Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[OSU_D/]

Georgia Tech stuff

I LOVED his logical argument on Tech being a very valuable asset to a conference if expansion goes down. His opinion, if ND accepts the Big Ten, that will be it, the Big Ten stops at 12 members and the SEC and the ACC stand pat. HI-yever... if ND turns them down, the Big Ten is going to add 5 schools, and it will be driven by TV market, because Rupert Murdock has a 40% stake in the Big Ten network. Devaney has promised Murdock he will expand and target schools that help deliver top 25 TV markets.

There's a school, that's a member of the AAU, that brings the #8 TV market in the country.with it. Guess who? He said if you think Atlanta is an SEC only market, he explained there are a hell of a lot of Big Ten alums here that not only would go to the games at Dodd, but already fill bars and restaurants with their booster clubs locally. He said Atlanta would deliver the additional subscriber revenues they want to increase the contract value. The Big Ten network alsready has a whole lot of subscribers locally. He went over the ACC TV contract numbers per school (said Swofford did a great job btw), the SEC TV contract numbers per school, and the Big Ten TV contract numbers per school.

While not saying an announcer from Georgia Tech is "in the know", you can get a feel for the GT point of view.

Scout.com: LUNCH BUNCH WES DURHAM

 

[cincibuck]

While not saying an announcer from Georgia Tech is "in the know", you can get a feel for the GT point of view.

Scout.com: LUNCH BUNCH WES DURHAM

Filling a few bars is one thing, turning the Atlanta TV market into "Big 10 Territory" is another. And I'm trying to figure out who all these bar filling fans are... Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State -- yeah. Iowa, Wisconsin, maybe. Beyond that I doubt it.

 

[Mrstickball]

This is the point that I'd kill to have the kind of information needed to make really good observations.

Truth of the matter is, whomever is making the decisions knows EXACTLY how many B10 fans are in the ATL, who they watch, and where they watch them from - the same goes for every other candidate that is being considered.

If I were an analyst tasked with determining whom the best expansion candidates are, I would purchase whatever data Nielsen had for college football for the past 10, or even 20 years. See if I can throw it into a database, and look querying which teams have the highest ratings, and in which markets. That way, you'd accurately gauge the fan footprint of all expansion candidates to know which ones are going to make the biggest splash for the B10 network.

The whole GT argument is pretty interesting though. But until someone had those hard numbers - the viewer base of GTech and B10 football in ATL, its all hearsay.

 

[RugbyBuck]

Wes Durham is very plugged in down here and is much better overall than the average hack sports "journalist". FWIW, as a native ATL-ien whose grandfather taught at GT for 35 years and dad is an alum, GT would be an excellent fit for the Big Ten.

Also, in addition to scUM, MSU, Iowa, State Penn... Purdue fills at least one restaurant here every Saturday during football season. We were unlucky enough to have chosen last year's tOSU game to drop in for a visit.

 

[MissouriFan]

How about Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M, and another school (Notre Dame, Maryland, or Rutgers).

Here are some Texas AD quotes from the Big 12 meetings in K.C.

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds doesn't figure Missouri and Nebraska are being disloyal to the Big 12 Conference for considering possible options with the Big Ten. Texas will listen to the same sort of offers that come its way in this emerging era of possible realignment in major college conferences.

We did not start this, Dodds told The Kansas City Star in response to questions put to him Tuesday afternoon in the lobby of the InterContinental Hotel on the Plaza. If we need to finish it, we'll finish it. Were going to be a player in whatever happens.

Asked directly about criticism of Missouri and Nebraska within the Big 12, Dodds denied either school was being disloyal.

Everybody stays ready, said Dodds, the head of the Big 12's most successful and powerful athletic program. Everybody figures out what's best for them and get options."

That includes Texas, Dodds said.

We're watching what's happening with the Big Ten, probably to a lesser degree to the Southeast Conference, Dodds said. If the landscape is going to change, we"re going to be a part of it and be a viable part of it. Texas will come out of it in good shape.

Read more: Texas athletic director says it's not disloyal to Big 12 to listen to expansion talk - KansasCity.com
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[Buckeye86]

How about Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M, and another school (Notre Dame, Maryland, or Rutgers).

Here are some Texas AD quotes from the Big 12 meetings in K.C.

I said this:

also, fuck all of the east coast schools, fuck what Penn State wants in this expansion, give me Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M and Notre Dame and tell Penn State to go fuck themselves

a few weeks ago, but yes, in my opinion that scenario would be ideal

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

How about Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M, and another school (Notre Dame, Maryland, or Rutgers).

Here are some Texas AD quotes from the Big 12 meetings in K.C.

but.....I was told flat out that Texas has already shot the offer down, and the Big10 has already moved on. surely that info was accurate because it was stated so definitively.

 

[cincibuck]

Wes Durham is very plugged in down here and is much better overall than the average hack sports "journalist". FWIW, as a native ATL-ien whose grandfather taught at GT for 35 years and dad is an alum, GT would be an excellent fit for the Big Ten.

