Oklahoma’s first football game as a member of the SEC will be played on a Friday night.

The Sooners have moved their 2024 opener vs. Temple up one day to Aug. 30, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. on ESPN. Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione said the move came at the request of TV.

“We were asked to consider moving up the season opener by a day so ESPN could televise our first game as a member of the SEC in a primetime window,” Castiglione said. “It’s a unique and exciting opportunity for us, as it will be our first Friday night game in the history of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and will give our team tremendous visibility nationally.

“Another major plus is, given the kick time, our players and fans should benefit from a cooler temperature. It’s reasonable to expect that playing in the evening will significantly mitigate some of the heat issues we typically deal with during early season day games. Our first-ever ‘Friday Night Lights’ will undoubtedly be one for the books, and we’re excited to open the season and our first year in the SEC in such a spectacular fashion.”

SEC schools have typically avoided playing on Friday night in the modern era, in deference to high school football. Exceptions have been made for bowl games (after the high school season has ended) and the day after Thanksgiving (AKA “Black Friday”), when teams often play afternoon games.

Oklahoma has played numerous Black Friday games over the years, most often vs. Nebraska when the two schools were rivals in the old Big 8 Conference. The Sooners also hosted TCU on Black Friday last season, though the game kicked off at 11 a.m.

Though Aug. 30 is the Friday before the Labor Day holiday, playing a night game on that day will certainly conflict with high school football in Oklahoma. It bears watching as to whether or not this will become a trend in future years (it almost certainly will).