The Rest of College Football

[Tony G]

another opinion
(for the full story)

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls11/story/_/id/7415618/the-real-reason-sec-wins-all-bowl-games

Here's why the SEC keeps winning


Originally Published: January 3, 2012
By Ivan Maisel | ESPN.com

Hey, you, with the chip on your shoulder about the Southeastern Conference.

Yeah, you, the one who can't wait to see the Allstate BCS National Championship Game because, for the first time in eight appearances, an SEC team will lose. With No. 1 LSU playing No. 2 Alabama in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Monday, there may be less relief there than you think.
You're frustrated with the system. You're mad that the power in college football has consolidated in one place and you're looking for someone or something to blame. The answer lies below.
But before you can look at the culprit, you're going to need a mirror.
When you dig through the data, when you see that SEC athletic programs have bigger budgets than their counterparts around the country because the SEC fills its bigger stadiums, when you see that the caliber of play and the spectacle of those filled stadiums create the highest TV ratings, all of that speaks to the passion that college football creates among the league's fans. That passion creates those resources, which attracts the top coaches, who, in turn, sign the top players.
Even with the head start of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State ranking 1-2-4 in attendance, the SEC led the nation in 2011, as it has every season since 1998. That's because SEC schools take six positions in the top 11. The revenues generated by that attendance put the SEC at the top of athletic spending, according to a survey by the Sports Business Journal. The median budget of SEC athletic departments in fiscal year 2012 is $90.3 million. The Big Ten is second at $78.8 million. No other conference has a median budget above $62 million.

[Hannibal]

Maisel is an SEC slappy. He forgets about cheating and oversigning.

[Hannibal]

The Rose Bowl still gets attendance and ratings that are highly out of proportion with its importance in the national picture when it's Big Ten vs. PAC 10.

[Tony G]

He forgets about cheating and oversigning.

The CoPO doesn't care either.

[Tony G]

The Rose Bowl still gets attendance and ratings that are highly out of proportion with its importance in the national picture when it's Big Ten vs. PAC 10.

The Rose Bowl used to be "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" Now it's "The Late Show with David Letterman" Still a decent number two but no where near the king it used to be.

[hack]

Seriously now, do better if you're going to bother trying this.

[Hannibal]

Are there updated oversigning compliations for 2012 somewhere?

[Hannibal]

The Rose Bowl used to be "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" Now it's "The Late Show with David Letterman" Still a decent number two but no where near the king it used to be.

This is true.

Better to be David Letterman than Chevy Chase though, no?

[hack]

Yeah but number two to what, exactly? Whichever of the other major bowls has the MNC? That's no shame. Furthermore everybody's just admitted that the bowl system wouldn't survive a playoffs with home games. Nobody admitted that about the Rose -- that one's set. Unless the Big Ten and Pac 10 can't field elite teams, it will always be a premier matchup. What other bowl has this sort of ability to preserve itself no matter the system?

[whodean]

Its pretty clear the SEC and Big10 are the top notch conferences.

[Wild Hoss]

I think you seriously overestimate the B1G's market reputation. The Rose Bowl is hardly the jewel it once was either.

Perhaps, but I take a long-view approach. The Big Ten is unquestionably down (in football) at the moment, but that isn?t going to last forever. Michigan and Ohio State have both made excellent HC hires the past two years, and say what you will about Penn State?s problems but replacing Joe Pa with somebody who?s heart beats more than 12 times a minute is only going to lead to improvement down the road. Beilma has UW established as a top program. The Big Ten?s football woes are self-inflicted, but IMO are well on their way to be rectified. When they are, the Rose will regain its luster.


What hasn?t changed, and is not going to, is the massive amount of human capital and resources available to Big Ten schools. Big, densely-populated, football-loving states. Big universities with huge alumni bases. These advantages that the B10 holds over the Big 12 are not going to change, and will far outlast Deloss Dodds and T. Boone Pickens.

ABC knows this. So does the Big 12.

[Wild Hoss]

The median budget of SEC athletic departments in fiscal year 2012 is $90.3 million. The Big Ten is second at $78.8 million. No other conference has a median budget above $62 million.

LOL. Talk about massaging the numbers...who gives a shit about the median budget? What do you think the median budget in the Big 12 looks like with Texas' $150M revenue, despite the fact 7 other schools in that conference made less than Indiana?

One quarter of the SEC had 2010-2011 revenues below NW, the lowest earner in the Big Ten. Ohio State was well ahead of Alabama, the SEC's top earner, and Michigan was almost neck-and-neck with them. The average revenue for the two leagues was $88.9M for the SEC and $87.5M for the Big Ten. On average, Big Ten schools made $9.6M in profit compared to $7.7M for the SEC.

Those are numbers that mean something.

[Tony G]

What hasn’t changed, and is not going to, is the massive amount of human capital and resources available to Big Ten schools. Big, densely-populated, football-loving states. Big universities with huge alumni bases. These advantages that the B10 holds over the Big 12 are not going to change, and will far outlast Deloss Dodds and T. Boone Pickens.

Texas and Missouri are roughly equal in population to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. I think Texas would have to qualify as the more football rabid state than any of the B10 states by a mile. (just my opinion of course)

[hack]

Oh well in that case the SEC is definitely superior to the Big Ten for all the right reasons.

[WM Wolverine]

Rose Bowl typically is far and away the most viewed most bowl outside of the NT game.