MSU-Iowa To Kickoff At 4 PM, MSU-UM Kickoff Time To Be Known Next Week
EAST LANSING -- It's been announced Michigan State will play Iowa at 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Spartan Stadium.
The announcement came on Monday with it also being determined that the game will be televised on FOX, who is also broadcasting both Michigan and Michigan State's matchups this week. Michigan travels to Purdue on Saturday with a 4 p.m. kickoff, while Michigan State will host rival Notre Dame at 8 p.m.
Even more enticing is the possibility that we'll know the Michigan-Michigan State kickoff time at this point next week. And the first ever night game between the two is still on the table.
The Detroit Free Press reported that the TV networks have a 12-day window on when to set game times. With the game taking place on Oct. 7, a kickoff time for the in-state rivalry should be known by next week.
A new $2.64 billion agreement between the Big Ten and its TV partners — CBS, Fox and ESPN — calls for Michigan to host three night games over the course of a two-year span. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel told reporters last month that the school has no say in when kickoff times are with the Big Ten and the TV networks deciding.
However, he did say he'd prefer to not have the Michigan-Michigan State game -- which is being held in Ann Arbor this year -- at night if he had it his way.
"It's different from the standpoint of increased staffing levels we have to have for safety, fan experience and just getting around," Manuel said. "We have to add additional lighting to our areas and parking lots, (the tailgating areas) all have additional expenses to make sure people are safe in this environment. And, obviously, the police forces — both university, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw and the state of Michigan — are in increased vigilance," he told reporters on Wednesday."