Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

easiest way to summarize it.... most stadiums I've been to, I've felt like a guest by security or the host institution. This felt exactly like going through airport security. No matter where we went, it was wrong and someone was telling us where to go...

As for the NW fans, not sure.. it was mostly UNL fans. heh

[lineygoblue]

Yeah, the times I've been there, the crowd was easily 65% Michigan. First time I was there, it was more like 75% Michigan. It was almost like Michigan was playing a home game at another stadium.

I didn't have any security people issues. We just basically ignored them and went where we wanted. The guys who drive the parking lot shuttle buses are pretty nice. One guy we had was wearing a Chicago Cubs hat, and we struck up a conversation with him about baseball. Nice guy.

I went and bought a hot dog and soda from a nearby concession stand that was being operated by the girls water polo team. They were real nice, even though I was in my Michigan garb.

Biggest hassle about NW to me is leaving the area. The traffic is horrible because its all neighborhood streets. The line for the "EL" is backed up for blocks. The lines for the shuttle buses are absolutely outrageous. We usually just walk back to the parking lots. Its about a mile, but its less frustrating than waiting for other modes of transportation.

[Wild Hoss]

easiest way to summarize it.... most stadiums I've been to, I've felt like a guest by security or the host institution. This felt exactly like going through airport security. No matter where we went, it was wrong and someone was telling us where to go...

As for the NW fans, not sure.. it was mostly UNL fans. heh

Do this don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

That and the fact we were sitting at the -20 yardline. Or was it -30? I forget.

[entropy]

It was behind the end zone.. so probably -20

[entropy]

Hail Varsity article discussing salaries of head coaches versus salary pool for assistant coaches.

Money Talks

"The Big Ten ranked third in average head coach salary in 2012 behind the Big 12 and the SEC, but fell to fifth in the average amount of money it paid to its assistants. The Big Ten was one of two BCS conferences where the average head coach salary was greater than the average amount paid to assistants. The Big 12, which has two of the three highest-paid coaches in the country in Mack Brown and Bob Stoops, was the other.

That’s the old model."

Link:http://hailvarsity.com/2013/05/money-talks/

[WM Wolverine]

Really enjoyed Ryan Field but when visiting opposing stadiums I don't wear my school colors anymore unless they are under my coat. Mostly because trips to places like Columbus, East Lansing and even Madison have resulted in harassment from drunk locals.

[lineygoblue]

Yeah, I took a verbal beating when I attended a Michigan game at MSU a few years back. I got separated from the group I came with, and had to walk all the way across campus to get back to the tailgate. This, of course, was a game that Michigan lost, which made Sparty even more obnoxious. I felt like asking some of those kids if they kissed their mother's with that mouth, but I held my peace.

[WM Wolverine]

Other than Happy Valley, those are the only three places (East Lansing, Columbus & Madison) I've heard of trouble from home fans.

[Dr. Strangelove]

A Maryland court heard arguments today between the ACC and Maryland. ACC wants the case filed in Maryland dismissed and entirely handled by NC courts. Prob no decision coming before next week

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/wp/2013/05/23/no-ruling-accs-motion-for-dismissal-of-maryland-lawsuit/

[entropy]

Burke: B1G, SEC have different models

By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com

The Big Ten is rich. The SEC is rich. The two leagues are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of popularity and power.

So why is the SEC so far ahead on the football field? The question has been dissected over and over throughout the SEC's run of seven consecutive football national championships. You've heard about demographic changes and how there are more elite football recruits living closer to SEC campuses than Big Ten campuses. You've heard about speed. You've heard about oversigning. You've heard about superior coaching. You've heard about the passionate/maniacal year-round obsession with college football in the South that doesn't really exist in other regions.

Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke sheds light on another key difference between the Big Ten and the SEC, one that relates to revenue and specifically how the leagues use revenue differently. In an interview with The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel's Pete DiPrimio, Burke talks about the differences in the athletic department models between the Big Ten and the SEC.

"The SEC model, almost across the board, is sponsoring the minimum number of sports (16)," Burke told the News-Sentinel. "I'm not being negative toward the SEC, but their strategy has been to take seven men's sports and nine women's sports. That puts them in a gender equity balance. If you are getting 80,000 to 90,000 in your stadium, what that means is you're spending an awful lot on football. You have to call it what it is. I'm not saying it's wrong.

"The Big Ten model is, let's get more kids, more opportunities. We have a larger athlete base. Our grant in aid [scholarship] base is bigger. It's not that we don't spend, but football in the south is a religion. It just is. When you look at the dollars and models, they're very different."

Ohio State sponsors 36 varsity sports, while Penn State has 31 and Michigan has 27. Most SEC schools sponsor 19-21 sports. Purdue has 20 varsity teams but finds itself near the bottom of the Big Ten along with Northwestern (19 teams).

Big Ten fans probably don't want to hear that sports that generate little interest and zero revenue might be holding back their football teams from competing with the SEC for national championships. But Burke's point is valid: there are more mouths to feed in the Big Ten. It's a big reason why the Big Ten, while committing more money to assistant coaches, still lags behind the SEC in that area.

