Ohio Representative presents bill to prevent Ohio State games being scheduled for noon kick

The Big Ten on Fox has taken over the noon timeslot on Saturdays in the Fall with Big Noon Kick. Despite that, at least one lawmaker in Ohio wants to keep the Ohio State Buckeyes from being scheduled for noon kicks moving forward.

Ohio Representative Tex Fischer has presented a bill that is designed to almost entirely end those noon kicks for Ohio State. Outside of the rivalry game with Michigan, which is traditionally played at noon ET, it would prevent a game from beginning before 3:30 p.m. when a state university is involved. The other way to get a noon kick banned in the state of Ohio, according to this bill, is if both teams are ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

It’s a hefty price you’d pay for breaking this proposed law, too. According to the bill, violating this law would incur a $10 million fine against the host team’s conference or the television network, depending on who scheduled the game. On top of that, no state university would be allowed to associate with the NCAA, a conference, or a network that may compel a school to schedule a noon kickoff.

There is some trickle-down impact that comes with the bill. While the focus appears to be on Ohio State and Fox’s noon kicks, there are other state schools that play FBS football. More specifically, there are several MAC schools that would need to address those changes and would have less financial flexibility to manage a fine.

Plenty of fans don’t want noon kicks. It gives less time in the morning to tailgate and often lacks the same feel as a game in primetime. At the same time, for many Big Ten schools, it keeps the temperature a little bit warmer.

The Big Ten also has a media deal with Fox, which runs Big Noon Kick to put a primetime quality game up earlier in the day and avoid the SEC game at 3:30 p.m. and whatever games are being played in primetime. That media deal is reportedly worth more than $7 billion, which does more than enough to make up for the noon kicks.

Ohio State does end up on Big Noon Kickoff very frequently throughout the season. In 2024, the Buckeyes had seven games kickoff at noon. That included a run of six straight games to end the season. Four of those were a Big Noon Kickoff. Of the seven noon games, five were at home and would have to be moved if the bill passed.

It remains to be seen if this bill gains any traction. However, it’s not unheard of for this kind of bill to be introduced. In April, a Louisiana lawmaker introduced a bill to only schedule LSU’s September games at night. A similar law, due to the heat, already exists in the state of Arizona as well.