I couldn't help the other night but marvel at the atmosphere at the IUP-Bloomsburg game, and it made me think of one way to turn PSAC football into something even more special.

What if all PSAC games were played on Thursday nights?

I know, on the surface it sounds like a dumb idea. Saturdays are made for college football; Thursdays are made for 50-cent drafts (in a college town, anyway).

But if you have ever been to a PSAC game on a Saturday afternoon and wondered why there was no more than you and your 500 closest friends there in the bleachers, maybe this is a good idea. One of the saddest things to see is a good college football game played in front of a largely apathetic crowd. In the PSAC, it happens every week.

Thursday night, when Bloomsburg beat IUP 20-16 on the CBS College Sports game of the week, the bleachers were almost full and the fans were loud. It created an excellent atmosphere, one that the players and coaches enjoyed being in front of.

The truth is this, though: The large IUP student section wouldn't have been there if the game was played on Saturday instead of Thursday.

Like most other PSAC schools, IUP is a bit of a ghost town on a non-homecoming weekend. Kids go home to work, to see their families, to do whatever. They just don't stay at IUP to see the Crimson Hawks play Clarion.

As for the so-called "townies," the residents of Indiana would rather watch Pitt or Penn State play on TV than watch IUP play Lock Haven. They'd rather go to their kids' soccer games. They'd rather check out the new Dunkin' Donuts.

These aren't isues unique to Indiana. I've been to games at every other PSAC school, and I cannot remember more than a few times seeing a crowd that impressed me. I am continually shocked at places like Bloomsburg and California, which have outstanding programs that play games basically with crickets chirping. I've been to places where the fans didn't outnumber the sum total of players, coaches and band members on the field.

So here's the idea: What if all PSAC games were played on Thursday nights?

Think of the benefits. Even if the game is not on national TV, I think students would show up. Not all of them, but considerably more. They'll come out because they'll be around campus and they'll need something to do. Start the game at 6, and they can be out "socializing" by 9 p.m. It would also bring out the local fans who won't have to choose between watching Pitt or Penn State and watching their local PSAC team.

Having more people there would create a buzz. The local media would be more inclined to cover something if 5,000 people were there to see it, rather than 500. With all those fannies and eyeballs in the seats, advertisers would want to be a part of it.

There are some disadvantages, most notably that the players would probably miss more classes. If Edinboro was playing at West Chester on Thursday at 6 p.m., they'd certainly be gone for more than a day. But that happens a lot in basketball seasons, with teams playing at least twice a week. Heck, it happens in every sport. If the volleyball teams can play on a Thursday night, why can't the football teams?

Coaches might not like the idea because they're creatures of habit. They have schedules they stick by or else the world seems out of whack. But if all games were on Thursdays, not just some of them, they could adjust. And if your team makes it to the playoffs and has a game on a Saturday, you adjust your practice schedule and move on.

Perhaps this is a bit of a crazy idea. But I think we're at a point where something needs to be done to help these programs. At a time when schools are cutting back on expenses, athletic marketing is not a priority. Asking fans to choose on a Saturday afternoon to come to a PSAC game or do a plethora of other activities doesn't help.

Maybe playing on Thursdays would help. Just a thought.

POWER RANKINGS
Based on nothing but one man's opinion
1. Kutztown (3-0)
2. Bloomsburg (3-0)
3. Edinboro (3-0)
4. California (2-1)
5. Mercyhurst (2-1)
6. West Chester (1-2)
7. Slippery Rock (2-1)
8. IUP (1-1)
9. Shippensburg (2-1)
10. East Stroudsburg (1-2)
11. Gannon (1-2)
12. Clarion (0-3)
13. C.W. Post (0-3)
14. Cheyney (1-2)
15. Millersville (1-2)
16. Lock Haven (0-2)