Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[Muck]

Didn't realize that...

I'll see if I can find the link again.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 makes it official:

West Virginia University To Join Big 12 Conference

The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors have voted unanimously to accept West Virginia University as a full conference member effective July 1, 2012. The Mountaineers will begin competing in the Big 12 beginning with the 2012-13 athletic season.

West Virginia is the second new member to join the Conference since it began in 1996 after the addition of TCU earlier this month.

"The Big 12 Presidents and Chancellors are excited to welcome another outstanding institution to the Conference," said Burns Hargis, Chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors and President of Oklahoma State University. "The addition of West Virginia, while expanding the reach of the Big 12, brings an impressive institution with esteemed academics and a proud athletic tradition into the Conference. This is another step in building a strong foundation for the future of the Big 12."

"The Big 12 is a perfect fit for West Virginia University," said WVU President Dr. James P. Clements. "It is a strong conference that, like WVU, values quality academic and athletic programs, and has a great tradition of success. This is a very exciting time for WVU and Mountaineer nation. I am confident that the future of WVU athletics has never been more promising."

West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, sponsors 17 varsity sports. Men?s sports include baseball, basketball, football, soccer, swimming & diving and wrestling. Women?s sports are basketball, cross country, gymnastics, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field and volleyball. The Mountaineers also boast a co-ed rifle squad. The Big 12 sponsors every sport the Mountaineers participate in except rifle and men?s soccer.

"We are excited to add West Virginia to our exceptional lineup of Conference members," said Big 12 Interim Commissioner Chuck Neinas. "They bring an excellent overall athletic program to the Big 12 and allow the league to expand into an area that boasts a passionate group of fans and alumni throughout its region."

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Big 12 has won 42 team national championships and 492 NCAA individual crowns. In addition, more than 3,700 student-athletes have earned All-America First Team accolades for their play on the field with more than 500 being recognized with Academic All-America honors.

Beginning with the 2012-13 season it is expected that the Big 12 Conference will be comprised of 10 Universities ? Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12?s footprint will encompass five states with over 36 million people. More than 4,100 student-athletes from across the United States and around the World compete annually in the 23 sports sponsored by the Conference.

.../cont/...

Also note who is missing from the bolded list.

 

[woofermazing]

I'm still not sure how the SEC is improving their position much, unless they just desperately wanted into Texas. They're adding two teams that still have to put a couple games on pay per view every season. TAMU's tv ratings aren't that great unless it's a rivalry game, and i really don't think Texans are going to give two shits about SEC matchups.

They are probably doing more to help the big ten than themselves by leaving notre dame and texas in uncomfortable situations.

 

[Woody1968]

I'm still not sure how the SEC is improving their position much, unless they just desperately wanted into Texas. They're adding two teams that still have to put a couple games on pay per view every season. TAMU's tv ratings aren't that great unless it's a rivalry game, and i really don't think Texans are going to give two shits about SEC matchups.

They are probably doing more to help the big ten than themselves by leaving notre dame and texas in uncomfortable situations.

The SEC states don't have a monopoly on any large media markets, except maybe for Nashville, if you can even call that a major media market. Florida splits with FSU/Miami and Georgia splits Atlanta with GT. So Missouri does bring in a lot of televisions compared to what they have now, and makes more financial sense for them than for the B1G. Texas A&M offers a share of texas markets as well as improving recruiting in the state.

 

[Nicknam4]

I'd rather the B1G add Boise State than the Domers. Fuck them.

 

[Muck]

I'd rather the B1G add Boise State than the Domers. Fuck them.

In that case add Wright State...at least it has some academic credibility.

 

[BB73]

I'd rather the B1G add Boise State than the Domers. Fuck them.

The comments from ORD would almost make that worth the embarrassment. :tongue2:

 

[BrutusBobcat]

When the B1G announced plans to expand, I wasn't quite sold on going to divisions or having a CCG. I liked adding Nebraska, but did wonder if they might be a fading power. We're not even all the way through the first season of this and it's already been a home run. The divisions are proving to be well-balanced, and I've already managed to remember what teams are in which division.

Next season, I'll try to remember what each division is supposed to be called.

Props to Delaney for navigating the conference through everything and coming out with a win. He added the right school, and made the entire regular season that much more exciting and competitive.

Right now, eight teams could still find themselves B1G champs in five weeks, two teams control their own destiny entirely, and three only need a loss by one of those two in order to control their own destiny. I can't remember ever paying this much attention to so many other games in the conference; normally, it's just been Ohio State and whoever Michigan is playing. Even games in the other division matter as more than a curiosity, since the winner of Nebraska-MSU is now in the driver's seat for a potential rematch in Indy.

It's strange, because it's not a traditional Big Ten season, but it feels like it was always meant to be this way.

Now let's end the BCS and go back to the Rose Bowl always being Big Ten-Pac-12.

 

[Woody1968]

WVU has filed the first lawsuit of this round of musical chairs.

CBS

 

[Muck]

WVU has filed the first lawsuit of this round of musical chairs.

Preemptive strike.

It's a damn good strategy to be honest.

 

[BB73]

Agreements between conferences and member teams need to have multiple exit fees established, based on the time between notification and exit.

Something like:

$25 million - less than 6 months
$20 million - 6 to 12 months
$15 million - 12 to 24 months
$10 million - 24 to 30 months
$05 million - more than 30 months

Or they could say that the exit fee is $30 million dollars, minus $1 million for each month between notification and exit, with a minimum of $x million.

 

[Muck]

Allegedly the SEC does not have an exit fee at all.

 

[Nicknam4]

 

[Dryden]

Allegedly the SEC does not have an exit fee at all.

It's the SEC. You have to be jumped-out, and that's a steep enough price.

Furk.

 

[Gatorubet]

It's the SEC. You have to be jumped-out, and that's a steep enough price.

Furk.

Why the Hell do you think Vandy is still in? Duh!

They saw what happened to Tulane. It can hardly hold its bowels forty five years later.

 

[Woody1968]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/coll...ind-college-conference-realignment/51019966/1

His retreat did little to quell conspiracy theories. Questions continue to bubble about whether ESPN ? the 32-year-old network that has become a defining force in sports and the culture around them ? has been a key behind-the-scenes player at a time of high-profile realignment in college sports. Fueled largely by schools seeking more money and security in their conference arrangements, the scramble has touched at least a half-dozen leagues and threatened several traditional rivalries.

"We've created ? I was going to say a blurry line, but I don't think there is any line anymore as to who's in charge," says Andy Geiger, a former athletics director at Ohio State University.
"We're doing business with an entertainment company whose only way of surviving involves the number of eyeballs watching the screen," he says. "That is the driving force in what I see as all the decisions being made."