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

[Young Drachma]

UConn AD denies Catholic 7, Mountain West rumors - College Football - College Basketball - Rumors - FanNation

Now this is interesting..even if it's a denial.

Big East administrators met through the day Friday in Dallas to try to figure out the next steps for the conference. One report, from former Boston Globe reporter Mark Blaudschun, had UConn and Cincinnati going with the Catholic 7 in all sports but football, then possibly going to the Mountain West in football. That was quickly dismissed by UConn athletic director Warde Manuel. Through a school spokesman, Manuel said UConn has not had any conversations with the Catholic 7 or the Mountain West. Manuel also said UConn is committed to its football program and its other sports playing in the same conference. Reached later Friday evening, Manuel said, "We've never had a conversation. Our intent is to work with the remaining members of the Big East and the current members coming in. That's been our intent all along. We have not had a conversation with any other group, any other conference, period. I have not had any conversations."

[BishopMVP]

The general feeling is that Blaudschun was throwing shit against the wall... there's no doubt that UConn is pissed off about losing some basketball rivals, but everything points toward them trying to salvage the Big East until they can convince the ACC to take them. I don't see UConn (Or Cincy, although I know less about them), going to the MWC or MAC in football.

Of course, the other rumor was that Tulsa and UMass would be invited if SDSU left, but now people are saying the UMass AD/administration did not have a satisfactory response when asked how they planned to improve attendance. Why they didn't just go with "Improved recruiting to the point we can be reasonably expected to beat, or at least compete with, even the lowest of FBS teams, and playing historical/geographical rivals, or at least schools people have heard of instead of your directional Michigan's and Ohio's", I don't know. (Note: I like the MAC schools, I respect what they are and am grateful for bringing UMass in, but UVM could re-start a D3 team tomorrow and more fans would come out to watch us play them than any MAC school.)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Mr. SEC saying there's a lot of buzz that Virginia and Georgia Tech are the teams being targeted by the Big Ten.

Big Ten Commissioner Talks Conference Expansion

[Kodos]

They should divide into the OLD and NEW conferences. So existing teams don't need to regularly play a bunch of teams that nobody cares about.

[Kodos]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/college-f...im-delany-says

Maybe we can get rid of Legends and Leaders after all?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Big Ten to consider renaming Legends, Leaders divisions, Jim Delany says - ESPN Chicago

Maybe we can get rid of Legends and Leaders after all?

They should have done that the day after they announced the names in the first place.

[Passacaglia]

As much as I dislike Leaders and Legends, I still haven't heard anything I like better.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

As much as I dislike Leaders and Legends, I still haven't heard anything I like better.

East/West
North/South
A/B

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Kodos

They should divide into the OLD and NEW conferences. So existing teams don't need to regularly play a bunch of teams that nobody cares about.

So NEW = Maryland, Rutgers, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, and probably Michigan (depending on if you count their initial entry, or their re-entry == otherwise it's a tie between Iowa and Indiana).

[Young Drachma]

NEW would be easy, that's the problem. Better to keep the NEW with the old and continue to beat their asses.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by panerd

East/West
North/South
A/B

Some really good ideas you have here.

[Passacaglia]

Does there have to be divisions, or can you just take the two best teams and put them in the CG? I guess scheduling might play too much of a factor if you're only playing 8-9 of the 13 or 15 other teams.

[tarcone]

I filled out a survey on the BTN site about the future of the B1G. This was one of the questions.
Leaders and legends will be gone.
Blogger prediction on ESPN has Brian Bennett predicting the B1G at 16 on July 4.
2013 bold predictions 011513 - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I filled out a survey on the BTN site about the future of the B1G. This was one of the questions.
Leaders and legends will be gone.
Blogger prediction on ESPN has Brian Bennett predicting the B1G at 16 on July 4.
2013 bold predictions 011513 - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

I took the same survey, on the question of what division is your school in I had absolutely no idea.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I took the same survey, on the question of what division is your school in I had absolutely no idea.

