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Logan • Lauren and Madison Hartwell love Utah State football, but the young daughters of the school's athletic director haven't seen as much of the Aggies as they'd like this season.
Blame bedtime.
Including Saturday's season finale at BYU, kickoff for seven of Utah State's last nine games has been around 8:25 p.m., thanks to television contracts and scheduling.
In the Hartwell household, that's a little too late for end-to-end viewing.
"My kids may make it through half," John Hartwell said. "But that's kind of the limit right there."
The Hartwells' situation isn't unique.
The Mountain West Conference's late-night starting times create what the Utah State A.D. calls a "balancing act" for everyone one involved — administrators, coaches, players and fans.
The benefits of playing games that last to midnight and beyond — often in cold, winter weather — are obvious: millions of dollars in revenue and invaluable national exposure.
The cost is just as obvious.
Attendance suffers, as does the game-night experience for fans. Visiting players often don't get home until 3 or 4 a.m., putting more pressure on their already demanding individual schedules.
When Mountain West presidents and athletics directors meet in Scottsdale, Ariz., in two weeks, Hartwell says the conference's current TV model for football will be discussed.
"The vast majority of us are dealing with this issue," he said. "It's going to be a topic of interest. Nothing is going to change from our current television contract. But as we enter into future negotiations, the question is, 'What's next?' Obviously, the financial consideration is huge. But what other platforms are out there? Can have some more control over our kick times?"
Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey has been outspoken in his concern over the situation.
As far back as September, when the perennially successful Broncos realized they sold fewer than 20,000 season tickets for the first time in a decade, Apsey vowed to investigate possible changes.
"It's not good," he told the Idaho Statesman. "I'm going to be a little boisterous this time around. I don't know what can be done, but I'm not just going to sit back and go, 'Oh well, you know, that's what time the game is. Let's all suck it up.' I'm tired of that."
Five of Boise State's six home games started later than 8:15 p.m. this season. On Nov. 4 against San Jose State, the once-beaten Broncos drew a crowd of 31,863 — almost 5,000 less than capacity.
"It's a balancing act," Hartwell said. "The 8:15 time slots, inevitably they get slid back because the early games aren't completed. That creates a challenge from a fan/attendance perspective.
"In our case, fans from the Wasatch Front — if it's a midnight finish — they get home at 2 a.m. That's tough. That's very tough. But the exposure of national television, it's hard to put a price on that, too."
Among Utah State's six home games this season, two started at 6 p.m., one kicked off at 7 p.m. and three started about 8:25 p.m. Their average home attendance is 19,136, down from 21,437 from last year. That's an 11 percent decline.
Of the three late starts, the Aggies drew a season-high 23,104 for their conference opener against Air Force on Sept. 24. But as its 3-8 season progressed, Utah State drew 15,067 for Fresno State and 15,212 against New Mexico.
With one weekend of games remaining, the Aggies rank eighth in attendance in the Mountain West, ahead of only San Jose State (15,419), UNLV (17,353), Nevada (18,500) and New Mexico (19,110).
Said Hartwell: "We have people who have been longtime season-ticket holders. With this number of late starts, they say, 'I think instead of continuing to buy season tickets, I'm going to buy individual game tickets that have, quote, reasonable starting times.'"
Twitter: @sluhm —
Later start times, lower attendance?
Date Opponent Start Attend. Result Rec.
Sept. 1 Weber St. 6:05 p.m. 23,008 W, 45-6 1-0
Sept. 10 at USC 11 a.m. 62,487 L, 45-7 1-1
Sept. 16 Arkansas St. 7 p.m. 21,091 W, 34-20 2-1
Sept. 24 Air Force 8:15 p.m. 23,104 L, 27-20 2-2
Oct. 1 at Boise St. 8:15 p.m. 36,602 L, 21-10 2-3
Oct. 8 at Colo. St. 8:05 p.m. 32,387 L, 31-24 2-4
Oct. 22 Fresno St. 8:30 p.m. 15,067 W, 38-20 3-4
Oct. 28 San Diego St. 6 p.m. 17,332 L, 40-13 3-5
Nov. 5 at Wyoming 8:15 p.m. 17,837 L, 52-28 3-6
Nov. 12 New Mexico 8:15 p.m. 15,212 L, 24-21 3-7
Nov. 19 at Nevada 1 p.m. 13,390 L, 38-37
Nov. 26 at BYU 8:15 p.m. — — —