Ohio rep wants to ban Ohio State football games at noon

A state representative in Ohio is sick of seeing so many Ohio State football games being played at noon, and has introduced a bill to prevent it happening as much in the future.

Ohio Rep. Tex Fischer, a Republican from the Youngstown area, has presented a bill that is designed to almost completely end noon kickoffs for the Buckeyes.

The proposal would prevent an Ohio State game from starting before 3:30 p.m. Eastern time whenever another state university is involved, or if both teams in the game are ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press football rankings.

The annual game against rival Michigan, traditionally played at noon, would be exempt from the rule.

“I think it greatly degrades both the fan experience, and if you’ve got recruits going to that game, they’re being robbed of the opportunity to experience an absolutely incredible atmosphere,” Rep. Fischer said, via The Columbus Dispatch.

He added: “Fox tends to just stick Ohio State in the noon slot every opportunity they get. It’s a guaranteed way to get great ratings.”

And with Fox announcing it will broadcast the anticipated Ohio State vs. Texas game from Columbus on Aug. 30, it’s expected the network will air the matchup at noon as part of its flagship “Big Noon Kickoff” event, with many fans expressing displeasure.

Fox also aired the Texas vs. Michigan game from Ann Arbor last season at 12 p.m. Eastern time.

Any broadcaster that doesn’t abide by the proposed rule would pay a major price, too: according to the bill, violating the regulation would result in a $10 million fine against the host team’s conference or the television network, depending on who scheduled the game.

This isn’t the first time a state lawmaker has sought to introduce legislation to regulate how Ohio State plays its football games.

Back in March, Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora, a Democrat from Columbus, brought forward a proposal to prevent Ohio State from playing games exclusively on streaming platforms.

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