Big 10 Expansion Thread -Big Ten ready for a playoff .. finally?

[tarcone]

I'm reading on rivals-mo message board that some ACC schools tired of NC/Duke BB. Clemson, FSU, GT, Miami eyeing Big 12.

[Ksyrup]

WHA???

FSU is not tired of NC/Duke BB. We quite enjoy them at this very moment.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

FSU is not tired of NC/Duke BB. We quite enjoy them at this very moment.

Indeed.

[spleen1015]

It is probably our favorite Missouri fan starting up those rumors.

[Chubby]

because we all know teams are making conference moves based off of basketball...

[Atocep]

Word is the agreement between WVU and the Big East is for $12.5 million (the $2.5 million paid plus an additional $10 million).

The Big 12 seemed pretty confident yesterday that this was done because Swaim started leaking schedule info regarding WVU.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I'm reading on rivals-mo message board that some ACC schools tired of NC/Duke BB. Clemson, FSU, GT, Miami eyeing Big 12.

LOLOLOLOLOL

FSU and Clemson had a done package deal to the SEC and both turned it down according to a friend who would have been involved in such a decision, and who is 60+ and not in the business of gossip starting. They both committed to each other and the ACC to stay where they were.

No way they would entertain the B12.

Now that said, the power struggle is coming between the "football" schools and the tobacco road crowd.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

That's right, Neinas. It's all MISSOURI's fault.

http://wvgazette.com/Sports/WVU/201201250268

Somebody give this guy a rocker, a nurse, and a clue.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

Mizzou has football stadium renovations on the way and now it appears A&M will do the same......

A&M notebook: Renovations to Kyle Field should come in stages - Houston Chronicle

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've heard it entirely depends on whether they get out of the Big East. Those games were scheduled as part of the settlement of the VT/UM/BC defections, and the Big East still wants them for the TV draw.

I hope your info means it's just a matter of when, not if, the Big East lawsuits are resolved.

So from what we're hearing your admin wasn't making it easy for us to get out of the game and once the Big 12 promised us a 5th conference home game we decided to just keep the game on the schedule. It sounds like our series with Maryland is going to get pushed back instead.

A tweet from Swaim on it

@ smeadows24153: Looks like # WVU going to keep # FSU on schedule, so trip to Tally will make its schedule a tough one to navigate" // Brutal

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What a mess.

Big 12 schedule finished, but under wraps - Big 12 Blog - ESPN

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Atocep

So from what we're hearing your admin wasn't making it easy for us to get out of the game and once the Big 12 promised us a 5th conference home game we decided to just keep the game on the schedule. It sounds like our series with Maryland is going to get pushed back instead.

A tweet from Swaim on it

Damn, that sucks. I wonder if finding a suitable replacement was too difficult, so we just stuck with you.

These are the kinds of games I like to watch, but not when my team is in them. I want to enjoy it, not spend the game pissed and/or a nervous ball of energy.

[Ksyrup]

TomahawkNation.com @TomahawkNation
#ACC Moving To Nine Conference Game Schedule When Pitt And Syracuse Join. Big news.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

TomahawkNation.com @TomahawkNation
#ACC Moving To Nine Conference Game Schedule When Pitt And Syracuse Join. Big news.

That seems to be the going trend and I'm not sure that I like it.

From WVU's perspective, we would usually play Maryland and then rotate through other out of conference teams like Auburn or LSU or another BCS team (there has been a rumor that we'll alternate H/H series between Maryland and Pitt after everything settles into place), but I'm guessing that means we will hardly (if ever) play another BCS team during the regular season. It will be Maryland or Pitt and then one subdivision team and one MAC/CUSA-type that we pay to play at home.

From a Florida State point of view, I'm guessing you guys keep Florida and then similarly will have a difficult time scheduling another BCS team again.

