Looking for a sure-fire sign that college athletics has become more business-like that ever? Try this on for size. Tonight, when high schoolers around the nation are preparing for their football games, the 13th-ranked Kansas University football team will take on No. 19 South Florida on national television. Hey, at least it’s still Friday Night Lights, right? Here’s the deal: Initially I was bummed to learn about KU’s marquee match-up being scheduled for a Friday. For starters, it undoubtedly will take some of the focus off of the high school games throughout Kansas and Florida. Second, because my Friday nights consist of walking the sidelines at football stadiums, I’ll have to miss it. But Tuesday, I heard KU coach Mark Mangino’s explanation for scheduling the game. It makes sense. “As I have said before, I would prefer not to play on Friday nights,” Mangino said. “But to tell you the truth, we have to take opportunities as they come. There had been talk about playing on Thursday night and there had been talk about Friday night, but there was no talk about the game being televised on a Saturday. We were able to work it out with South Florida and ESPN that it would be played on Friday night, and that was the best scenario for us. You have to do what you have to do.” Translation: If someone paid Lawrence High or Free State one-tenth of what the Jayhawks will make from tonight’s television appearance, the Lions or Firebirds probably would be fine with playing at 8:30 a.m. on a Monday morning. There’s really nobody to point the finger at on this one. It’s simply one of those tough-break scenarios in which the almighty dollar wins. Don’t blame Mangino. He’s proven time and again that he’s nothing if not a traditionalist. “I am a former high school coach,” he said. “I am kind of old-fashioned in the sense that Friday nights have traditionally been reserved for high school football. But I have seen some high school games being televised nationally. I think that the network people are trying to be fair to high schools in that they need some Friday nights for college football, but they also want to promote high school football.”I’m still not sure how I feel about high school games being shown on national TV. But that’s a topic for a different day. For now, enjoy tonight’s game, whichever one you watch.