Quote:
Originally Posted by molson
It's a resurgence by their standards, but I don't see how the improvement from terrible to just slightly above average makes them guarantee "The New York Market" for the Big Ten.
I looked for this stat before without success, but I wonder how many total viewers watch Pitt games (and games of other Big Ten candidates), as opposed to how many total viewers watch Rutgers games. Pitt is obviously in only a market a fraction of the size of NYC, but I wouldn't be surprised if they drew more total viewers than Rutgers.
I think the article Swaggs posted makes a lot of sense too - it's hard to see the Big 10 expanding without making a serious splash. Maybe that could be Rutgers if the got to some BCS Bowls had some success over a decade or more and established a national fan base and some history - but to do it based on the solid achievements of one head coach there over a few years seems a little premature.
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It has less to do with viewers that RU brings in as much as it has to do with the access they can give the Big 10. Remember that a ton of people in the NY area aren't fans of Syracuse or Rutgers, but instead Michigan and Penn State. Those people will be able to get access to the BTN now as well.
All that matters is how many homes they can get the BTN into and obviously here is a higher probability of reaching the maximum homes via Rutgers then there would via way of Pitt or Mizzou.
Texas and Notre Dame are obviously the big fish, but adding Rutgers could add another couple mil to each schools bottom line just from new BTN clearances, plus the additional bowl game revenue. Teams could get around 27 mil a season from that.
And don't forget that being in the Big 10 immediately raises Rutgers stock. It might not pay dividend right away as far as a new fan explosion, but for younger kids without a favorite team, it can't hurt Rutgers that every year they'll see a Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State in their home state.