Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[bigdog3300]

I just can't see UNC leaving the ACC--and their traditional tobacco road rivalries with Duke, UVA, Wake, Maryland and NC State....not this early in the game.

If the SEC raids the ACC it will be for Clemson, FSU and maybe Miami. The ACC will reload with Big East schools and go back to being a basketball first conference.

Those teams don't make strategic sense for them.

Clemson is already SEC territory, ditto for FSU. Miami I don't think has a shot, UF/FSU run FL. Out of those 3, FSU would seem the best option. That's why they are looking west towards new territory, i.e. A&M and OU.

I couldn't see UNC leaving, but if they foresee the ACC being destroyed then they aren't left with an option. It's alot easier in basketball to maintain rivalries than it is football that are OOC, the 4 NC schools can still have their games all against each other just like the 4 Phili schools do.

 

[CleveBucks]

ESPN ticker says OK has scheduled a regents' meeting for Wednesday.

 

[High Lonesome]

I was jk with Gestapo remark......I was actually raised in Houston a good part of my childhood so I understand the politics. Good luck to you guys in the PAC 10 you should own it for at least a decade.

A&M on the other hand is going to get it's ass handed to them in the SEC.....but I'm sure your hating that...lol.

didn't hurt my feelings at all.

I actually live in an apt complex that is filled with people that work at the capital, and while gestapo might be a bit harsh, they are a bit cult-ish....always with other "capital folk"

side note: I've been looking for some good Pac 10 message boards other than the Scout boards. Do they have any independent boards like this?

 

[SloopyHangOn]

ESPN ticker says OK has scheduled a regents' meeting for Wednesday.

Seems to me like that would suggest they aren't "in the same wagon" as Texas and the gang, would it not?

I can't see OU scheduling a meeting 1 day after they are supposedly meeting to accept a bid to the Pac-10. Also, I don't think Larry Scott would be flying out just to oversee what's already a "done deal". There's got to be a lot of play left with these Big XII teams and a lot of posturing left to be done.

I'm glad Delaney and the gang are sitting back and letting things play out. It seems the only way the BigTen would lose any of its "posture" is by making a move out of turn.

 

[Dryden]

FedEx CEO promises buckets of money to anybody that will take Memphis.

FedEx CEO could provide millions if BCS-affiliated league takes Memphis - CBSSports.com

FedEx CEO could provide millions if BCS-affiliated league takes Memphis

June 12, 2010
By Gary Parrish
CBSSports.com Senior Writer

FedEx CEO Fred Smith has spoken to various conference officials and made it known that his Memphis-based company could provide millions of dollars -- perhaps as much as $10 million annually -- to a BCS-affiliated league willing to offer an invitation to the University of Memphis, multiple sources close to the Memphis program have told CBSSports.com.

"It could be $10 million every year for a conference to use however it sees fit," said one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "When you think of the big picture, it could be the equivalent of a five-year, $50 million contract or a 10-year, $100-million contract. Fred is talking about a massive amount of money."

CBSSports.com could not reach Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson for comment Saturday. However, Johnson joked earlier in the week with reporters that he had "two of the highest paid assistant ADs in the history of mankind" working for him. That comment was in reference to Smith and FedEx chief financial officer Alan Graf, the latter of whom played a major role in the school's search last year to replace John Calipari as its basketball coach.

Con'td ...

 

[CincyInterloper]

FedEx CEO promises buckets of money to anybody that will take Memphis.

FedEx CEO could provide millions if BCS-affiliated league takes Memphis - CBSSports.com

That would forever damage Memphis's image by branding them as the school who wasn't good enough to get into a BCS conference on merit. He would be better off just donating the money to Memphis directly and letting them spend the money on improving the school.

 

[kn1f3party]

Texas would be lovely. However, seems just as nice to let other conferences bloat themselves. Magic number is 13. If SEC or Pac 10 hit it we get ND

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Gee, I'm going to dump any funds that have FEDEX holdings. I can't think of a more wasteful use of a publicly traded company's funds than this. I'd love to see some serious (i.e. institutional investor) lawsuits against management if they tried to use company money for this.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Gotta love the Big Ten. The conference where Indi-frickin'-ana has more television revenue and stability and conference security than Texas or Nebraska. There's something to be said for doing it old school,

 

[ghost of tibor]

Gotta love the Big Ten. The conference where Indi-frickin'-ana has more television revenue and stability and conference security than Texas or Nebraska. There's something to be said for doing it old school,

Hmm..not sure if I agree with your premise there, given that Indiana's revenue is due to the Big 10 Network, which was decidedly not "old school" and probably could be called revolutionary. Remember the laughs and mocking that occurred when it was first announced? Now, it's Indiana that's laughing.

 

[Bobby Hoying]

Gotta love the Big Ten. The conference where Indi-frickin'-ana has more television revenue and stability and conference security than Texas or Nebraska. There's something to be said for doing it old school,

I like how the Big Ten has focused on academics. I feel embarrassed for the SEC when other schools do not want to join them because their academics are bottom rung. They even had Colin Cowherd making fun of them for that.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Hmm..not sure if I agree with your premise there, given that Indiana's revenue is due to the Big 10 Network, which was decidedly not "old school" and probably could be called revolutionary. Remember the laughs and mocking that occurred when it was first announced? Now, it's Indiana that's laughing.

ESPN's Joe Schad reporting that the BigTen is willing to trade Indiana for 5 footballs and a tub of Icy Hot.

 

[RhodeIslandBuck]

I feel like the ideal scenario would just be to have 4 conferences of 16 teams. Make a conference for the east, west, south, and midwest.

- Have the East (ACC) and South (SEC) split the eight remaining Big East teams based on their north-south positions.
- The Midwest (Big Ten) picks up Notre Dame and almost the rest of the big 12 north (Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State).
- The West picks up the five big 12 south teams they've invited.

While some schools may not "fit" their conference/region in an academic manner, it would keep everything geographically sound and only two current bcs conference teams would be left out (Iowa State, Baylor). Could have each conference/region champion play in a national semi-final (Midwest vs. West, East vs. South) then have a national championship game at a predetermiend site. I do know this scenario is nearly impossible, I can dream can't I?:)

 

[kinch]

I feel like the ideal scenario would just be to have 4 conferences of 16 teams. Make a conference for the east, west, south, and midwest.

- Have the East (ACC) and South (SEC) split the eight remaining Big East teams based on their north-south positions.
- The Midwest (Big Ten) picks up Notre Dame and almost the rest of the big 12 north (Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State).
- The West picks up the five big 12 south teams they've invited.

While some schools may not "fit" their conference/region in an academic manner, it would keep everything geographically sound and only two current bcs conference teams would be left out (Iowa State, Baylor). Could have each conference/region champion play in a national semi-final (Midwest vs. West, East vs. South) then have a national championship game at a predetermiend site. I do know this scenario is nearly impossible, I can dream can't I?:)

People keep pushing the 4x16 thing, but I don't think that that includes enough teams, and I don't believe it will happen. Even with the dissolution of the Big XII, the MWC will likely pick up the remains (Conference USA has said they will try to as well) and we will still have six major conferences. If the Big East dissolves as well, and is poached, we will still have five.

 

[Oh8ch]

People keep pushing the 4x16 thing, but I don't think that that includes enough teams, and I don't believe it will happen.

4x16 isn't big enough. There are more than 64 teams in the existing majors and that still leaves out the Mountain West which now includes 4 top 25 ranked schools.

And let's not forget that the Big Ten move is being driven by changes in demographics. South Florida didn't exist a decade ago and more schools are trying to make that jump.

4x16 is not stable over the long term.