The NFL, NBA and MLB have "taken steps to shorten games" and keep fans engaged, and now it is "college football's turn," according to Eric Olson of the AP. The Pac-12 last week announced a trial in which some nonconference games will "feature shorter halftimes." The Mid-American Conference is "also picking up the pace." ESPN said that it would place "greater emphasis on getting in and out of commercials on time and adhering strictly to 20-minute halftimes on games it televises." Longer college football games can be "attributed to an increase in scoring, offenses that favor the pass over the run and the introduction of video review a decade ago." Four of the five teams with the longest games were in the Big 12, where "huge offensive numbers are common." MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said that his goal is to "shorten his league's games from last year's average of 3:25 to 3:20." Olson noted some stadiums will "experiment with TV timeout clocks so fans will know how much time remains until the ball is in play after a media break." ESPN VP/Programming & Acquisitions Nick Dawson said that game length "probably is more of a concern to conference and school administrators than to TV people because the schools are worried about keeping stadiums full." But he said that he is "willing to work with conference officials to address pace of play." Dawson: "What I don't want to do is look the other way based on the fact our viewership doesn't seem to be affected, and then wake up five years from now and we have a real problem on our hands and it's too late to correct it" (AP, 7/31).
