Northwestern’s Friday night games moved to Saturday, because Head Coach Pat Fizgerald believes in high school football

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When the Big Ten announced plans to play more games on Friday nights in November 2016, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a vocal opponent of the decision saying, “”I believe Fridays are for high school football first and foremost. I think playing on a short week is a mistake. I’d prefer to keep Big Ten football on Saturdays. I get it, doesn’t mean I like it.”

Evidently, Fitzgerald’s comment made an impact, as the league has decided to move its two scheduled Friday night games to Saturday afternoon, according to the Chicago Tribune.  The Wildcats will now play Maryland on October 14th, instead of the 13th and Michigan State on October 28th, instead of the 27th.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Fitzgerald called the move, “good news.”

Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin will all play Friday night games in 2017.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.