Iron Bowl moves to Friday

TUSCALOOSA — Like it or not, the Iron Bowl will be played on a Friday for the next two seasons.

CBS announced it will broadcast the 2009 and 2010 Alabama-Auburn football games, starting this season on Nov. 27 at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff
is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The 2010 game at Bryant-Denny Stadium will be played on Friday, Nov. 26.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban didn’t sound elated when asked for comment after Friday’s scrimmage.

“I really wasn’t for moving the game, to be honest with you,” Saban said. “I like to play it on Saturday. I’m glad the game is on CBS. I think its great exposure
for both schools, and certainly for our state. So that’s a very positive thing.”

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik had a more optimistic approach.

“The Iron Bowl is the best rivalry in college football and the conference and CBS moving it to Friday will signify the kickoff of college football’s biggest weekend,”
Chizik said.

The game traditionally ends the regular season for both teams. It falls on Thanksgiving weekend the next two years.

LSU and Arkansas have played on the Friday of the last SEC weekend since 1996.

“This is taking place due to a request by CBS per their television deal with the SEC,” Alabama athletics director Mal Moore said Friday. “Obviously, this is a
great exposure opportunity for us with it being televised nationally by CBS.

“Whenever a game is moved off of Saturday it can present advantages or disadvantages, depending on a lot of factors. We’re sympathetic to the needs of our
fan base, so we understand this may cause some issues with travel or other considerations.”

This season Alabama plays Tennessee-Chattanooga on Nov. 21. Auburn is open that week.

Saban said shortening Alabama’s preparation for the game would be a challenge.

“If you have a bye week the week before you play, it’s an advantage. If you don’t have one, it can be a disadvantage,” Saban said. “On the other side of that, if
you have an opportunity to be in the SEC championship game, it gives you an extra day to recover — physically and emotionally — from a big game like that.”

While it is unusual for the Iron Bowl not to be played on Saturday, it’s not unique.

Since the series resumed in 1948, the game was played on Thanksgiving in 1964 and 1992. It was played on Friday in 1974, 1987 and 1988.

— Andrew Gribble of the Opelika-Auburn News contributed to this report.