Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

[bwburke94]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Looks like the Big Ten's going to a 9 game conference schedule starting in 2016. They're discussing the possibility of making it 10 games, but that would be overkill IMO.

[simgamer0005]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Looks like the Big Ten's going to a 9 game conference schedule starting in 2016. They're discussing the possibility of making it 10 games, but that would be overkill IMO.

Where was this a few years ago? A 10 game conference schedule would have been sweet with the BigTen at 11 teams. every team could have played each other. Now that would be pointless with 12 or 14 teams and an unbalanced schedule.

[p_rushing]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Looks like the Big Ten's going to a 9 game conference schedule starting in 2016. They're discussing the possibility of making it 10 games, but that would be overkill IMO.

that points to going to 16 teams, 7 division and 3 from the other

[simgamer0005]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

"We like to play each other, and those are not hollow words," said Delany. "We are getting larger and want to bind the conference together."

Delany also stated he supports the idea of night games in November, and added that conference games may be played as early as Week 1 in early September to accommodate to the expanded league schedule.

Apparently the seven-team divisions will reflect geography this time around, with some ADs pushing for "East" and "West" to replace the much-maligned "Legends" and "Leaders."

Central time zone schools Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern could be joined by Indiana, Purdue, Michigan or Michigan State. Delany said the conference would try to "figure out a way" to maintain rivalries between in-state schools.

"This is a new day," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said. "You have to get out of your comfort zone." It's a new day alright. In with the new I guess.

--

Also at the meetings, Big Ten coaches voted to table three NCAA proposals that would allow any staff members to bombard recruits with unlimited calls and text messages.

Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald said the coaches were "unified" in seeking more time to analyze the ramifications of the legislation, set to take effect Aug. 1.

[bwburke94]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

A 10-game Big 10 schedule would look like this: 6 division opponents, the crossover rivalry game, and 3 of the other 6 members of the other division.

A 9 game schedule probably means ditching the crossover game.

[wang_chi7]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

A 10-game Big 10 schedule would look like this: 6 division opponents, the crossover rivalry game, and 3 of the other 6 members of the other division.

A 9 game schedule probably means ditching the crossover game.

I like the 10 game idea. It would mean you'd play everybody at least every other year. The crossover matchups might be kind of arbitrary though, maybe rotate those say every 6 years or every 10 years? Just looking at the possible E/W split we'd maybe have matchups like:

Nebraska-Penn State
Wisconsin-Ohio State
Iowa-Michigan State
Minnesota-Michigan
Illinois-Maryland
Northwestern-Rutgers
Purdue- Indiana

For the most part they don't much matter, therefore I'd be in favor of the crossover matchups also rotating. It would create new rivalries over the 6-10 years they play each year that would continue into the future when you play every other year only making this huge conference seem that much closer. Maybe the 3 newcombers would then more easily become part of the group. More rivarly ain't a bad thing!

10 games also would make the conference really meaning something again, playing someone less than every other year and they may as well not be in the same conference. At 14 teams that is a legitimate worry. Especially when the conference now spreads from the eastern seaboard all the way to the great plains.

And with only 2 open games maybe teams would actually focus on quality OOC opponents. Spread there wings and play rivals and powerhouses rather than directional Michigan.

Plus the conference championship would likely not be a total joke after playing so many games in house. After 10 games I'm sure we'd have legitimate division champions; with 7 teams they are like 2 smaller conferences that have an agreement to play each other often throughout the year.

[Jr.]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

B1G will really have to step up their non-conference schedules if they're only going to play 2 non-conference games per season.

[superjames1992]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

B1G will really have to step up their non-conference schedules if they're only going to play 2 non-conference games per season.

They may never play an away non-conference game again. Got to get those home games in!

[simgamer0005]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

B1G will really have to step up their non-conference schedules if they're only going to play 2 non-conference games per season.

