Michigan will open up their season under the lights at the Big House as their first game against Middle Tennessee State will kickoff at 7:30 PM EST on Big Ten Network, the Big Ten announced on Thursday afternoon.

The Wolverines will also see noon slates against Army (home), Wisconsin (away) and their annual noon game at home against Ohio State to finish out the season. Times for games against Illinois and Notre Dame have yet to be determined; however, both games will be carried by the ESPN/ABC family of networks.

A night game for the Wolverines likely means that one of their other two rivalry games at home in 2019 (Michigan State, Notre Dame) will be earlier in the day. Athletic director Warde Manuel has expressed concern in the past regarding hosting a bunch of night games in a given season.

“I think it’s different from the standpoint of increased staffing levels we need to have for the safety and fan experience of getting around,” Manuel told reporters in 2017. “We add additional lighting to our parking lots. I think the people at Pioneer High school and Ann Arbor Golf and Outing, all of those places have additional expenses to make sure people are safe in this environment. Obviously, the police forces, but the university, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, the state of Michigan are in increased vigilance. The longer people have to tailgate, you see more issues around alcohol and issues related to that, so that also is a concern. There are multiple areas of concern we have after the game in people getting home late at night. The concern is around our fans and travel that late hour.”

There was also concern regarding fans who travel long distances. However, Michigan played one home night game in each of the last two seasons and appear to be in line to play the two this season.

The Wolverines are coming off of their third ten-win season in four years under Jim Harbaugh. However, their November struggles continued in 2018 as they lost their final two games, including a blowout loss to Florida in the Peach Bowl. Most preseason pundits have Michigan among the top ten teams in the country heading into 2019, however, spurred by the return of quarterback Shea Patterson and an offensive unit that will remain almost fully intact.