Neither did I.

[Kodos]

I think IU is in the Leaders. Maybe.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I think IU is in the Leaders. Maybe.

I think you might be right. I know in michigans fight song it says something about Leaders and they are not in that division. Or maybe it says something about legends and they are not in that division.
I know Iowa is with all the Ms and Ns. Just not sure what it is called.

[britrock88]

Reposting from somewhere in this thread...

You know Michigan's fight song lyrics? One of the lines is "the leaders and best."
...Michigan's in the Legends division. (sigh.)

[Young Drachma]

Sources -- San Diego State to be reinstated as Mountain West Conference member - ESPN

No big shock here.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

More details on the expected SEC payouts once CBS/ESPN deal is done. SEC schools expected to get another 10-14M a year. That number will likely jump again once the SEC Network deal is finalized.

SEC revenue set to jump 50% with playoff, new TV deals

Also, A&M is expected to announce this week that Kyle Field renovation will be a $425M expansion that will boost the total number of seats to 115,000.

UNLV also showed off their $800M stadium plans. Amazing stuff.

UNLV's new football stadium will have a 100-yard video screen

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

Coach Alphabet got a bit grumpy on his satellite radio show.......

Coach K rips realignment, says Maryland will be 'outsiders' in Big Ten

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

dola

Coach Alphabet got a bit grumpy on his satellite radio show.......

Coach K rips realignment, says Maryland will be 'outsiders' in Big Ten

Coach K can suck a big fat dick. He had no problem celebrating Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC, taking delight in adding such great basketball programs to the conference.

[tarcone]

B1G looking at Virginia and either North Carolina or Georgia Tech.
SEC to jump on the "Raid the ACC" band wagon. They may be looking at UNC among others.
Big 12 to pick up the leftovers.

Big 10 and SEC Race to Add ACC Schools | Eers Authority

[Kodos]

I just hope ND gets left out in the cold somehow.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I just hope ND gets left out in the cold somehow.

+ 1

[bob]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I just hope ND gets left out in the cold somehow.

Eh, they'd just make up their own conference.

[Young Drachma]

"Multiple sources."

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wow. A Duke/North Carolina deal to the SEC would be huge. The football product wouldn't be greatly diminished, but the basketball league would get a huge boost. I'm sure most Mizzou fans would love to see Roy back at Mizzou Arena.

[EagleFan]

Duke basketball to the SEC? Seriously? Would the combined arrogance of SEC football and Duke basketball cause a spontaneous black hole that would kill us all? The Mayans were right, just a little off on the date.

[Marmel]

Any source remotely connected to the Mountaineers has ZERO credibility.
Maryland fucked up, and I may be wrong, but I doubt any other team makes the same mistake.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Duke basketball to the SEC?

I can't imagine that happening in any scenario short of complete & utter chaos ... like all the conferences disband & start from scratch kind of chaos.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Maryland fucked up, and I may be wrong, but I doubt any other team makes the same mistake.

?

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Kodos

?

Well, they are going to make a bunch more money right now, but I believe that gap will close over the next 10 years to virtually nothing. Also, who knows what is going to happen with how we watch and pay for TV in the next 10+ years.

And money is the only reason for the move to the Big 10. They have to deal with a $50 million buy out fee and fan interest will likely be down. It is their own fault they screwed up their athletic budget, and if they didn't get into that financial mess ni the first place, they wouldn't have to make this move to help them get out.

Every other reason to move is a bad one: its a mid-west conference, they are a mid Atlantic team. They are 4-44 in football vs. big 10 teams, so forget ever having success again. Big 10 basketball is boring and they give up games vs the Carolina schools and others and over 60 years of tradition. Recruiting is going to suck hard for them. No lacrosse league. They were a charter member of the ACC and now they are a team being used for where they are located.

Basically, it was a move made with blinders on because they are desperate for money. There was no thought given to long term on this move.

[Kodos]

I know we have Wisconsin slogball, but teams like IU and Michigan certainly play a fun style to watch.

