Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[Gatorubet]

I went to grad school at UVA. Virginia and the Carolina schools are not a cultural fit with the B1G. They wear button downs and ties to football games and do not allow you to refer to the American Civil War as the Civil War, but insist on the term "War of Northern Aggression."

1) Send Ole Miss to the ACC then, because those mooks in the Grove dress like that;
2) Who invaded whom?

 

[BB73]

1) Send Ole Miss to the ACC then, because those mooks in the Grove dress like that;
2) Who invaded whom?

Folks, this is a conference expansion thread.

Please go re-live 1861-1865, whatever you want to call it, somewhere else.






I do hate the Yankees, though.

 

[Buckeye86]

1) Send Ole Miss to the ACC then, because those mooks in the Grove dress like that;
2) Who invaded whom?

Fort Sumter, under Union Control, was bombarded and "invaded" by the South.

Just because you bitches couldn't keep us from whooping your ass after you threw a sucker punch doesn't mean we started the aggression.

Also, where is Gettysburg located? refresh my memory, was it north or south of the Mason Dixon line? and what was Robert E. Lee doing there again?

Anyways, I'm not really sure why I'm feeling so chippy this morning, but yadda yadda rabble rabble it's not like we haven't been through this all before.

Carry on.

 

[PlanetFrnd]

Stumbled across this article discussing football & basketball attendance & thought it might be worth linking.

Boy Miami looks even more appealing than ever.

I call horseshit... VT, Wisky, UK, ND and Sparty dominate two sports???

edit: ... didn't realize I landed 8 pages behind the current conversation... I still call horseshit though...

 

[NateG]

Has anyone really asked/answered the question; why must the B1G expand to 16, just because everyone else is expanding? Why expand just for the sake of expansion?

To prevent other conferences from taking big players that grow other TV networks.

Even if you don't need a player, you might put in a waiver claim for them to prevent them from going to the competition.

 

[NateG]

I call horseshit... VT, Wisky, UK, ND and Sparty dominate two sports???

edit: ... didn't realize I landed 8 pages behind the current conversation... I still call horseshit though...

In percentage to fill their stadiums... not actual sport strength.

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

I went to grad school at UVA. Virginia and the Carolina schools are not a cultural fit with the B1G. They wear button downs and ties to football games and do not allow you to refer to the American Civil War as the Civil War, but insist on the term "War of Northern Aggression."

Good point. "Good Fit" was one of the things Delany mentioned with the Nebraska add. I am sure he is would take all of what you mentioned into consideration.

 

[jlb1705]

Has anyone really asked/answered the question; why must the B1G expand to 16, just because everyone else is expanding? Why expand just for the sake of expansion?

If everybody is marching toward 16 teams, the B1G shouldn't wait to pick last from the pool.

It's just like not wanting to pick last for a playground kickball game. If you pick last you get stuck with the kid who smells like pee and is just going to stand around and watch the ball instead of the kid who kinda sucks but somehow manages to do something useful every once in a while.

 

[Bobby Hoying]

Here's an interesting Pac-16 article -

BCS football: Realignment update (Pac-12 CEOs don?t want to expand)


The Pac-12 presidents and chancellors do not want to expand. Their strong preference is for Texas A&M-to-the-SEC to implode and for the Big 12 to remain viable ? essentially, they want the status quo for as long as they can get it. Why? Because they have everything they want.
The conference has stability? it has a football championship game ? it has the richest TV deal in college sports history ? and it has a wholly-owned network(s) to serve its fans, provide unprecedented exposure for its athletes, promote the league?s academic mission ? and generate millions of dollars per school annually once it attains maximum distribution.


Academics would be a point of contention if the status quo unravels, however.
Sources said that at least five schools (Stanford, Cal, USC, UCLA and Washington) have serious questions about admitting the Oklahoma schools, which are not members of the Association of American Universities.
But when I asked a source close to Stanford president John Hennessy, one of the league?s most influential CEOs, if the AAU issue would be a deal-breaker, the answer was: ?Probably not.?

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/colleg...ment-update-the-pac-12-doesnt-want-to-expand/

 

[Woody1968]

I do hate the Yankees, though.

Amen!

 

[BigWoof31]

Good point. We don't. The SEC needs to because they need more TV money, but none of the other conferences really need to, except the Big East, in order to stay an AQ.

I assure you - the SEC doesn't need more money.

 

[Muck]

those institutions should be made to see the bigger picture of how important it is for the BigTen to not get left behind in a world of high stakes realignment.

Purdue & Sparty playing ND yearly is not going to result in the B1G being left behind in the world of college football

Virginia had a windfall last year of ~$80m due to something outside of their regular sports (which generated about $40m).

