OU football: Bob Stoops concerned about number of night games Sooners play

“We play at night way more than everybody else,” Stoops said during an interview with The Oklahoman.

“It needs to be spread around. We're talking about competitive advantage and equality, and we're all sharing the money ... let's all share the burden of it. That needs to be talked about more than it is.”

So let's talk about it.

Stoops is right; in the last two seasons, 18 of Oklahoma's 27 games have kicked off at or after 6 p.m. Central time. Eleven of those games have been regular-season Big 12 contests.

Texas, by comparison, has played 13 night games (nine Big 12 games) in the past two seasons.

Oklahoma State, the defending Big 12 champion, has also played at night 13 times during that time span; six of those were Big 12 games.

The Sooners produce higher television ratings than most other programs and, as a result, TV executives put them in prime time slots as often as possible.

It should be pointed out, though, that in the past, OU has chosen to play at night when television didn't dictate it. The 2008 home game against Chattanooga, for example, and the 2009, 64-0 blowout of Idaho State were evening kickoff times chosen by the Sooners.

Still, Stoops thinks it's unfair that OU plays so much in prime time. His players, Stoops said, miss out on time with their families and are put in an academic bind.

The Sooners' 2011 midseason game at Kansas, for example, kicked off at 8:15 p.m.