Conference Expansion: Big Ten May (Temporarily) Stop With Nebraska
by Brian Favat on Jun 9, 2010 2:10 PM EDT
in Conference Expansion
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PrintThe proverbial conference expansion tables have turned, and Jim Delany doesn't like it one bit. According to a source, Delany doesn't like having his hand forced, but that is exactly what the Big 12 has done with their loyalty ultimatum they handed down to Nebraska and Missouri.
Teddy Greenstein is now reporting that the Big Ten "could act and act again," meaning that Big Ten expansion could come in stages instead of a big bang approach that could rock the college athletics landscape.
As a result, the Big Ten may need to hand out an invitation to Nebraska as early as the end of this week and stop at 12 teams.
College football would, at least temporarily, be given a stay of execution.
If this happens, Nebraska joins the Big Ten as their twelfth member. The Big 12 probably stays in tact with Nebraska moving to the Big Ten and Colorado and Utah moving to the Pac 10. According to Chip Brown, the Orangebloods.com editor that has been all over these expansion rumors, the Big 12 would be interested in BYU and Air Force filling the holes left by Colorado and Nebraska.
The college athletics conference landscape then looks like this:
Big Ten (12) - Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
Big 12 (12) - Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, Air Force, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor
Pac 10 (12) - Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah
The Mountain West takes a serious hit in this scenario. They will have lost both Utah programs and an Air Force program that are three critical pieces in their bid to become a BCS conference. If the conference is, in fact, staring at a world without Utah, BYU and Air Force, the Mountain West probably turns back to the WAC and raids the conference for not only Boise State, but perhaps also Fresno State and Nevada.
The Mountain West could also propose a full-scale merger/takeover of the WAC, jettisoning Louisiana Tech* to the Sun Belt and creating a 14-team league comprised of TCU, Wyoming, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State, Colorado State and the 8 remaining WAC programs.
All rumor and innuendo, but if the Big Ten stops with Nebraska and the dominoes fall as described above, it sounds like college athletics insanity may be avoided, at least temporarily. If the Big Ten and Pac 10 stop their expansion plans at 12 teams, that temporarily eases the anxiety that the ACC and Big East conference brass are no doubt feeling at this point.
* Louisiana Tech seems like a better geographic fit in the Sun Belt, but I honestly have no idea as to the history of the Bulldogs in the WAC. If you have an idea, please enlighten me.
Leave any updates / thoughts on expansion below.
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Here's what the ACC should do
If these rumors are true and everyone stops at 12 but will go to 16 in the near future, then the ACC has s very good chance of being raided by the Big 10 or SEC, so I say the ACC acts first and improve their situation and reputation by adding the top 4 Big East programs (Cincy, Pitt, WVU, UCONN) and watches everyone else scramble to make sure they aren’t left behind
by Jiftastic on Jun 9, 2010 3:41 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
ACC raided by the Big Ten ...
Could come in the form of picking off Maryland, interestingly enough. See below.
I am happy with 12 in the ACC, but if we have to recover, I want to see the league go after, in order: 1) Syracuse, 2) UConn, 3) Pitt … I’ve been beating the drum saying that academics matter, and programs like Cincinnati, West Virginia, South Florida and Louisville don’t really fit the ACC academic bill.
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Nebraska to Big Ten
Sounds all but a done deal, according to Chip Brown. Regents voted to move to the Big Ten, but do they have an invite?
http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1092612
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Big Ten expansion candidates
According to Brown’s article …
“Joe Schad of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Big Ten list of interest for expansion goes like this: 1) Notre Dame 2) Nebraska 3) Rutgers and/or Maryland.”
Wow! Maryland …
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Hahaha but wouldn’t it be cool to add 3 more top 15 programs and an up and coming rival for BC in UCONN?
by Jiftastic on Jun 9, 2010 4:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I don’t want anything to do with UConn. I will, however, man up and say that UConn is probably one of the more attractive options to poach from the Big East.
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Big East Worry-o-Meter
List of flight risks in the Big East:
1. Rutgers
2. Syracuse
3. Pittsburgh
4. UConn
5-8. West Virginia, Louisville, South Florida, Cincinnati
I agree with that list, other than possibly swapping Pitt and UConn.
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Syracuse sucks at football and doesn’t care if they suck, swap them with Pitt IMO
by Jiftastic on Jun 9, 2010 4:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think they care and they will be good decent again in short order. A move to the ACC might actually be just the thing they need to boost back up their football program (new recruiting territory, stop having their lunch eaten by Rutgers in NJ recruiting, greater exposure, etc.).
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Win-win-win
The above scenario seems to make every BCS conference better off.
- Pac-10 get their 12 teams, a conference championship game and a boost for their next TV contract.
- Big 12 gets to stay together, Texas gets its own TV channel, and reload with decent MWC teams … boosting their TV clout.
- Big 10 gets to 12, championship game, and leaves the door open for ND when the the NBC/Comcast gravy train runs out.
- ACC and Big East breathe big sigh of relief.
- Non-AQ conferences … still screwed.
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I would certainly be satisfied with that. No doubt there would be scores of disappointed Pac-10, Big Ten, and even SEC fans, but it works great for us.
Soaring to Glory: Come for the BC sports, stay for the asinine rants.
by SoaringtoGlory on Jun 9, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions
And by disappointed I mean their plans of a 16-team mega-conference fall flat…for now.
