Around the Big Ten

[Wild Hoss]

If Fox wanted to extort more money out of the New York area, they could do that now. If people have to have the Yankees on TV, why would Rutgers being on the BTN make a damn bit of difference?

Had the same thought myself...I would guess adding Rutgers provides a bit of camoflage.

My question is what happens if FOX unloads YES 10-15 years down the road.

[Wild Hoss]

if the money comes, is that the only reason the BIG is doing this? Is JD forcing the 16 team mega conference? I'd like to think it is about more than money as well.. seems to me when you do things just for money, they blow up in your face. I know money has to be part of the equation, but it doesn't have to be the only part of the equation.

I've had people tell me JD is really smart for this.. that the BIG will now be the richest conference and nobody will be able to compete with that... maybe. But what does that buy the conference? Money is important, but if it doesn't translate to the field, does it matter?

I just said on another board that the BIG has been wealthy forever. Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota have sucked forever, and still do. I fail to see why it won't be the same for these two schools.

[WM Wolverine]

"This is contractual extortion; FOX has told Delaney that they will parlay their ownership of YES into getting the BTN on basic cable in NYC. In essence, New Yorkers will be paying us a dollar a month in order to watch the Yankees."

I already brought this up but this is exactly what I'm hearing as well. This solves the question whether the due diligence is taken care of. Rutgers along with NYC & Maryland are paying their own way and then some, if true.

[Wild Hoss]

"This is contractual extortion; FOX has told Delaney that they will parlay their ownership of YES into getting the BTN on basic cable in NYC. In essence, New Yorkers will be paying us a dollar a month in order to watch the Yankees."

I already brought this up but this is exactly what I'm hearing as well. This solves the question whether the due diligence is taken care of. Rutgers along with NYC & Maryland are paying their own way and then some, if true.

But again...what role does Rutgers play? FOX owns YES and retains its share of the BTN whether Rutgers is in the Big Ten, Big East, or United Nations.

If Rutgers' offer is only camoflage as I suggested above, I would be real iffy about it. If the YES tie-in evaporates we're still stuck with Rutgers. And the Maryland issue still hangs.

[entropy]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--maryland--rutgers-cash-in-on-their-incompetence-with-move-to-big-ten-19541709.html

[Hannibal]

So Fox is going to threaten to pull the Yankees off of TV in New York City unless the cable operators pony up for the BTN? And there will be no embarrassing public backlash because of that? And Rutgers is the lynchpin that makes this strategy feasible? Um, yeah sure. I'm calling "bullshit" on that one. Sounds like a sales job by Fox to Delaney, since Fox makes money on expansion regardless of whether the conference does. People need to remember this. If conference revenue only expands by 5% after expansion instead of the 16.6% that it would have to be to make expansion equitable, Fox is better off. Fox has every incentive in the world to paint a rosy picture. They get half of the pie no matter what.

This is as good a time as any to remind people that the BTN wasn't even on all cable systems in the Midwest back when it started. And the Longhorn Network isn't on DirecTV, which is probably the most popular entertainment choice for sports fanatics. Nor is the PAC-12 network. These things aren't a slam dunk by a long shot.

[entropy]

if that is what fox said.. nobody knows..

and frankly, I don't see BTN in NYC on basic cable.. with or without Rutgers

[Hannibal]

Cable operators will call their bluff. The BTN won't show up, and there will be no flocks of outraged Rutgers fans calling their cable providers or switching to DirecTV en masse because they can't live without their Rutgers sports (you know, the ones that won't be good enough to get onto ESPN)

[UMStan White]

Delaney just announced the new name for the conference---The Big 10-4

[Ghengis Jon]

Delaney is a moron. He's the Big Ten's Gary Bettman.

Being a luddite, I still don't like the thought of expansion, but Nebraska was a good fit for the B1G, geographically and athletically. Maryland and Rutgers have NOTHING to offer. It disgusts me to think that weenies involved could put on their Brand-On! hat and think only of money.

Maryland's and Rutger's move only permits them to apply for membership. So there's still hope. Bringing in two second rate teams based solely on a hypothetical generation of additional cash while sullying the conference is stupid. We run the risk of becoming the Donald Trump Conference.

Maybe we could rename the 2 divisions to Donald Trump and Scrooge McDuck.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Maryland's move was unanimously approved by every B1G10 school. That includes the Presidents, the AD's, the BOT's at Michigan, at Nebraska, at wherever.

This board suggests that the BOT, the Presidents, the AD's, and Delaney are all horribly incompetent and simply aren't as informed about the numbers and situation as posters here.

I'm not excited by playing Maryland or Rutgers either. But I'm pretty confident the money is going to be there and those schools will pay for themselves and then some. And they are not the end; they are part of going to 16.

[Dr. Strangelove]

BTW, Delaney announced that the B1G will be opening an East Coast office. My guess is Nebraska was the last Midwestern member this conference will add.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Reported that ACC is talking to UConn, Louisville, possibly Cincinnati

BC has threatened to block UConn and FSU would flip out if they joined. The academic elite schools are real iffy on Louisville.

[entropy]

Why would BCS flip out?

[Dr. Strangelove]

You mean FSU? They are adamantly against adding another basketball-first northeast school. Adding Pitt and Syracuse was seen as a move that really did nothing to help the ACC's football.

If Jimbo Fisher leaves to take the job at Auburn or somewhere else in the SEC, they will really start talking about leaving.