[Kodos]

FWIW, I'm don't like the move from a Big Ten perspective either.

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I know we have Wisconsin slogball, but teams like IU and Michigan certainly play a fun style to watch.

They certainly do, but just in general it is not very exciting basketball, despite their being some very good teams in the conference year to year. It is usually a top 3 basketball conference and probably tops this year.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Well, they are going to make a bunch more money right now, but I believe that gap will close over the next 10 years to virtually nothing.

I'll take that bet, with the stakes being set at what you refer to as the "virtually nothing" gap.

[Young Drachma]

It's a huge upgrade, the fans will get used to it and when a wagon like the B1G calls you, you fucking take it unless you're Notre Dame and think you're too good for it. It's not about the playing field. No one cares about that. It's about all of the other shit behind the scenes that really matters in the end.

[MacroGuru]

Regardless of what the fan base wants, the rumors have been out there for the past month that BYU might end up back in the MWC.

The Boise State agreement was patterned to help BYU keep a lot of their rights that they have now if they were to come back in.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Well, they are going to make a bunch more money right now, but I believe that gap will close over the next 10 years to virtually nothing. Also, who knows what is going to happen with how we watch and pay for TV in the next 10+ years.

And money is the only reason for the move to the Big 10. They have to deal with a $50 million buy out fee and fan interest will likely be down. It is their own fault they screwed up their athletic budget, and if they didn't get into that financial mess ni the first place, they wouldn't have to make this move to help them get out.

Every other reason to move is a bad one: its a mid-west conference, they are a mid Atlantic team. They are 4-44 in football vs. big 10 teams, so forget ever having success again. Big 10 basketball is boring and they give up games vs the Carolina schools and others and over 60 years of tradition. Recruiting is going to suck hard for them. No lacrosse league. They were a charter member of the ACC and now they are a team being used for where they are located.

Basically, it was a move made with blinders on because they are desperate for money. There was no thought given to long term on this move.

I think it was also about making sure they didn't get left out of the game of musical chairs. Big-14, SEC and PAC-12 look like the only 3 conferences that will definitely still be here if/when it goes to 4 16-team super-conferences, and Maryland would not have been involved in either the PAC or SEC expansion plans... so either they could jump on that offer when it happened or be sitting there now in the ACC hoping to be taken by either the old Big-10 or end up in a really geographically weird Big-12 if FSU+Clemson combined with Texas, WVU etc.

I do think the Maryland move will look a lot better when UVa and another team (especially if it's UNC or Duke and not GT/Syracuse) come along to round out the 16, whether that's in 2 weeks or 2 years (and the Big-10 will have the 6 teams for a lacrosse league then).

[tarcone]

The research money the B1G schools get dwarfs the athletic money. This was about getting into a prestigious research conference.

I disagree that the basketball is boring. Im really enjoying it this season. I think Maryland will fit in nicely. If they can handle a physical conference. Gotta have a 6'7" 250 lb enforcer.

I agree with Kodos. I dont like the additions either. But the B1G is moving East. The Midwest is shut down now. I dont think Kansas was a possibility. And they are the only Midwest school left besides ND.

Maybe UNC jumps aboard and that will give Maryland their ACC rival back.

[cuervo72]

With picking up all the Big East teams, the ACC was at the point where they don't even have home-and-home. Maryland gets Duke at Comcast every other year? Whee.

edit: and that 4-44-1 is largely attributable to 1-35-1 against Penn State. No, they probably won't fare all that well in the B1G, but that 4-44 really doesn't mean much.

[yacovfb]

At the bottom of that article, it says the author is the Dude of WV. The next expansion move he predicts correctly will be his first.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by tarcone

The research money the B1G schools get dwarfs the athletic money. This was about getting into a prestigious research conference.

I disagree that the basketball is boring. Im really enjoying it this season. I think Maryland will fit in nicely. If they can handle a physical conference. Gotta have a 6'7" 250 lb enforcer.