[Ksyrup]

From the tweets I'm seeing, the consensus is that Jimbo is fine with scheduling one other "good" BCS team aside from UF, but that when we go to 9 conference games, he'd likely drop the 2nd decent team and stick with the 2 cupcakes. What makes this coming year different for us (regardless of whether we play 8 or 9 conference games) is that we have UF, WVU, and USF all on the schedule. That's a bit heavy.

From a practical perspective, since Syracuse is joining our division, all this does to our schedule is replace 1 OOC game with Syracuse every year. We still play Miami every year, and we still play 2 games against rotating teams in the other division. And, as we do in most years, we'll still play 2 cupcakes.

[bronconick]

Ksyrup- The 2013 schedule with @UF and @WVU is also a problem. If Spetman or whoever in the admin was being a pain about the WVU series, they're going to get a kick in the ass when FSU only has 6 home games in 2013.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Damn, that sucks. I wonder if finding a suitable replacement was too difficult, so we just stuck with you.

These are the kinds of games I like to watch, but not when my team is in them. I want to enjoy it, not spend the game pissed and/or a nervous ball of energy.

Some people still don't think the game ends up getting played and that this is just a way to get some leverage. Who knows? Chip Brown says the Big 12 schedule will be released on Tuesday or Wednesday and it includes WVU and TCU. So that should be a sign that WVU is more or less out of the Big East.

[bronconick]

WVU-FSU game cancelled.

Statement On West Virginia Football Game

[Ksyrup]

Ha! We got our of 2 games we didn't want to play, and WVU is paying us to find a new 2012 opponent.

[Ksyrup]

I see the statement is they only canceled the first half of the home-and-home. Surely we wouldn't play there, but not have a return game? We need the 7th home game in 2013 anyway. Twitterfolk are talking as if both games are canceled, which I assume is the case but not announced today.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I see the statement is they only canceled the first half of the home-and-home. Surely we wouldn't play there, but not have a return game? We need the 7th home game in 2013 anyway. Twitterfolk are talking as if both games are canceled, which I assume is the case but not announced today.

Pretty sure both games were canceled. It sounds like we had asked for 5 conference home games so that we could keep this game, but the final big 12 schedule only gave us 4 so we had to move quickly to get this done.

It kind of sucks that these games won't get played, but they just didn't make much sense for either school at this point. The bright side is this is a clear sign that we're likely out of the Big East soon. The holdup on something official is supposedly the Big East figuring out what its going to do for 2012.

I think the $350k we're paying to get out of a game that neither school really wanted shows that you guys were being a pain in the ass on this one.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, the whole posturing thing on this is a little weird. Spetman is saying we may sue you guys, and he's publicly said he's checking with OU, aTm, and other big time schools to fill in, which is just nuts. But others are saying he's just saying that to make it look like we're trying to get a replacement to set up damages for a lawsuit. The whole thing is weird because it seems obvious we wanted out just as much as you. I guess this is posturing on FSU's part to calm season ticket holders who would rather have WVU tickets than Asskicked State?

[bronconick]

Spetman's dumb enough that I hope Jimbo takes the phone away from him before we're paying Boise State 1.5 million to come to Tallahassee.

[Swaggs]

I read in an article today that WVU paid $500K to get out of the deal because it was less than a year away, but that FSU will have to pay to get out of the return game (which will be $300K if done more than a year in advance).

There is language in the contract that states that the fees can be waived if "suitable" replacements are made. If, in fact, WVU gets into the Big 12 in 2012 and the Big East cannot find a replacement, it would seem feasible that FSU could play a Big East team (maybe Pitt or Syracuse, to benefit their future ACC relationship?).

I am half wondering if there is a chance that Syracuse and Pitt make the late move to the ACC in 2012 and the whole point is moot.

[digamma]

Long but interesting read about the decision by Ga Tech to leave the SEC in 1964. It's from the GT alumni magazine, so take the point of view for what it is worth. Most people probably don't realize that Tech was a top 2 or 3 ACC program prior to leaving. How times have changed.

