Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[Mariotwins]

Except Notre Dame. Fuck'em

 

[sflbuck]

Please no. I hate Fox coverage.

I used to think this as well, but after listening to Matt Millen and Joe Tessitore last Saturday I am not so sure.

 

[DaveyBoy]

Another way to look at this expansion into large Eastern markets......

During this honeymoon period think about how many eyeballs will be watching BTN GameDay coverage instead of ESPN GameDay coverage....

ESPN executives have to be very concerned that Delany is driving a dagger into the heart of the BigEast and potentially the ACC where casual college football fans live....just the type that ESPN College GameDay programming targets.

If UNC joins, this puts a serious dent in the UNC vs Duke basketball rivalry which will really devastate ESPN's basketball programming. It would be like splitting up the Yankees and the Red Sox

 

[darbypitcher22]

I like how the Maryland fans think the BTN production values are amazing.

Apparently ACCN is shot in a middle school basement.

This made me bust out laughing this morning.

ACCN telecasts do look sort of like the StudentU events on Big Ten

 

[Bleed S & G]

Two after Rutgers, correct? That would make 16.

Then the B1G emblem would actually make sense.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Doesn't matter where they are now. And beyond that, Rutgers seems to be on an upward swing (much like Northwestern in the 90s) and Maryland just went through that swing in the 2000s (remember they nearly won an Orange Bowl against dickfingers Grossman and Spurrier).....

I'm not sure I'd call a 56-23 loss a "near win"

The ACC will be so decimated that they may finally get their annual home and home series .......in football

[Mili]It's home-and-away, dipshit. [/Mili]

 

[CookyPuss]

Statistical wizard Nate Silver weighs in and says Mizzou would have been a better get. I'd say his analysis depends on Maryland and Rutgers not raising their profiles as a result of this move. My gut says this will improve both programs as the move will bring both more $ and more high profile games.

BTW, he ranks tOSU as having the #1 fan base.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...n-brand/?gwh=B5E1CC76B758B6D5D71F265A51B900A0

The sacrifice might be worth making for games against Notre Dame, Texas or perhaps even Missouri. But the Eastern schools seem to reduce both the geographical integrity of the conference and the quality of the average Big Ten football game.

It is probably no coincidence that the two most popular college football conferences – the Southeastern and the Big Ten – have until now been the most conservative about expansion. The most recent additions to the Big Ten, Penn State and the University of Nebraska, ranked as the 3rd and 18th most popular football programs in the country. The newest additions to the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M and Missouri, were ranked 6th and 23rd.

Rutgers and Maryland are outstanding public universities – but they are just not in the same league in terms of football.

The Big Ten may have expanded the size of its revenue pie, but it will be dividing it 14 ways rather than 12, and among family members that have less history of sitting down at the table with one another. In seeking to expand its footprint eastward, the conference may have taken a step in the wrong direction.

 

[Mike80]

I'm not sure I'd call a 56-23 loss a "near win"

Semantics, shemantics.....

Actually the game was I thinking was the potato bowl the next year....

 

[exhawg]

Statistical wizard Nate Silver weighs in and says Mizzou would have been a better get. I'd say his analysis depends on Maryland and Rutgers not raising their profiles as a result of this move. My gut says this will improve both programs as the move will bring both more $ and more high profile games.

BTW, he ranks tOSU as having the #1 fan base.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...n-brand/?gwh=B5E1CC76B758B6D5D71F265A51B900A0

Is Mizzou a better program than Maryland and Rutgers right now? Yes
Is the Mizzou market anything compared to the markets around Maryland and Rutgers? Hell no

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Regarding Rutgers.....

As noted by Frank the Tank - it's not so much about Rutgers, NYC's interest in Rutgers..

It's about B1G alumni in NYC.... If the BTN gets into NYC because Rutgers is in the region, OSU, scUM, PSU, Md. etc. grads may be inclined to watch the old TV....

I was quite non-moved about hearing Rutgers was coming aboard... assuming they actually do pull the trigger today...

The more I think about this as a long term strategy.... the amount of money the B1G is going to have ... divided up... assuming it's invested back into facilities, etc... it's going to be REAL hard to compete with the B1G in about 10 years.

 

[JBaney45]

Statistical wizard Nate Silver weighs in and says Mizzou would have been a better get. I'd say his analysis depends on Maryland and Rutgers not raising their profiles as a result of this move. My gut says this will improve both programs as the move will bring both more $ and more high profile games.

BTW, he ranks tOSU as having the #1 fan base.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...n-brand/?gwh=B5E1CC76B758B6D5D71F265A51B900A0

Don't see any reason why he's wrong, Mizzou is a relevant program in their area.

Maryland and Rutgers are not. The assumption that people will care just because they are in the Big Ten now is ridiculously unfounded. They'll have a bit more money to work with sure, but not the type of money to make the kind of investments that allow programs to succeed significantly beyond their established historical ceiling (think: Ok State/Oregon)

If it's just about population why not see if Shanghai University wants to start a football team.

 

[Abenaki]

Statistical wizard Nate Silver weighs in and says Mizzou would have been a better get. I'd say his analysis depends on Maryland and Rutgers not raising their profiles as a result of this move. My gut says this will improve both programs as the move will bring both more $ and more high profile games.

BTW, he ranks tOSU as having the #1 fan base.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...n-brand/?gwh=B5E1CC76B758B6D5D71F265A51B900A0

He's clearly better at stats than I am...but I still don't get the use of Google searches for "college football" as a basis for analysis. I guess "extrapolation!" but do real college football fans ever Google "college football"? Can't say I have...

 

[redguard117]

Don't see any reason why he's wrong, Mizzou is a relevant program in their area.

Maryland and Rutgers are not. The assumption that people will care just because they are in the Big Ten now is ridiculously unfounded. They'll have a bit more money to work with sure, but not the type of money to make the kind of investments that allow programs to succeed significantly beyond their established historical ceiling (think: Ok State/Oregon)

If it's just about population why not see if Shanghai University wants to start a football team.

Just by having a team in the area/state, the Big Ten network is added to the basic cable package of that region. It doesn't matter how many are watching, they get paid by the number of cable subscribers.

Now, with the Big Ten network available, it is very likely that more people will start watching as well. That is largely irrelevant to the money part of the equation.

 

[bassplayer7770]

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Big Ten announces news conference with Rutgers officials and commissioner Jim Delany at 2 pm ET on school's campus in Piscataway, N.J.

And there ya go...

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

It's about B1G alumni in NYC.... If the BTN gets into NYC because Rutgers is in the region, OSU, scUM, PSU, Md. etc. grads may be inclined to watch the old TV....

This is a good point. People talk about how college football and Rutgers football is not big in NYC. Having teams like UC and South Florida coming into town does not bring great interest. You bring in teams like OSU, Nebraska and Michigan and that interest in college football might grow.