Ahh that's where it's coming from. Be careful about using data from a single year. From 05-09 UV's athletic department was #17 in revenue & that was primarily due to a huge bump (private donor?) in 05. Generally their revenue is hovering around the top 25...and they also seem to bank a much larger portion of their revenue than most schools (ie recording a profit rather than ratcheting up spending to match income).

Not criticizing you BTW, just mostly thinking out loud.

And Auntie Em and Toto are saving up to put a big screen in the storm cellar.

I hear the drums echoing tonight, But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation.
She's coming in 12:30 flight, The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation.
I stopped an old man along the way, Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancinet melodies.
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you.

Texas has overplayed their hand, used the Big 10 to get what they wanted and it backfired on them. BUT, placed in the Pac8/10/12/14/16/20 they give the conference two things it desperately needs - a balance to USC and a team in the Central Time Zone.

I really think the Pac needs to think long & hard about their Pac 8 + 8 E/W scenario. Ghettoizing 'Zona, the Sun Devils & Colorado back into a dust bowl eastern mini-conference with no access to the coast is not a recipe for long term stability.

If further defections (UT and/or OU) occur from the "Big" "12" to the Pac-12, I fully expect Boise State to go there too.

Pac-12's academic status is lower than that of the B1G. Great schools in Cal, Stanford, and UCLA; very good schools in UWash and USC; bottom feeders too. Boise would not be the lowest ranked school in the conference given the USNews rating of Oregon State as "Tier 3."

No major conference is going to offer BSU a slot, just as no major conference was pursuing Marshall a decade ago.

Neither school has anything to offer long term.

How reliable has Chip Brown been in this entire affair?

Chip definitely has contacts within the UT administration.

That being said he has been used as a Longhorn mouthpiece so take anything he posts with a major helping of salt. He's deliberately being fed the information that UT wants spun for their own purposes.

I don't understand all the hoopla about the Longhorn Network. That's only 15 million a year and in 20 years (with inflation) it won't be nearly as impressive.

Keep in mind that's just for Tier 3 rights.

Has anyone really asked/answered the question; why must the B1G expand to 16, just because everyone else is expanding? Why expand just for the sake of expansion?

Of course.

The B1G isn't looking at expansion just for the sake of expansion. It's doing so to ensure position for the next hundred years. Whether that is by dominating major media markets, moving into faster growing regions of the country or adding marquee names (Nebraska).

 

[Woody1968]

1) Send Ole Miss to the ACC then, because those mooks in the Grove dress like that;
2) Who invaded whom?

Ole Miss might be a powerhouse in the ACC & that would solve the problem right there, as the ACC could dump Miami, you SEC guys wouldn't have to split up Alabama and Auburn, and both leagues could stay at 12 members.

 

[Woody1968]

I assure you - the SEC doesn't need more money.

Ah, but think of all that $$$ you'll get when the tv deal gets renegotiated.

 

[Mrstickball]

Has anyone really asked/answered the question; why must the B1G expand to 16, just because everyone else is expanding? Why expand just for the sake of expansion?

Because college sports is trending into larger conferences. Since we initiated the start of the rush by snagging Nebraska and dooming the Big-XII, other conferences have sought to emulate us. We have a major cash cow in the BTN that is only growing larger. By having more schools and TV footprints in a given conference, more schools can get funding, ergo improving their entire facility.

If the conference re-alignment rush continues past 12 by the SEC adding a 13th team, then every conference must understand that the SEC will eventually add a 14th team, which will give them an advantage in TV rights, among other things. Additionally, by striking first, they get to choose who they invite, and who they add. By being the last man on the totem pole, a conference will get a far worse selection of colleges to invite. What happens if the B1G decides to say "12 is enough" and then every major team goes to another conference, and we're left with Big East scraps and no Notre Dame? In such a case, we're screwed as the Pac-12 will likely add 4 more very good teams (Boise State and a few teams from the former Big XII). The SEC will add 4 very good teams (TAMU, possibly former Big XII teams and potentially FSU or WVU). The ACC will likely win the war off attrition with the Big East and consolidate their conferences to keep AQ status...

That leaves us, if we choose to do nothing, as the one with nothing. Expansion must benefit our conference. By waiting, it hurts us dearly as we will negotiate from a position of weakness and not strength. Look at our last two colleges - they were home runs with 2 of the arguably best schools in the mid-west. Are we going to follow that up with Syracuse? Central Michigan? Missouri? Or are we going to go after schools like Notre Dame with huge followings, endowments, and cash in which to add to the Big Ten war chest?

In the end, failing to expand and remain competitive would be like Wendy's saying "We've created the worlds best hamburgers. We will never, ever, add a single item to the menu until Dave Thomas comes out of the grave to tell us so".