I agree with Kodos. I dont like the additions either. But the B1G is moving East. The Midwest is shut down now. I dont think Kansas was a possibility. And they are the only Midwest school left besides ND.

Maybe UNC jumps aboard and that will give Maryland their ACC rival back.

The only way UNC goes is if the ACC as a whole detonates. UNC's got a prime spot as one of the kingfish in the ACC. They aren't going to give that up for a complete culture change where the league they're in is run from Chicago and they aren't even close to being at the top of a pecking order that's dominated by Michigan and Ohio State and every other state university in the Midwest with their colossal fanbases.

Also it's been proven pretty much that the Eers Authority site is garbage rumormongering by a bitter WVU fan who hates the ACC. Anything coming from there should be taken with boulders of salt.

As for Duke to the SEC, ha. Don't make me laugh. They'll consider dropping to I-AA in football and relocating the basketball team into the Catholic 7 league long before going to the SEC (hell, most of their fans and alumni are in the Northeast). Also, Kentucky probably doesn't want them and K isn't going to be around forever. The question is what will become of Duke after he retires. Duke's a valuable property only so long as the basketball team wins.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by tarcone

The research money the B1G schools get dwarfs the athletic money. This was about getting into a prestigious research conference.

This is the part where I really don't understand the mechanics, so an honest question - why would Maryland get extra research grants/money for being in the B1G vs. the ACC? I understand the B1G schools get a lot of research money, but isn't that just because they're really big universities with good academic reputations? Did the relationship between Iowa's bio-chemical engineering department's and their peers at Nebraska change in the last 2 years?

Maybe UNC jumps aboard and that will give Maryland their ACC rival back.

UNC makes a lot of sense for #16, but between their basketball prestige and more southern geography I think they're at least on the SEC's radar, (as well as being a big fish in the ACC) so they might not jump at an offer... as opposed to UVa, who I would bet a lot of money on being in the B1G when it expands to 16, and is much more of a rival to UMd.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

This is the part where I really don't understand the mechanics, so an honest question - why would Maryland get extra research grants/money for being in the B1G vs. the ACC? I understand the B1G schools get a lot of research money, but isn't that just because they're really big universities with good academic reputations? Did the relationship between Iowa's bio-chemical engineering department's and their peers at Nebraska change in the last 2 years?

It has to do with being a part of the CIC, which is made up of the Big 10 schools plus the University of Chicago. Rutgers and Maryland will be in as of 7/1/13. In your example, if Nebraska submits a proposal to obtain some sort of research funding related to bio-chemical engineering, part of their pitch could be that their chances of success will be improved because they can draw on Iowa's world class facilities in that area.

Committee on Institutional Cooperation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.cic.net seems to be producing an error on my end right now.

[MacroGuru]

Gotta say, Holy Shit....BYU 2013 Schedule without weak conference tie ins. BYU now has their toughest schedule ever and traveling to Wisconsin and Notre Dame in November is crazy!

I honestly can't wait!

Aug. 31 at Virginia
Sept. 7 Texas
Sept. 14 BYE
Sept. 21 Utah
Sept. 27 Middle Tennessee State
Oct. 4 at Utah State
Oct. 12 Georgia Tech
Oct. 19 at Houston
Oct. 26 Boise State
Nov. 2 BYE
Nov. 9 at Wisconsin
Nov. 16 Idaho State
Nov. 23 at Notre Dame
Nov. 30 at Nevada

[Abe Sargent]

That is a really good schedule. Not a lot of thumpers. A few obviously, likemnay teams have, but still, pretty strong stuff.

[cartman]

I'm seriously thinking about making the trip to Provo for the game on the 7th.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by cartman

I'm seriously thinking about making the trip to Provo for the game on the 7th.

With money being tight, I am going to pick 1 game to travel to from Buffalo. I am debating on the Provo game on the 7th, Virginia on Aug 31 or to South Bend...

Just debating...If I travel to Provo, I don't have to worry about room and board and really it would be a flight to Vegas and a drive up with my sister to our family.