The Day Tech Sports Changed Forever

[Ksyrup]

@BryanDFischer: Sports Biz Journal says ACC will only get $1-2 million extra per school w/ addition of Pitt & Syracuse

[DeToxRox]

College football: Big Ten kicking around idea regarding a national four-team football playoff - chicagotribune.com

The Big Ten is not only ready to listen to proposals regarding a national four-team football playoff, league and school officials are kicking around an intriguing idea.

Sources told the Tribune that a Big Ten plan would remove the top four teams from the BCS bowl pool and have semifinal games played on the college campus of the higher seed. That would do away with the facade of “neutral” sites such as New Orleans,Miami and Pasadena, Calif., and ease travel concern for fans.

The championship game then could be bid out, like the Super Bowl.

The concept of the Big Ten even entertaining playoff proposals seemed laughable as recently as two months ago. But in the wake of a low-rated BCS title game that satisfied few outside the Southeastern Conference footprint, the conference is ready to study and contribute ideas.

“We have to listen to the fans; we cannot be tone-deaf,” said Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips, who chairs the Big Ten’s Administrators Council. “The Big Ten is open and curious.”

In 2008, the SEC proposed a Plus-One – a more palatable term for a four-team playoff – during BCS discussions, and the ACC supported it. But with the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12, Big East and Notre Dame disapproving, the plan never materialized.

“There has been a lot of bantering and rhetoric,” Phillips said, “but no one has come up with a formal plan.”

BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said that 50-60 BCS bowl/playoff plans were presented the day after the BCS title game in New Orleans, but they apparently lack details. The next college football cycle begins with the 2014 season, and most expect a new system to be approved this fall.

Also on the table: Creating a seven-win requirement for bowl teams, a rule that could torpedo more than a half-dozen money-losing games and end embarrassing contests between schools that dumped their head coaches.

And moving up the BCS title game. Alabama’s trouncing of LSU took place Jan. 9, a day after the NFL’s Wildcard Weekend. Fourteen percent of the country tuned in, marking the third-lowest rating in the 14 years of the BCS.

“There is a very strong sense that we have missed the boat and are playing games too late,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told the Tribune. “Students are back in class, people are back at work.”

Delany would not comment on any potential Big Ten playoff proposal, saying he first needs to take the temperature of university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors.

But he did say: “I think sports fans are conditioned to playoffs. I don’t begrudge them that. They’re looking for more games, but we’re trying to do the right thing.

“It’s a matter of coming up with something that does not kill the baby with the bath water. We have a regular season that is vibrant. We have 12 games plus a (conference) championship game – that’s a lot of games. We have academic calendars, though that doesn’t resonate with many people. But if you’re dealing with university presidents, faculty and coaches, you’re talking about it.”

NU’s Phillips said that in evaluating playoff proposals, Big Ten officials would use four criteria:

*Is it fair to the student-athletes already suiting up for 12-13 games?

*Would it undermine college football’s vital regular season?

*Would the teams be chosen in a way that reflects competitive fairness?

*Can the Rose Bowl be protected?

I love the idea of having the games be on the higher ranks home field. It keeps the regular season meaning something, and it's about team a Southern school has to possibly come up North in the winter to play a game.

[Ksyrup]

The Big 10 is only proposing it that way because it's completely self-serving - it preserves the Rose Bowl for them and the Pac 12 under all circumstances.

[Kodos]

How dare they protect their own interests!

[Ksyrup]

I don't have a problem with it, just pointing out that it really shouldn't be surprising (as the article suggests) that they are suddenly for a limited playoff when they see the wwriting on the wall and are doing the smart thing by trrying to jump out front with a proposal they are making public to get people to latch onto it.

[Matthean]

Is it fair to the student-athletes already suiting up for 12-13 games?

I never get this part. Basketball does more than twice as many games.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Matthean

I never get this part. Basketball does more than twice as many games.

I never got it because I still remember when the SEC and Big XII where the only conferences playing the extra title game and the argument from the presidents was that it was unfair to make the players play 13-14 games instead of the 11 + 1 bowl game.

