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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Despite a raucous atmosphere last Friday night at Nebraska‘s Memorial Stadium, the school is not looking for a repeat event.
Athletic director Troy Dannen said Tuesday he sent a letter to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, requesting that Nebraska no longer host Friday night games other than its traditional Black Friday contest against rival Iowa, which takes place every other year.
Dannen, speaking on the Huskers Radio Network, said he wrote the letter with support from university chancellor Rodney Bennett and University of Nebraska system president Jeffrey Gold.
Nebraska canceled in-person classes Friday to allow students to prepare for the game against Illinois, which drew the school’s 400th consecutive sellout crowd. The Huskers squandered a late lead and fell 31-24 to Illinois in overtime.
“Just because of the size of the stadium and the locale, I don’t think we want to be canceling in-person classes,” Dannen said during his monthly appearance on the Huskers Radio Network. “I’m sure the students didn’t mind. But at the end of the day the more we can avoid that, I think, the better off everybody will be.”
Dannen said Nebraska would accept further Friday night games and that he didn’t like other Big Ten schools “laying their foot down” about no weeknight games.
“I’m not sure any institutions should have the unilateral ability to do that,” Dannen said.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, speaking earlier this month on the school’s “Conqu’ring Heroes” podcast, said the Wolverines would not be hosting Friday night games. Other Big Ten schools with massive stadiums, such as Ohio State and Penn State, have resisted hosting Friday games. This season, six Big Ten schools don’t play on Fridays, while six others will play two Friday contests, including first-year members USC, Washington and Oregon.
Petitti has championed Friday games as national exposure opportunities for Big Ten schools, noting the strong TV ratings they typically generate. Several Big Ten schools often open their seasons with Thursday or Friday games on Labor Day weekend, including Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and Illinois. Indiana’s first two games this fall occurred on Fridays, and Northwestern hosted a Week 2 Friday game against Duke.
But there has been some resistance to weeknight games following Week 1, as coaches cite the conflicts with high school football.
Other Big Ten teams set to host Friday night games this season include Rutgers, which faces Washington this week, as well as Oregon, Maryland, Purdue, USC, UCLA, Washington and Michigan State. Nebraska will visit Iowa for a prime-time clash Nov. 29, Black Friday, and Minnesota will visit Wisconsin earlier in the day.