The University of Wisconsin has opened talks with Iowa about moving their 2008 football game to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, in the interest of creating a bye week during a rigorous stretch of the Big Ten Conference season.

The discussions between Badgers coach Bret Bielema and his counterpart at Iowa, Kirk Ferentz, were prompted by a recent vote of Big Ten presidents to lift a ban against conference games following the November holiday.

The policy had created a logjam of games since the advent of the 12-game regular-season schedule, because the NCAA does not allow games to be played any earlier than the Saturday immediately preceding Sept. 1.

According to UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, the Big Ten was the only Bowl Subdivision conference not playing games after Thanksgiving. Playing 12 games in as many weeks is exacting too heavy a physical toll on the players, he said.

"Every team in the league was beat up, didn't have any gas left in the tank, in one game this year," Alvarez said.

The Badgers are scheduled to play the Hawkeyes on Oct. 18 in Iowa City, immediately following a tough opening stretch to the league schedule that includes a road game at Michigan and home dates with Ohio State and Penn State.

If changed, the game would be played Nov. 29. Notably, Wisconsin has an open date the previous week because its Big Ten schedule will be completed, while the Hawkeyes are playing Minnesota.
"Bret wants to do it," Alvarez said. "If Iowa doesn't want to do it, we'll try to find another school."

Illinois and Northwestern have also discussed moving their game to late November, Alvarez said.

"No one wants to play after Thanksgiving if you don't have to, but in exchange for an open date, they would," Alvarez said.

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