College Football

FOX Sports to air package of college football games on Friday night beginning this fall

Updated Mar. 7, 2024 3:55 p.m. ET

FOX Sports is expanding its coverage of college football with a package of Friday night games starting next season.

The schedule of games will include matchups from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West conferences. No details about the exact games have been announced, as college football's conferences and networks have not yet held their annual game selection meetings for the 2024 season.

Friday games, which used to be confined to only the opening week of the season and the day after Thanksgiving, are not outside the norm for all three conferences. The Big Ten has had a limited package since 2017, but those aired on the Big Ten Network and FS1. The Big 12 had three Friday night games on ESPN last season, and the Mountain West had a package of games on the CBS Sports Network, along with two on FS1.

The college football package will air alongside FOX's other Friday night tent pole events in the fall, including WWE's "Friday Night SmackDown" in September and the MLB playoffs and World Series in October and early November.

The move is FOX Sports' latest claim to what is considered an underutilized timeslot for college football after the success of "Big Noon Saturday" in 2019. Last season's "Big Noon Saturday" package, anchored by top college football broadcast team Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft, averaged 6.74 million viewers on FOX, an 8% increase over 2022.

"FOX is football, and our new Friday night package will make FOX the leader in America’s game throughout the weekend," said Michael Mulvihill, FOX President of Insight and Analytics, in a statement. "We’ve built our collegiate business by seizing opportunities in previously underutilized timeslots, first with "Big Noon Saturday" and now on Friday nights. Our goal this fall is to have the No. 1 college football game on both Fridays and Saturdays and the top NFL game on Sundays."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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