Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[Piney]

What's so fucking funny?

Temple has beated U Conn the last two years and U Conn went to a BCS bowl game last year.

Beated. Deal with it. Get used to it.

Or is it super sad that Temple's best teams still can't beat Ohio? As Ohio beat Temple each of the last two seasons too.

Or it could reflect how horrible both Temple AND the Big East is?

 

[dlrn64]

Yeah, but ESPN still carries the Big 10 anyways? Why do they do if they didn't get the contract they wanted? You'd think that since Delaney said "I'll take my chances and not sign< that ESPN would be done with the Big 10, wouldn't it?

I guess I don't understand why they are still carrying games, unless that contract was for secondary rights? Because the Big 10 network certainly doesn't have the BEST conference games on. They have the ones that the major networks, like ESPN/ABC don't carry.

I guess I don't understand the deal.

 

[jwinslow]

Yeah, but ESPN still carries the Big 10 anyways? Why do they do if they didn't get the contract they wanted? You'd think that since Delaney said "I'll take my chances and not sign< that ESPN would be done with the Big 10, wouldn't it?

Did you read the rest of the article? He didn't sign with Shapiro. The 10 yr 1 billion deal was with a different exec a few years later, a deal far better than Shapiro would offer him.

Shapiro tried to force the big ten to sign a lousy deal because he didn't think Delaney had the courage to start his own network. He was wrong, and out of a job shortly afterwards.

I guess I don't understand why they are still carrying games, unless that contract was for secondary rights? Because the Big 10 network certainly doesn't have the BEST conference games on. They have the ones that the major networks, like ESPN/ABC don't carry.

They get billions in revenue for those secondary games and created their own leverage for the later negotations of 10 yr / 1 billion from ESPN.

People get too hung up on which games are being broadcasted. It's about the revenue flowing from them.

It doesn't matter that Indiana-OSU on the BTN isn't a very compelling matchup. It's a cash windfall.

 

[dlrn64]

Why doesn't the Big 10 forbid teams from playing ND?

If the Big 10 wants ND, wouldn't you think they would put the fire to the iron by telling their teams not to schedule games with ND? With big rivalry games that they play yearly with Mich, Mich State, Purdue...I would think that ND would have a difficult time finding teams close to them that give them the same "rivalry" capabilities and "oomph" to their schedule .Sure, they can still schedule some other teams to take their place, but they would have to travel further too.

It would just seem to me that the Big 10 could give ND an ultimatum that (if they really want ND), they could say, "you either join the Big 10 or you won't be playing any games against our teams anymore." It might give ND a little more impetus to join. If only NBC would not renew their stupid contract with them (though stupid ESPN, Fox, or another network would probably step in anyways and give them what they want) and the BCS would also remove that sweetheart deal it has to them in making it to a BCS bowl.

I just wish the Big 10 would make a tough stance at least, if they wanted ND, and make a move like that.

 

[jwinslow]

If the Big 10 wants ND, wouldn't you think they would put the fire to the iron by telling their teams not to schedule games with ND?

This has been discussed ad nauseum in the expansion thread, with many making this same argument.

With big rivalry games that they play yearly with Mich, Mich State, Purdue...I would think that ND would have a difficult time finding teams close to them that give them the same "rivalry" capabilities and "oomph" to their schedule

MSU & Purdue do not add oomph to their schedule. If they call your bluff, you just removed the best game on Purdue's schedule and the other one on Sparty's.

Sure, they can still schedule some other teams to take their place, but they would have to travel further too.

That's not really a big deal for a big budget football team.

It would just seem to me that the Big 10 could give ND an ultimatum that (if they really want ND), they could say, "you either join the Big 10 or you won't be playing any games against our teams anymore." It might give ND a little more impetus to join.

Far larger revenue dollars have not motivated the Domers to join the Big Ten. A much smaller financial threat is unlikely to have a different result.

 

[CHU]

I'm just wondering what games would be shown at noon/3 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC if the Big Ten decided to expand its BTN coverage in addition to signing with a FOX.

Big East games at noon aren't really the same draw as an Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State or Nebraska. ACC games certainly aren't as well.

This is where I hope Delany holds them over the coals (I'm also wondering if any associated with the B1G holds grudges with certain comments or spins by ESPN).

