Cyclones Football Non-Conference Update

The opening game of the season against Tulsa has been officially moved back, and the rest of the non-conference slate has been finalized on time and TV distribution. FOX Sports and the Big 12 were finally able to get TV details worked out after a lengthy delay.

First, the kickoff for Tulsa on September 1st has been officially pushed back to 2:30 p.m. CT per a FOX Sports request. FSN, who will be broadcasting the game, already has a Conference USA game on at 11:00 a.m. CT – Appalachian State vs. East Carolina.

Originally, Tulsa vs. Iowa State was predicted to happen at the same time on the same channel by Matt Sarzyniak, creator of the terrific College Sports on TV website. Once the earlier kickoff time was officially announced by Iowa State after the Big 12 Media Day, there were still doubts to whether that time would actually happen.

Two games at the same time was also unlikely. Conference USA was not happy last year on October 29th when FSN decided to split two games regionally – Washington State vs. Oregon at 2:00 p.m. CT and SMU vs Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. CT. More affiliates chose the Pac-12 game due to Oregon’s high ranking and for better ratings.

Iowa State’s visit to Iowa City remains at 2:30 p.m. CT on September 8th, broadcasting on the Big Ten Network.

As expected, the Western Illinois game on September 15th was not picked up for TV. It will be available to watch online at the newly-launched Cyclones.tv, kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Important for those who watch Comcast SportsNet Chicago: As of August 1st, FOX Sports and Comcast didn’t reach an agreement to keep FSN programming on the CSN channels. This means that no Iowa State football games will be on CSN Chicago this year. If you count on that network to view games, you will have to contact your local provider to find out what package you need to add. For DirecTV customers, the Sports Pack subscription will be needed. All Big 12 games will be viewable on any FSN network that schedules them.

View the entire 2012 Cyclones’ football schedule here.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Clones Confidential, follow the site on Twitter and Facebook. Read his other work on the Oregon Ducks blog, Autzen Zoo, and Lacrosse the Web.