9:30 pm is TOO LATE

[ConnMotors]

Get a bottle of wine put in a frozen pizza and enjoy the game.

 

[OldSchooler]

I'm an East Coaster, but I don't think the whole country revolves around our TV viewers. The doubleheader on Friday will be at 6 and 8:30 pm local time (CDT), which is very convenient for the spectators in attendance. Furthermore, SC, being the #1 overall seed, gets to be seen at 7 pm EDT by their back-home fans, and Stanford as the #2 ranked team overall, gets to play at 6:30 pm PDT for their back-home fans. The other two teams (Louisville and UConn) should just feel fortunate that they're playing in a national semifinal game, and I don't think they really give a damn about their starting times. UConn (and probably the other teams as well) are already in Minnesota, so everybody will have a chance to set their body clocks for their respective starts on Friday. So what's the big deal?

 

[Kat]

Let’s give Ed a break here. A little kvetching in the comments is par for the course. Blame the game time on UConn vs Stanford being considered the marquee match of the day. Louisville/SC kicks off here at 4, when people are still at work or school because it is not the draw that is the defending champs against the legendary program in NCAA Women’s Basketball.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Doesn't the opponent paly at the same time?

Yes but given that Arizona is in the Pacific time zone, the natural body clocks of their players last year were three hours earlier that our players. To your point, It isn't as much of an issue when two teams from the same time zone play the late game. That wasn't the case last year and it won't be the case this year.

 

[dabears17]

Yes but given that Arizona is in the Pacific time zone, the natural body clocks of their players last year were three hours earlier that our players. It isn't as much of an issue when two east coast teams play.

Except the entire 2021 tournament was held in San Antonio, so both teams had spent 2 weeks in the same time zone.

 

[cancontent]

Yes but given that Arizona is in the Pacific time zone, the natural body clocks of their players last year were three hours earlier that our players. It isn't as much of an issue when two east coast teams play.

I don't get the point here. The tournament was in Texas last year which is an hour behind EST. And by the time these teams played against each other, these teams were in Texas for at least 3 weeks. How does the body clock come into play at this point?

Except the entire 2021 tournament was held in San Antonio, so both teams had spent 3 weeks in the same time zone.

Just beat me to this point.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Except the entire 2021 tournament was held in San Antonio, so both teams had spent 2 weeks in the same time zone.

Not this year! In any event, I don't think my point is that UConn is the only team affected. My point was that the overall number one seed should always have the early game per proper seeding protocols. Instead, ESPN has been scheduling who plays when for the semi-final every year.

Now this year, the overall number one seed does have the early game. But that still leaves the fact that when an east coast team plays in the late game, the start time is really too late for optimal performance by the athletes. And that can be exacerbated in years like this one when they have to go up against a team that is from points further west.

 

[ballerfan]

Because I’m in Europe, the game starts at 3:30 a.m. I definitely want to watch it live. I thought about trying to get a few hours sleep and waking up at 3:15, but I might just stay up, watch the game, and then go to bed. I don’t work on Saturday.

As for the players, I don’t know if the late game is a problem. At an elite level, even small changes can make a difference, but I have confidence that UConn will be ready.

 

[Husky25]

I swear it was less than 36 hours ago when many UConn fans basically telling NCSt fans to S__U about their conspiracy theories...

ESPN is doing what it has been doing for 40+ years in going after certain demographics. It might be cruel, but it's not a conspiracy. 60 year olds are 11+ years out from since mattering. The game might too late for a significant portion of UConn's target demographic (i.e. prepubescent/adolescent girls).

Back to the marginalized...there are numerous of solutions for this particular problem.

1. The aforementioned nap.
2. Subscribe to ESPN+ and watch over the course of the night, when one is sure to need to get up for "potty-breaks" and can't fall back to sleep.
3. Set a DVR, proceed as directed above.
4. Method 2 or 3 and watch first thing in the morning.
5. Whatever the connection to the school, one could consider following another Women's basketball program. Say...a program that has not won 11 National Championships over the last 27 years or gone to 14 straight Final Fours?

 

[GoUconn7961]

One of the (many) benefits of living in San Diego. Game time is 6:30. Right after dinner and a fine time for drinking!

Jealous. I've been there multiple times for trade shows and it's a wonderful place. I'd move, but moving again feels too overwhelming for me, and no job out there..

 

[GoUconn7961]

It does matter. Geno has said so himself. The staff tries to mitigate this by shifting the players' days by having them go to bed and wake up a little later, have meals a little later, basically just shifting their entire day a couple of hours later. Not sure how effective that all is, but at least the staff tries to do something about it. Geno says he doesn't like having the team sit around all day and evening waiting to go. I get the feeling if the team had its way they'd have an afternoon start, like a 2 or 3 PM tip.

If they played Saturday/Monday like the men do they most likely would have early afternoon games. They could get both games in during the day and then have the men play at night. On Monday the women could play at 7 pm since the men never seem to tip before 9:30

 

[BostonCanuck]

If they played Saturday/Monday like the men do they most likely would have early afternoon games. They could get both games in during the day and then have the men play at night. On Monday the women could play at 7 pm since the men never seem to tip before 9:30

The women actually did play on the Saturday and Monday at one point, last done in 2016 I believe. I don't remember off hand when the game times were on the Saturday, but it would be interesting to know.

