of Texas.
As much as I like high school football, I also understand that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has a job to do. According to Yormark, Friday night Big 12 games delivered ratings 64% higher than the conference average in 2025. So why wouldn’t the Big 12 want to capitalize on that?
The football traditionalist in me would love to keep high school football on Friday, college football on Saturday, and the NFL on Sunday. But those days are over because the only thing that matters now is money.
It pains me to say it, but it’s true. We don’t live in a perfect world in college football. It is all kinds of screwed up, and for the Big 12, I understand the challenges the conference faces. We are already behind the Big Ten and SEC in terms of dollars, and the longer that continues, the less power the Big 12 will have. Just look at the playoff: the Big 12 barely has a say, if any at all, right now.
Yormark’s Goal
Brett Yormark was brought in to inject some life into the Big 12. He’s an outside-of-the-box thinker, and that is exactly what the conference needs at a time like this. Yormark is not afraid to take chances and is proactive rather than reactive, unlike the conference under Bob Bowlsby. Sometimes taking chances works, and sometimes it doesn’t. And as a businessman, Brett Yormark understands that very well.
Why try to fight for quality airtime against the Big Ten or SEC? We already know we are third in line for that. So why not play games when no one else is? You are going to get better ratings simply because you aren’t having to compete for people’s attention.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t attend every high school football game. In fact, there are more people who don’t go to high school football games than people who do. Most people are either staying at home or going out to their local bar, restaurant, or other places. And most of these places all have televisions looking for live sports.
If it were up to me, I would have at least one Big 12 game every Friday night, and maybe even a doubleheader every now and then, if possible. There’s prime TV real estate out there, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of that opportunity.
Cody Campbell can be mad all he wants, but the last time I checked, Cody doesn’t run the Big 12. At the end of the day, it’s Brett Yormark’s job to do what’s best for the conference. Local high school football is great, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Moving Big 12 football games to Friday nights may not be the most popular decision, but it is a smart one.
