Oklahoma football: Sooners' 2024 season opener moved to Friday Night Lights

The 2024 Oklahoma football season will open at home on Friday night, August 30, instead of Saturday as originally scheduled.

The game will be televised on ESPN at 6 p.m. CT and will be the Sooners debut as a member of the Southeast Conference after a 125-year run in the Big 12 and all of its previous iteratons.

In a statement released by the Oklahoma athletic department, athletic director Joe Castiglione said OU was asked to consider opening up the new season by a day so ESPN could televise the Sooners first game as a member of the SEC.

"It's a unique and exciting opportunity for us," Castiglione said, "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."

The OU athletic director added that given the evening kick off, it will give the players and fans a break with the cooler temperatures than in the game had been played on Saturday afternoon.

Oklahoma has played 16 regular-season on a Friday since World War II. Ten of those Friday games are against Nebraska, including all six losses. The Sooners are 5-0 all-time, however, in games played on Friday night in the regular season. All were road games.

The Sooners have won 18 straight home openers. The 2024 season-opener against the Temple Owls will be just the third meeting all-time between the two schools and the first since 1942. The series is even at one game apiece.