Not sure why they went back to Friday and Sunday, but it probably involves coordination with the men's Final Four game days.

 

[dabears17]

The women actually did play on the Saturday and Monday at one point, last done in 2016 I believe. I don't remember off hand when the game times were on the Saturday, but it would be interesting to know.

Not sure why they went back to Friday and Sunday, but it probably involves coordination with the men's Final Four game times.

I went to the Final Four in 2016. It was Sunday/Tuesday.

ESPN 2016 NCAA Women’s Final Four Fact Sheet – April 3 & 5

Beth Mowins makes her television debut at the Women’s Final Four as the play-by-play announcer, and is joined by analyst Doris Burke and reporter Holly Rowe

espnpressroom.com

 

[uconn1999]

I’m with the OP, minus conspiracy theories, that 9:30 ET is a ridiculous start time. What are the odds it will even tip off on time?

There’s this little league called the NFL, it took a while but they figured out that a 9pm kickoff for MNF was losing eyeballs, moved to 8:15
Kickoff time for SB LVI?, 6pm.
They only managed 110M viewers.

You wonder why they’re so popular? They put their games at reasonable times and cultivate new fans that aren’t sleeping.

MLB take note, your never ending WS games that start after 8, just might with an earlier start reverse those declining ratings.

All good here though in DFW, the site of the 2023 Final 4

 

[Longtime fan]

ESPN is at it again. They figure UConn can win the ratings, plus adding in the top West coast team Stanford.

The fact of the matter is if you are 60+ its too late.

I moved to California to avoid that dilemma. But there is tape. I usually can't watch the game live anyway, because I get too nervous.

 

[cancontent]

I’m with the OP, minus conspiracy theories, that 9:30 ET is a ridiculous start time. What are the odds it will even tip off on time?

There’s this little league called the NFL, it took a while but they figured out that a 9pm kickoff for MNF was losing eyeballs, moved to 8:15
Kickoff time for SB LVI?, 6pm.
They only managed 110M viewers.

You wonder why they’re so popular? They put their games at reasonable times and cultivate new fans that aren’t sleeping.

MLB take note, your never ending WS games that start after 8, just might with an earlier start reverse those declining ratings.

All good here though in DFW, the site of the 2023 Final 4

So when does the first game tip off at on a Friday to gain as many viewers possible for ratings? A 6 pm tip off penalizes West Coast fans who may want to see both games instead of just the Stanford-UConn match up.

Heck it may penalize SC and Louisville fans who can't get home in time to watch the game. Streaming options, sure, but not everyone will have the ability to.

The Superbowl isn't a fair comparison. We're talking an event that the NFL cornered the market on decades ago. The NCAAW is working on increasing viewership and need to do what they can. Monday Night Football still struggles with ratings and ESPN/ABC continually change things to see what will stick. They've gone through at least 3 announcer combinations in the last 5 years and are hoping Aikman and Buck help right the ship.

 

[Sifaka]

It's mud season in Maine. Ayuh, we're special. We get an extra season after winter and before springtime. Connecticut WBB in mud season is a VERY GOOD THING. I have dim and distant memories of my 60s. UConn is in the final four, and I woke up on the right side of the grass this morning. Nothing to complain about.

 

[triaddukefan]

Complaining about it 9:30pm being too late when its on TV? Is that unfair for UCONN fans?? How about attending a regional game in person that doesn't start until 9:30pm and leaving the arena after midnight. Can't remember a time when UCONN was in a F/S regional and played the 9:30pm game. Definitely not in 2019 when they had the #1 seed Louisville play the late game in Albany.

Back in the old days, they used to have the Women's Final on Saturday afternoons.. then the final on a Sunday afternoon around 1pm. Thank goodness ESPN took over WBB programming and there are actually time for the players to recover a bit between games.

I wanted to say this but held my tongue. Thank you

I wanted to say that, but didn't want to get suspended.

 

[Linart]

Oh god, if the national media gets ahold of this:
"UConn fanbase says 9:30 is too late. Murder She Wrote at 8:30 is bad enough."

 

[cancontent]

Oh god, if the national media gets ahold of this:
"UConn fanbase says 9:30 is too late. Murder She Wrote at 8:30 is bad enough."

 

[triaddukefan]

By the way, I don't think 9:30pm is too late for senior citizens. I know plenty of old folk who are night owls and 9:30 is still early. My mother is pushing 80 and she stays up to watch basketball games. She might not be awake at the end of the games though

 

[Sifaka]

My mother is pushing 80 and she stays up to watch basketball games.

I wonder if she and I are pushing from the same side?

She might not be awake at the end of the games though

Tennessee's offense will do that to you.

 

[MSGRET]

The women actually did play on the Saturday and Monday at one point, last done in 2016 I believe. I don't remember off hand when the game times were on the Saturday, but it would be interesting to know.

Not sure why they went back to Friday and Sunday, but it probably involves coordination with the men's Final Four game days.

One of the main reasons why they went away from the Sunday - Tuesday Final Four and Championship game was because of viewership. The NCAA believed that more people would view the women's game if the Final Four and Championship games were before the men's and not after it.

 

[Dove]

May the Power of Paige compel you!!!

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think it's bad for Uconn. By the time the game is over it will be around 11:30 PM effectively for Uconn's internal clock and only 8:30 PM for Stanfords. Big factor.