 

[Muck]

If they call your bluff, you just removed the best game on Purdue's schedule...

Not disagreeing with the overall gist of your argument but...

Ohio State, Penn State, TSUN, Wisconsin, Iowa > ND and Nebraska rotates onto the Boilermaker schedule in 2013.

 

[jwinslow]

Ohio State, Penn State, TSUN, Wisconsin, Iowa > ND and Nebraska rotates onto the Boilermaker schedule in 2013.

True, but they also will get whipped in most of those games.

 

[Muck]

True, but they also will get whipped in most of those games.

FWIW (I'm just rambling on) from a money/interest standpoint ND is probably more important for Purdue than a couple of those but I'd bet that they still aren't at the top of the list.

 

[BigJim]

and this my friends is why ESPN has been after OSU since. They are the top program in a conference that espn hates. And to me..this is why they have made this whole ncaa thing much bigger than it really is.

There seems to be a pretty heavy agreement around here on the bold above. I agree that it feels that way but what I can't figure out is, how exactly would ESPN implement the anti-OSU bias?

Could someone high up at ESPN actually explicitly mention what they want, without one of their employees publically passing it on by now? I would think someone at ESPN even hinting to the talking heads that they want negative (or positive) bias against a school/conference would have been made public by now.

I'm not saying the bias doesn't exist, just curious how exactly people think it may have infiltrated seemingly 90%+ of the ESPN talking heads..

 

[muffler dragon]

May ND rot in a very special hell.

 

[jwinslow]

98% of studio personalities are reading a teleprompter. The rivalries and disagreements are clearly scripted between May & Holtz, Clayton & Salisbury, Kiper & McShay. It's not hard to see how they'd play up certain angles or just flat out give them lines to read.

It's also not like they had to invent things to harp on. OSU has had their share of faults, implosions and ugly moments. It's a matter of how much focus you give to them. How much of the nation hates Oklahoma for their non-stop choking in big games? How much of the nation even knows they have that history? The reason they don't is because ESPN rarely talks about it.

 

[Dryden]

There seems to be a pretty heavy agreement around here on the bold above. I agree that it feels that way but what I can't figure out is, how exactly would ESPN implement the anti-OSU bias?

Could someone high up at ESPN actually explicitly mention what they want, without one of their employees publically passing it on by now? I would think someone at ESPN even hinting to the talking heads that they want negative (or positive) bias against a school/conference would have been made public by now.

I'm not saying the bias doesn't exist, just curious how exactly people think it may have infiltrated seemingly 90%+ of the ESPN talking heads..

That's been my take as well. There are too many figures at ESPN that would be sympathetic to Ohio State (Herbstreit, Spiels, Robert Smith, Lou Holthssss, and even Senior VP Vince Doria) to orchestrate a coordinated smear campaign and not have that info leaked by now. I would think Dave Revsine would be the first to offer inside info on ESPN since he left the network for the BTN after hosting SportsCenter, College Game Night, and doing parttime duty on Outside the Lines for ten years.

If anyone would have 'dirt,' it'd be Revsine, and he's in the prime position to capitalize on it since he's the BTN equivilent to Chris Berman.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

May ND rot in a very special hell.

While I agree with your sentiment, any reminder of Firefly makes me weep a little inside.

 

[knapplc]

That's been my take as well. There are too many figures at ESPN that would be sympathetic to Ohio State (Herbstreit, Spiels, Robert Smith, Lou Holthssss, and even Senior VP Vince Doria) to orchestrate a coordinated smear campaign and not have that info leaked by now. I would think Dave Revsine would be the first to offer inside info on ESPN since he left the network for the BTN after hosting SportsCenter, College Game Night, and doing parttime duty on Outside the Lines for ten years.

If anyone would have 'dirt,' it'd be Revsine, and he's in the prime position to capitalize on it since he's the BTN equivilent to Chris Berman.

This makes sense, but it doesn't put the speculation to bed. Revsine could simply be keeping his knowledge to himself, at least publicly, because ESPN is still the Big Dog and if his gig at BTN ever ends, he may want another job with the four-letter network. The old "don't bite the hand that feeds you" mantra could explain Hebstreit, Spielman, Smith, etc.