But why should they have to? The one or two extra conference games will likely be tougher then the one or two non conference games they are losing. i don't like the idea of adding conference games unless that allows you to have a round robin. (like the Pac10 did before expanding)

There's no point anyway, because with this many teams in one conference, all the extra games are just unbalancing the schedule. i would be in favor of a 10 game conference schedule in the old 11 team BigTen, when there was no CCG. that made sense and would have been sweet. however with a CCG, with 14 teams lets say, all you need is 6 conference games. that's enough to play everyone in your division. with 16 teams, all you would need is a 7 game schedule to play everyone in your division. Then you know who the best team is in your division. to play more conference games just so you play more people in the other division, what is the point? it just unbalances the schedule and limits your OOC games.

given the 14 team Big "10" we have now, they should play 6 conference games, and then the CCG, and have more OOC games. the theory of playing some teams from the other division but not others makes no sense if you ask me. more often then not we get rematches in the CCG, or one team getting left out despite having the same record. (like Florida this year)

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

They may never play an away non-conference game again. Got to get those home games in!

To be fair, the home football games often bring in the majority of a school's athletic revenue.

[Jr.]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

But why should they have to? The one or two extra conference games will likely be tougher then the one or two non conference games they are losing. i don't like the idea of adding conference games unless that allows you to have a round robin. (like the Pac10 did before expanding)

There's no point anyway, because with this many teams in one conference, all the extra games are just unbalancing the schedule. i would be in favor of a 10 game conference schedule in the old 11 team BigTen, when there was no CCG. that made sense and would have been sweet. however with a CCG, with 14 teams lets say, all you need is 6 conference games. that's enough to play everyone in your division. with 16 teams, all you would need is a 7 game schedule to play everyone in your division. Then you know who the best team is in your division. to play more conference games just so you play more people in the other division, what is the point? it just unbalances the schedule and limits your OOC games.

given the 14 team Big "10" we have now, they should play 6 conference games, and then the CCG, and have more OOC games. the theory of playing some teams from the other division but not others makes no sense if you ask me. more often then not we get rematches in the CCG, or one team getting left out despite having the same record. (like Florida this year)

If they don't schedule tough OOC games, no one will ever know how good the conference really is. It's already tough enough as is with everyone playing 3-4 OOC games and only 1 of those against quality competition (for the most part).

If a conference is only going to play 2 OOC games and none are against quality competition, it will be impossible to tell if the conference is really good or if they are just good relative to each other.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

If a conference is only going to play 2 OOC games and none are against quality competition, it will be impossible to tell if the conference is really good or if they are just good relative to each other.

Well that's good news for the conference then.

[simgamer0005]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

If they don't schedule tough OOC games, no one will ever know how good the conference really is. It's already tough enough as is with everyone playing 3-4 OOC games and only 1 of those against quality competition (for the most part).

If a conference is only going to play 2 OOC games and none are against quality competition, it will be impossible to tell if the conference is really good or if they are just good relative to each other.

that's true. but by playing two more conference games, you're making the schedule harder. so teams are going to be less willing to play a tough team from another conference. you need 4 OOC games so that you can have the freedom to schedule who you want. the 8 game schedule allowed that, and it was good. Lets not forget, that before 2006, there was only an 11 game season, not 12, so in 2005 most teams only had 3 OOC games. 4 became the norm after that not before. (it actually rotated between 3 and 4 OOC games if I recall) The B-1-G is really a mess right now. the B1G's stock overall has gone down since it added Nebraska for a variety of reasons, and the problem with that is that playing each other more, as Delany says, is not going to help people determine how the conference compares with the SEC. (until after bowl selection) a few years ago, a 10 game schedule might have worked if they added a 13th game, so you could get a full round robin with 11 teams, without a CCG. back then the conference was much stronger and adding more games might have helped the conference. but now it does nothing but limit the number of OOC foes when you need them more then ever. Besides, OOC schedules are generally scheduled years in advance, and it's not like every team in the conference plays a top SEC team. a lot of it is luck of the draw.

[lonewolf371]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Sounds like UNC has an invite.

[cdawg44]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Sounds like UNC has an invite.

http://www.theuconnblog.com/2013/2/19/4005856/north-carolina-big-ten-realignment-uconn-acc

UVA will probably go. UNC is a wildcard IMHO. UNC makes plenty of money no matter where they are