College Sports: The 2012 Big Game: It’s on Oct. 20 (yes: October 20th)

2:20 p.m. update: The schools aren?t happy about the date and made that fairly clear in their remarks.

Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour said she was ?very disappointed? in the decision but added: ?Although Cal and Stanford were opposed to the schedule that was ultimately adopted because of the placement of the Big Game, we remain a full participant in the conference?s decision-making and governance process.?

Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said the Oct. 20 date ?is certainly not our first choice but the conference is governed by the will of the majority.?

There were three scheduling models on the table. One had Big Game slotted for Nov. 17, one had it on Thanksgiving weekend, and one placed it on Oct. 20.

Both Cal and Stanford were opposed to playing Thanksgiving weekend, according to Bowlsby, because of the holiday conflicting with events associated with Big Game.

The schools supported the schedule model that had Big Game on Nov. 17, but they were out-voted ? that model was apparently disruptive to too many other games. The majority ruled, and Big Game got moved to October.

According to Cal, the 2012 situation won?t be the norm.

3:45 p.m. update: Statement from Pac-12 commish Larry Scott:

The Pac-12 Conference values the importance of our historic rivalry games and the importance of scheduling them in traditional end-of-season dates. However, with the addition of our Championship Football Game the last week of the season, and new television agreements commencing in 2012, there will be additional priorities that need to be balanced when making the schedule that will mean occasional date adjustments to rivalry games. In this case,?we made every effort to create a schedule that would allow the Big Game to be played at the end of the season.?Cal and Stanford were clear that they did not want to play the Big Game Thanksgiving week so?we presented additional options to our member institutions for discussion and a vote. Ultimately the majority vote determined the schedule ?

The Pac-12 just announced its 2012 football schedule, and I?ll have a full update later. But here?s the news in the Bay Area:

Big Game is in October.

I alluded to this possibility a few months ago on the Hotline, and now it?s official:?Cal and Stanford will play (in Berkeley) Oct. 20.

That?s right, a rivalry game prior to November 1st.

If you think it sounds strange now, just wait until game week. It?s going to be as weird as weird gets.

It?s the result of a confluence of factors, including the Pac-12 title game and a slew of Thursday night games, that have limited the league?s flexibility.

It?s the only rivalry game that will be played in October ? next season. In future years, other games may need to be moved up from the traditional November windows.

Stanford will finish its season Nov. 24 at UCLA

Cal will finish Nov. 17 at Oregon State.

?

Source: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2012/01/04/the-2012-big-game-its-on-october-20/

tiger woods eddie long ncaa bowl schedule ncaa bowl schedule occupy dc trisomy 18 farrah abraham