Arizona State’s long-anticipated trip to London has been given a clock and a channel. The Sun Devils’ nonconference meeting with Kansas — billed as the Union Jack Classic — will take place Sept. 19 at Wembley Stadium, with kickoff set for 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, which corresponds to 5 p.m. local time in London. The conference announced the game will be televised by FS1.
ASU’s mascot Sparky leans toward fans at Sun Devil Stadium during a home game — Arizona State will head to London for a nonconference matchup whose kickoff time and TV network were recently announced.
The kickoff time and broadcast partner were disclosed May 27 as part of the Big 12’s schedule announcements during the conference’s annual Spring Business Meetings, held this year at the Omni in Frisco, Texas. The fixture at Wembley will mark the first time a college football game has been played at that historic venue.
The London contest will follow the Sun Devils’ early-season slate, which opens on Sept. 5 with a home game against Morgan State. That season opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be available to viewers on ESPN+. The team’s second game of the season is a road test at Texas A&M in College Station, set to kick at 9 a.m. Arizona time and carried by ABC.
Arizona State’s travel plans have been structured so the team will not return to Tempe between the Texas A&M trip and the London game. The Sun Devils will instead depart directly from College Station for London to prepare for the matchup with Kansas at Wembley Stadium.
The scheduling places two 9 a.m. Arizona kickoffs in close succession: the road trip to College Station and the neutral-site game in London. The London start time was announced as 5 p.m. local time, reflecting the six-hour difference between Arizona and the United Kingdom during that period.
Broadcasters for the three early-season games have been confirmed: ESPN+ will carry the Sept. 5 opener against Morgan State, ABC will broadcast the Sept. 12 game at Texas A&M, and FS1 will televise the Union Jack Classic in London on Sept. 19. Those network assignments were included in the Big 12’s announcements made during the spring meetings.
Wembley Stadium will host the meeting between the Sun Devils and the Jayhawks, an event named the Union Jack Classic. The designation and timing place Arizona State in a high-profile international setting for its third game of the season, with the program remaining on the road after its Texas A&M outing in College Station and traveling directly overseas to London.
The confirmation of time and television for the London game completes the early-season picture for Arizona State, with the opener at Sun Devil Stadium, a road game in Texas and then the neutral-site contest at Wembley. Fans planning to follow the team on television now know the networks and local kickoff times for each of the first three games, and the conference’s announcement formalized the situating of a college football contest at Wembley for the first time.
Sparky is hoisted by a sea of Sun Devils fans in the stands — the team’s upcoming London game and its broadcast details were confirmed in the announcement.