Why did the Bison - Colorado game get moved? Because Deion and NDSU move the needle

FARGO — A move that was speculated and predicted for a couple of months became reality Monday.

North Dakota State’s 2024 football season opener at the University of Colorado was moved up two days to Thursday, Aug. 29. The move was made for a national television broadcast.

The specifics on what time the game will be and who will broadcast the game are still left to be determined. That will be announced in late May after the broadcast networks determine their schedules.

Two sources tell WDAY’s Dom Izzo that the NDSU - Colorado game “is one of the most coveted non-conference games on the 2024 schedule.” They add that the Bison – Buffaloes game could be the kickoff game of the season opening weekend on ESPN.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders begins his second season as head coach at Colorado, coming off a 4-8 season in 2023. Sanders' tenure had an electric start, with Colorado going 3-0 and having both FOX and ESPN’s pregame shows go to Boulder.

Colorado had each of its first five games last year picked up by national TV networks. The first two games against TCU and Nebraska were broadcast on FOX, followed by games on ESPN and ABC against Colorado State and Oregon. Colorado’s game against USC was also picked up by FOX.

Sources tell Izzo that the game being moved to a Thursday isn’t all because of the Deion show. NDSU still has many fans in Bristol, Connecticut, especially considering that College Gameday came to Fargo twice, which is one more than its trips to Boulder.

Last season, ESPN selected the Bison to play on ABC for its national quarterfinal game against South Dakota, a game NDSU won 45-17 over the Coyotes.

The specifics of how the game gets selected gets into the weeds of sports television programming.

Broadcast networks hold a “draft” of sorts in the offseason months where they select the most desirable games for their networks.

2024 brings a whole new set of challenges for television, with the expansion of the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and ACC, along with new TV deals for each of the leagues.

This fall, the SEC will be exclusively on ESPN and ABC, so they get to choose what games will be featured in primetime on ABC and what’s in the desired 2:30 p.m. window.

The Big 12, which Colorado will become a member of on July 1, begins a new deal with ESPN and FOX. How the games are determined is an intricate process.

According to the Business of College Sports, ESPN will get the first four picks of games, six of the first eight games, eight of the first 12 and finally 12 of the first 20 games.

The remainder of the games will go to FOX and FS1. Last year, with TCU coming off a national championship game loss to Georgia, and opening the season at home against Sanders and Colorado, FOX didn’t hesitate to select that game as its first game of the season.

Colorado stunned TCU 48-45 with an audience of 7.2 million viewers, making it the most watched game for the opening Saturday of the season.

The Big Ten begins as an 18-team conference and a new television deal with FOX, CBS and NBC.

FOX will choose obvious games like Ohio State - Michigan to be on FOX, while CBS will get some desirable games for its new 2:30 p.m. window. NBC will have a second year of primetime games.

Currently, there are 19 games scheduled for Aug. 29, including Minnesota’s season opener at home against North Carolina. That likely will be a FOX broadcast.

There are no other matchups as appealing as the NDSU - Colorado game, adding steam that ESPN will use one of its picks to select this game.

Over the last ten years, NDSU has had twelve games televised by ESPN or ABC, including the highest rated national championship game in January 2020 in the win over James Madison.

When asked about the matchup with Colorado, Bison head coach Tim Polasek was straight forward about preparation.

“We’re going to get that wheel cranking May 20-24 we’ll be straight game planning. It’s more about us than who we’re playing, but we’re going to have to dig for film.

They have new coordinators and new players coming and going.”

This may not be the only Bison game to be televised by ESPN.

This fall, the Missouri Valley Football Conference begins a new contract signed last fall with the network that allows them to choose either a non-conference or league game to be broadcasted on one of their channels.

Speculation has surrounded the Oct. 19th game between two-time defending national champion South Dakota State and the Bison in Fargo could be a natural selection for the WorldWide leader.