Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[ScriptOhio]

Note to admins: We really need the little animated smiley where he's sitting in a chair eating popcorn.

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[ScriptOhio]

Big Ten to auction off TV rights to football championship game

The Big Ten Conference is preparing to auction the TV rights to its new football championship game, a move that industry insiders say could fetch $15 million to $20 million a year. The conference also plans to reopen its current deal with ESPN to account for the addition of Nebraska. ? Sports Business Journal

Entire article: Big Ten to auction off TV rights to football championship game | Ben Maller

 

[BuckTwenty]

Big Ten to auction off TV rights to football championship game

The Big Ten Conference is preparing to auction the TV rights to its new football championship game, a move that industry insiders say could fetch $15 million to $20 million a year. The conference also plans to reopen its current deal with ESPN to account for the addition of Nebraska. ? Sports Business Journal

Entire article: Big Ten to auction off TV rights to football championship game | Ben Maller

I'd suspect they'd auction off the naming rights as well (for example: the "Dr. Pepper Football Championship" = Big XII Championship Game) for more walking around money.

Goes to prove that Nebraska will help each of the 12 member schools earn even MORE than they did before. Nebraska was a perfect fit for #12 and brings a lot of positive contributions with them to the conference.

Also goes to prove how important it is to not just add ANYONE to the conference, because new schools will mean a smaller piece of the pie for everybody. Nebraska was most definetly a somebody and a great new piece to the Big Ten puzzle.

 

[cincibuck]

Saddens me in one sense; there will be a CCG wether it's needed or not, replay of regular season game, or weak division winner vs undefeated regular champ and will probably create the two championship BS -- regular season winner and playoff winner.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Saddens me in one sense; there will be a CCG wether it's needed or not, replay of regular season game, or weak division winner vs undefeated regular champ and will probably create the two championship BS -- regular season winner and playoff winner.

Other 2-division conferences have not done the 2-champion thing for football, and for good reason. Since conferences do a round-robin home-and-away with every team in basketball; crowning a regular season champ makes sense. Even now that they're backing off of that a little (for basketball); it makes more sense than it does for football where you play only 9 of the 11 other teams and every one has a different mix of teams that they have to play on the road.

I agree with your overall sentiment, that there will be times when the CCG seems superfluous and even times when it will crown a less worthy champion than the current method. But I doubt that we end up with a 2-champion thing.

The main upshot to me is that in years like 2005 and 2008 when the Buckeyes were co-champions... with the new system they'll stay home and watch PSU go play in the CCG.

 

[BB73]

10 national writers briefly weigh in on the effects of expansion.

CFN

 

[cincibuck]

10 national writers briefly weigh in on the effects of expansion.

CFN

Amazing, only 1 in 10 points out that Texas has staked out a conference of its own, risking nothing but Oklahoma in football and Kansas in basketball. Were it not for the quality of Texas football this would be little more than the Big East in terms of deserving an automatic BCS. Saved a conference my ass.

 

[BB73]

In an apparent bucking of the trend, BYU is looking at leaving the Mtn West to become independent in football, and rejoin the WAC in all other sports.

The Mtn West is replacing Utah with Boise St next year, but losing BYU would damage their hopes of getting an automatic BCS bid.

CBS.Dodd

 

[Muck]

In an apparent bucking of the trend, BYU is looking at leaving the Mtn West to become independent in football, and rejoin the WAC in all other sports.

The Mtn West is replacing Utah with Boise St next year, but losing BYU would damage their hopes of getting an automatic BCS bid.

BYU has been floating the idea for a number of years. They think they got screwed in the last MWC TV contract.

Boise fans are pissed (who cares) while Houston & Fresno State fans think this is their big (relatively speaking) chance to move up.

 

[Woody1968]

Might be BYU's last ditch effort to try and get into an AQ conference - Irony being they'd have a better shot staying put. If super conferences are the way, they'll really be stuck back in the WAC.

Anyone think that this will kick start some more conference changes?

 

[Piney]

In an apparent bucking of the trend, BYU is looking at leaving the Mtn West to become independent in football, and rejoin the WAC in all other sports.

The Mtn West is replacing Utah with Boise St next year, but losing BYU would damage their hopes of getting an automatic BCS bid.

CBS.Dodd

Read that in another article. But the key to all of this is they are asking the BCS to have a special exception like Notre Dame. If they can get a similar exception then they would seriously look into moving.

Also sounds like another way to get at the BCS. The BCS doesn't allow them to get an automatic BCS birth being in the Top 8 or so, I would think (while I'm not a lawyer, just a message board one ) that this could be a way to attack the BCS if they DON'T allow BYU a similar exception.

But for BYU, this makes sense. There longtime rival just left their conference, it looks like they are blackballed from moving up to the Pac10 or Big XII, and they probably feel the MWest won't become a BCS conference without Utah.

So why stay? They have their own network already and then they can open up their schedule and actually strengthen it even more. Plus if they can get the Notre Dame type of excemption and be able to keep all of the cash of making a BCS bowl (afterall, they are closer to playing in the BCS than Notre Dame) it can be quite profitable.

 

[Muck]

Might be BYU's last ditch effort to try and get into an AQ conference - Irony being they'd have a better shot staying put. If super conferences are the way, they'll really be stuck back in the WAC.

I think their argument is that they are putting more into the MWC pot than they're getting out of it so it would be worthwhile for them to just opt out and keep their winnings.

Anyone think that this will kick start some more conference changes?

Among the 'have not' leagues (WAC, MWC, CUSA) probably but nothing that will affect the big boys.

 

[MaxBuck]

I think we'll soon see The Parochial Conference:

Notre Dame
BYU
Texas Christian
Southern Methodist
Ouachita Baptist
Boston College
Pepperdine
Islamic American University
Yeshiva
Fordham

They'll petition for immediate BCS conference status based upon the concept of religious tolerance. (Of course, IAU and Notre Dame will first need to demonstrate that they have competent football programs.)

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I think we'll soon see The Parochial Conference:

Notre Dame
BYU
Texas Christian
Southern Methodist
Ouachita Baptist
Boston College
Pepperdine
Islamic American University
Yeshiva
Fordham

They'll petition for immediate BCS conference status based upon the concept of religious tolerance. (Of course, IAU and Notre Dame will first need to demonstrate that they have competent football programs.)

Let's be fair. You have to add Baylor and Liberty so they can have divisions and a CCG.

 

[Muck]

I think we'll soon see The Parochial Conference

ND already has that in the Big East (minus the FB schools)...although I too was thinking of the potential of some sort of strategic partnership between BYU & ND (and perhaps a few other like minded institutions) for football.