As the Big Ten enters its second year of its media deal – and the first full year with CBS – some major changes are coming to rivalry games. The Heroes Game and Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe are both going to be in new time slots this year.
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin will play for the Axe Noon ET on Black Friday after traditionally being played on Saturday afternoon during Rivalry Week, The Inside Zone’s Matt Fortuna reported. The game will be on CBS and effectively set up the Heroes Game between Iowa and Nebraska, which moves from its 11 a.m. CT kickoff to primetime with a 6:30 p.m. CT start on NBC.
The Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe is the most-played rivalry game in history. Minnesota and Wisconsin played their 133rd game against each other last year, and the Badgers came away with the 28-14 victory in Luke Fickell’s first rivalry matchup. Now, the game is preparing to move to Black Friday as the new media deal fully kicks in.
In 2023, CBS had an SEC-Big Ten double header the day before Thanksgiving because the network was in the final year of its agreement with the SEC. The league is now moving exclusively to ESPN and ABC starting in 2024, meaning CBS will be able to air Big Ten games in its 2:30 p.m. CT time slot.
This story will be updated.
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