Kirby Smart weighs in on noon kickoff debate

Early kickoffs became a hot debate Monday when Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne and president Stuart R. Bell issued a statement complaining about noon start times. On Tuesday, Georgia coach Kirby Smart weighed in on the subject.

But Smart didn’t agree with his former employer:

Kirby Smart asked about noon kickoffs, said he likes having more time with his family, and more time to recruit on the back end: “Probably being able to go home and watch the night games with my kids and my wife is the big thing for me.”

— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) September 10, 2019

It’s more common to see a football program complain about late start times because late games can sometimes present traveling issues for away teams going home after the game. Furthermore, there’s been a big debate about how late Pac-12 games start because most fans on the east coast are already sleep when the contests begin.

But a conversation about noon kickoff times like the SEC’s had the last few days has been new. Count Smart as one of the coaches that wishes to keep his noon starts.