Also, in addition to scUM, MSU, Iowa, State Penn... Purdue fills at least one restaurant here every Saturday during football season. We were unlucky enough to have chosen last year's tOSU game to drop in for a visit.

I watched that FUBAR escapade in the comfort of my living room (the wife was able to hide all sharp objects), but having watched the 94 Michigan game in a Michigan bar in Chicago I can tell you that I feel your pain.

 

[Pancho Negro]

83K is still not bad and ahead of all Big Ten stadiums except Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin is at 80K. It wouldn't take much to get too 100K if they wanted too....

It would take a winning football team on a consistent basis for one. A&M's problem is a $$$$ thing. Moreover, if their justification would be to raise their capacity to over 100k "just because Texas did it" would do nothing but emphasize their inferiority complex.


FWIW, a bunch of us are hoping either to stay in the Big 12 with a modified television contract or jump to the Big 10, should we be extended an offer.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

...
FWIW, a bunch of us are hoping either to stay in the Big 12 with a modified television contract or jump to the Big 10, should we be extended an offer.

This sentence got me thinking...

Why would the Big 10 NOT offer Texas (ask them to apply for admission)?

The only possible reason is that they aren't sure if Texas would reply in the affirmative.

Enough of the Junior Prom bullshit already. Or, if we have to stick with that metaphor; sack up and approach the prettiest girl at the dance instead of worrying what the other girls would think if you're shot down.

Everyone knows that the prettiest girl at the dance is Texas. Why does this take "12-18 months" to study? Study what? All the numbers are going to point to one thing: Texas is smoking hot.

Sack up and take your shot - waiting around only makes "her" lose respect for you.

 

[zincfinger]

This sentence got me thinking...

Why would the Big 10 NOT offer Texas (ask them to apply for admission)?

The only possible reason is that they aren't sure if Texas would reply in the affirmative.

Enough of the Junior Prom bullshit already. Or, if we have to stick with that metaphor; sack up and approach the prettiest girl at the dance instead of worrying what the other girls would think if you're shot down.

Everyone knows that the prettiest girl at the dance is Texas. Why does this take "12-18 months" to study? Study what? All the numbers are going to point to one thing: Texas is smoking hot.

Sack up and take your shot - waiting around only makes "her" lose respect for you.

Maybe we figure Texas is into the menage, and if we can tell her tell her we've already got unofficial commitments from a couple other pretty good looking girls who are into it, that'll increase our chances.

 

[Gatorubet]

Maybe we figure Texas is into the menage, and if we can tell her tell her we've already got unofficial commitments from a couple other pretty good looking girls who are into it, that'll increase our chances.

Or not...

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Or not...

In keeping with the metaphor we've got going here


.
.
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That's Notre Dame

 

[jwinslow]

This sentence got me thinking...

Why would the Big 10 NOT offer Texas (ask them to apply for admission)?

The only possible reason is that they aren't sure if Texas would reply in the affirmative.

Enough of the Junior Prom bullshit already. Or, if we have to stick with that metaphor; sack up and approach the prettiest girl at the dance instead of worrying what the other girls would think if you're shot down.

Everyone knows that the prettiest girl at the dance is Texas. Why does this take "12-18 months" to study? Study what? All the numbers are going to point to one thing: Texas is smoking hot.

Sack up and take your shot - waiting around only makes "her" lose respect for you.

Apparently the big ten did approach her and got shot down respectfully (though you won't read that anywhere official). Now the question becomes whether it's worth it to cash in big with other schools that are great for tv revenue and academics but just alright in sports, or hold off until ND & Texas get over themselves.

Let's wait and see what kind of money the B12 is able to secure when renewing their TV contracts. My guess is they can't secure anywhere near as much as the outrageous SEC or B10 deals (the latter of which will continue to skyrocket with maturation and conference expansion).

Who wants to pay that much money for a risky conference that might not be in tact in 5 years, let alone the 10-20 years these deals often cover?

St. Louis is probably big ten bound, Boulder CO could be headed to the pac-10, Nebraska might be gone (not a big market but a decent name brand for casual viewers). Scooping up replacements like TCU, Utah, Boise or others is a joke in terms of tv ratings.

Personally, it might be worth it to expand to 12 or 14 and send the revenue stream through the roof, then come back and try to get Notre Dame & Texas. The SEC deal is nice (and equal to the big ten in 2010) but has zero comparison to the future earning potential of the big ten revenue streams.

 

[cincibuck]

This sentence got me thinking...

Why would the Big 10 NOT offer Texas (ask them to apply for admission)?

The only possible reason is that they aren't sure if Texas would reply in the affirmative.

Enough of the Junior Prom bullshit already. Or, if we have to stick with that metaphor; sack up and approach the prettiest girl at the dance instead of worrying what the other girls would think if you're shot down.

Everyone knows that the prettiest girl at the dance is Texas. Why does this take "12-18 months" to study? Study what? All the numbers are going to point to one thing: Texas is smoking hot.

Sack up and take your shot - waiting around only makes "her" lose respect for you.

Everybody say, 'Amen.'