Soaring to Glory: Come for the BC sports, stay for the asinine rants.
by SoaringtoGlory on Jun 9, 2010 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Pac 10 members have some issues with the move to 16. Cal has voiced displeasure with including Baylor because of their religious affiliation. And there are some academic concerns with bringing on Tech and Oklahoma State. Not sure every Pac 10 member school really wants 16.
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Oh I’m sure there are some Pac-10 members that find 16 unworkable. Many of the fans, however, are dreaming really big. It would be nice if they only got at most a little of what they wanted. Frankly, they should be happy with 12, but more than one Pac-10 fan has said to me that one of the reasons they want 16 is to stick it to the SEC because they want to (paraphrased) end their dominance and make the media kiss their asses instead of the SEC’s.
Soaring to Glory: Come for the BC sports, stay for the asinine rants.
by SoaringtoGlory on Jun 9, 2010 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Flawed logic
Media won’t kiss their ass with 16. No one on the east coast (where the media bias exists) will care. Games on the West Coast will have to start at 9 or 10 AM to accommodate the East coast TV market. Plus it becomes less likely that a second team emerges from a 16 team conference for a BCS at-large.
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The SEC should stand pat. They don’t gain as much as the Pac-10 or Big Ten.
A good take on this: Status quo most likely option for SEC
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Also Big 12 realignment?
Big 12 could take the opportunity to realign to better balance out the two divisions:
North – Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State
South – Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, BYU, Air Force
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Maryland or Rutgers
I am baffled why the B10 would want either Rutgers or Maryland…both have mediocre teams, mediocre facilities, bad stadiums and are among the least interesting football programs in NCAA top level football.
Big TV markets??? c’mon who watches Rugers or Maryland football on TV ever? Will the Maryland v Minnesota game or Rutgers v Indiana draw any viewers?
The whole Rutgers and Maryland things seems to be some nonsense created by Rutgers/maryland PR flacks.
Nebraska I get, Mizzou I get. Rutgers, Maryland I don’t get.
Mizzou to Big Ten has cooled, apparently.
Also, Delany doesn’t care if no one watches those games. He still gets the subscriber revenue by putting on the BTN in the DC or NYC/NJ markets.
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Advertising dollars are still a big deal
I read that something like 60% of the BTN’s revenue comes from advertising money and not subscriber fees. Hence, Nebraska, even though the Omaha market isn’t exactly the world’s biggest. If nobody watches they’re losing more than half their potential revenue.
by MaizeAndBlueWahoo on Jun 10, 2010 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions
May be true, but Notre Dame is still the #1 prize because Delany think this will get the BTN in every home in the country. He may be right, but I’m not so sure it would work like that …
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Expansion
The best Big 10 expansion scenario includes securing Texas, New York / New Jersey, and Notre Dame. The best 5 expansion teams include Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, Syracuse and Rutgers. Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Missouri and Nebraska are alternates. Texas and Texas A&M are a must to secure Texas. Syracuse and Rutgers are a must to secure New York / New Jersey. All of the top teams are part of the AAU except Notre Dame and all are ranked in the top 100 academically by US News & World Report. More importantly, these schools represent 50 million plus in state population.
The best Pac 10 expansion scenario includes securing Texas and the remainder of the Western USA. The best 6 expansion teams include Texas A&M, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Texas A&M and Texas are a must to secure Texas. Utah, BYU and Missouri are alternates. All of the top teams are part of the AAU except Oklahoma and all of the schools are ranked close to or in the top 100 academically by US News & World Report except for Utah. More importantly, these schools represent 33 million plus in state population.
Big Ten is OK with Notre Dame not being in the AAU since they’ve recruited them to join before, and are probably still talking to them now.
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Chip Brown on Sportscenter
“Texas President Powers and AD Dodd gathered up the Longhorn coaches today … this afternoon. Told them we did everything we could to save the Big 12, but were unsuccessful. And according to my sources, the 6 schools that Orangebloods.com first reported last Thursday as being targeted by the Pac 10 will indeed accept those invitations. Including Colorado who will opt out of the Big 12. And that they will find their new home in the Pac 10 in 2012 and form the United States’ first super conference.”
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This is the most accurate
Everything else has been speculation (everything on this page)
The pac-10 will get the 6 big-12
Don't Tread on Me.
by SeymoreBear on Jun 10, 2010 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions
The premise of the post is that the Big Ten could stop their expansion at 12, and Texas and A&M could decide to save the Big 12. That’s not necessarily all speculation, and others have wrote the same:
1. Will the Big Ten stop at Nebraska? I believe it should for now. Adding Nebraska is a huge plus. It brings a rabid fan base, a new market, a program steeped in tradition that automatically strengthens it and gives it the ability to begin playing a conference championship game. No brainer here for the Big Ten and the school. Unless the Big Ten can get Notre Dame right this instant, it would be wise to pause and think long and hard about growing to 14 or 16 teams.
First, it must figure out if the value of adding Rutgers and its NYC market would bring the millions upon millions to feed not just 12 teams, but 14 or 16. It very well could, but the cash cow in all this is Notre Dame, not Rutgers. The Big Ten may have to begin making serious overtures into the Big East to snuff out the Irish, who are tied to the league for everything but football. There also has been talk of potentially adding Maryland or Georgia Tech. But again, without Notre Dame … the Big Ten should stop for now.
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Texas / A&M Looking at Big Ten
According to a report from KCTV5 in Kansas City … plus Oklahoma petitioning to join the SEC along with, get this … Virginia Tech? Can’t keep up anymore.
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Oklahoma State sticking with Big 12
That is, until everyone else leaves …
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2010-06-10-1243372380_x.htm
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