Well, now 12 teams play 14 games when it's all said and done and another 50+ play 13. All in the name of $ they're not getting a piece of. And when the majority of the conferences shift to 9 game conference schedules, you'll start to hear request for another week to be added going into August so schools can get 8 home games when they have 5 road conference games.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Matthean

I never get this part. Basketball does more than twice as many games.

Right, but basketball players don't play a sport which might cause permanent injury. And the colleges don't pay health insurance so lest they put themselves more at-risk for their unpaid labor force.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Right, but basketball players don't play a sport which might cause permanent injury. And the colleges don't pay health insurance so lest they put themselves more at-risk for their unpaid labor force.

Well, the colleges have expanded to the current 12 or 13 game schedule over the last decade or so for money reasons.

[BillJasper]

I like the four-team playoff and the seven win requirement for bowl eligibility.

[Ksyrup]

Don't know who this is but...

Bryan @PittScript
With no real solutions on the horizon for #Pitt or Cuse to fill 2 games each, the idea of both going to the ACC next season seems more real.

[Logan]

The Big East would really love that.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Right, but basketball players don't play a sport which might cause permanent injury. And the colleges don't pay health insurance so lest they put themselves more at-risk for their unpaid labor force.

And I imagine, players have comparable practice/prep time in both sports as is at the moment. If a college basketball team has a game Sunday and then Wednesday, they're not doing nearly as much to prepare for that Wednesday game as a college football team would to prepare for any game.

[Ksyrup]

Some more, from a Pitt reporter:

Bryan @PittScript
Potential bombshell from @PaulZeise - if WVU leaves for 2012, expect #Pitt to follow them out the door.

[General Mike]

for the record, Zeise is a troll

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Right, but basketball players don't play a sport which might cause permanent injury.

They don't?

[Young Drachma]

Memphis to the Big East starting in 2013-14 in all sports.

Memphis Tigers joining Big East for 2013-14 season - ESPN

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Memphis to the Big East starting in 2013-14 in all sports.

Memphis Tigers joining Big East for 2013-14 season - ESPN

I wouldn't be surprised to see them test the waters and see what it would take to get into the Big East for 2012.

[Atocep]

I kind of feel bad for East Carolina. They probably have the best fan support of any school that isn't in a BCS conference or headed to one and they're getting passed over again and again.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I kind of feel bad for East Carolina. They probably have the best fan support of any school that isn't in a BCS conference or headed to one and they're getting passed over again and again.

I would have much preferred them over Memphis.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Logan

I would have much preferred them over Memphis.

Same, but it's all about basketball.

Also, Memphis' buyout is reportedly all future TV revenue from C-USA, thus it would be in the $6M range.

[Swaggs]

It honestly bums me out to see the Big East making moves like this now.

If we would have added teams like Central Florida, Memphis, Houston, Navy and SMU (I'll throw in TCU and Temple, too) 3-4 years ago, they would already be bearing the fruit of being in a BCS conference, be competitive and the loss of Pitt and Syracuse wouldn't have been the backbreaker that it was for the football schools. As it is now, it is way too late (and just silly to be adding all the Western schools now that the BCS is probably no longer going to exist).

I hope Rutgers, Louisville, Cincy and some of the other schools can find a home in the ACC or Big 12 soon, or at least ditch the non-football schools and Notre Dame.

[Ksyrup]

This is obviously bigger than football, but..

Brett McMurphy @McMurphyCBS
C-USA contacts Temple; potential C-USA/MWC merger "changes weekly"

CUSA, MWC could "dissolve," form new league - CBSSports.com

[Ksyrup]

And...

Brian Hamilton @ChiTribHamilton
Big East sends official email: Memphis joins in 2013. Hails "top 50 media market" in "heart of the nation’s largest conference footprint."

[Logan]

Big East, WVU near $20 million settlement - CBSSports.com