DESTIN, Fla. -- Georgia officials had hoped for fewer night football games this year, and they appear to be getting their wish.
Starting times were announced Thursday for four Georgia games, and none will be under the lights:
-- The Bulldogs' first two SEC games, Sept. 11 at South Carolina and Sept. 18 vs. Arkansas in Athens, will start at noon and be nationally televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
-- The Oct. 2 game at Colorado will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. MT) and be shown on Fox Sports Net, including Atlanta-based Fox Sports South.
-- And the Oct. 30 game against Florida in Jacksonville will start at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Starting times for Georgia's other eight games have not been set. Most won't be determined until 12 days in advance, per the SEC's TV contracts.
Last year, six of Georgia's 12 regular-season games were at night, including four of the six home games -- numbers that tilted more toward night than the balance UGA prefers.
UGA President Michael Adams acknowledged at the SEC meetings here Thursday that Georgia's preference largely is inconsequential because TV contracts give the networks power over game times. But he said "it looks like the luck of the draw" might create a day-night balance more to Georgia's liking this year.
"The typical Georgia fan loves daytime, mid-afternoon football," Adams said. "It allows a lot of people to get there and to get home. The coaches and players like the prime-time [night] exposure. So it's like everything -- there's a trade-off."
The time for the Bulldogs' Sept. 4 opener against Louisiana-Lafayette in Athens has not been set.
More expansion buzz
Once again, there was chatter in the corridors of the Sandestin Hilton regarding expansion of major conferences, particularly about a report on Rivals.com's University of Texas Web site that the Pac-10 "appears" to be prepared to invite six Big 12 schools to join.
Expansion was not discussed in a 3 1/2-hour meeting of the 12 SEC presidents Thursday, but it will be addressed during another meeting of the presidents Friday.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive reiterated Thursday that the conference will be "strategic and thoughtful" in analyzing any shifts in other leagues. The SEC's position is that it will be reactive, not proactive, about expansion.
Slive said the SEC is "a very special league" that has had "some very special success" but added that it is "not complacent."
Conference expansion has been a hot topic in college athletics since the Big Ten said late last year it would consider adding members.
Asked how long it will take for the issue to play out, Slive said: "I don't have a timetable. There are a lot of different rumors, a lot of different things. ... News keeps coming."
Adams contends the SEC is under no pressure to act, even if other conferences do.
"I don't think we necessarily have to respond to anybody," Adams said Thursday. "If we see movement, then I think we analyze it. But there's a pretty strong sense, I believe, among the 12 presidents and the commissioner right now that the SEC is in the best shape it's ever been in."
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