"The SEC and Big Ten are opposite ends of the spectrum. It makes for a challenge if you're going to try to challenge for a national championship."

Some will say Burke is making excuses for the Big Ten's recent woes. But he hits on an important difference between the two leagues that often gets overlooked. He also talks about the heightened interest level in the South -- "Football in the south is a religion. It just is" -- that can't be dismissed when sizing up these two conferences.

What do you think? Does the Big Ten's broad-based model hold it back on the gridiron, or is it just another way to mask bigger deficiencies in the league's football programs?

[Hannibal]

They left out "cheating".

[Jeff Buchanan]

It may be that the SEC schools have more revenue to support football but, the delta in assistant coaching salaries between the B10 and SEC cannot possibly account for what happens on the field. Maybe a little but not a game changer.

What is the game changer is the combination of over signing, signing of elite athletes that have no business at all in college (or who have no intent whatsoever of completing degree requirements), low entrance requirements/academic standards that allows this circumstance and the culture of benefits paid these standout football athletes for signing with an SEC school.

Its not complicated.

[iam416]

The SEC model, almost across the board, is sponsoring the minimum number of sports (16)," Burke told the News-Sentinel. "I'm not being negative toward the SEC, but their strategy has been to take seven men's sports and nine women's sports. That puts them in a gender equity balance. If you are getting 80,000 to 90,000 in your stadium, what that means is you're spending an awful lot on football. You have to call it what it is. I'm not saying it's wrong.

I've said this for years, and I WILL say that it's wrong.

What is the game changer is the combination of over signing, signing of elite athletes that have no business at all in college (or who have no intent whatsoever of completing degree requirements), low entrance requirements/academic standards that allows this circumstance and the culture of benefits paid these standout football athletes for signing with an SEC school.

Setting all this aside, the SEC fundamentally recruits from SEC country.

The advantage the SEC has is talent which, IMO, derives mostly from the "integration" of African-American athletes throughout the South. By "integration", I mean that AAs are in present in nearly every community of significance in the South in significant percentages. In the Midwest, by contrast, AAs are concentrated in more urban settings.

I think SEC country also has far more "larger" school districts (big schools for the entire county or something like that). B10 country school systems developed under NW Ordinance, which created tons of small local schools.

I think when you put these two things together, you can reasonably reach this conclusions:

(1) AAs in the South are present in significant numbers at nearly every large school.

(2) AAs in the North are present in significant numbers at city schools and occasionally a suburban school.

(3) City school coaching, at least in Ohio, sucks. It's horrible. That's why the rise of Glenville and now Whitmer and Trotwood is such a big deal -- those schools finally were an outlet for talented AAs in Cleveland/Toledo to develop as football players. In contrast, in Cleveland, the catholic kids are always really good -- because they do CYO from the time they're 8, and it's a great program in Cleveland. Then the good ones go on to Ignatius and Ed's. It's a machine.

(4) In the South, more AAs are exposed to good coaching from Day 1 -- ala Cleveland's CYO or any other good youth football program. That's a HUGE advantage.

(5) I also think the numbers of AAs are higher in SEC country than in the B10. So, IMO, not only does the South have more AAs, but they do a better job of giving them opportunities to develop as football players than in B10 country. IMO.

And, yes, the premise to this entire post is that AAs are, on average, better atheltes than everyone else. I understand it's not quite a simple as looking at race/ethnicity breakdowns of the NBA/NFL and overlaying it against the general population to find significant differences. Perceived opportunity and other factors play in to it, as well.

However, if the premise is correct, I think the biggest advantage the SEC has is local talent base. The unapologetic buying of recruits doesn't hurt. But, TBH, those "bidding wars" mostly affect which SEC team the recruit will play for. An Alabama kid is going to naturally want to play in-state. Most likely, he was never going to OSU or PSU or M. So, the bidding war that ensues b/t Auburn and Alabama is irrelevant to those schools.

Anyway, I think it sells things short to simply say "they cheat".

[WM Wolverine]

There is more talent in the south for the reasons listed by Talent and kids in the south, their choice of sports is football, football, basketball/baseball or football...

Talent in the north are as likely to choose basketball, baseball as football outside of the states of Ohio & Pennsylvania . Coaching has a big impact, some of the best athletes in my high school didn't play football because the coach was of the breed of Bobby Knight in personality except with none of the knowledge of the sport.

[iam416]

Basketball more than baseball. And the thing with basketball is that you don't necessarily need a youth program -- you need a ball and a hoop. And in the Midwest and Northeast, you have AAU programs that are constantly scouring for talent. So, you can develop your talent on your own without the need for infrastructure, and the infrastructure will eventually come to you.

I agree about more kids choosing football in the south, but I'd argue that is, at least partly, a result of the opportunity presented by local infrastructure. In the Midwest/Northeast, it doesn't take much to look at the the football opportunities in an urban setting and conclude that basketball is the far better option.

I mean, it's also a cultural thing, too -- football is the runaway king. But kids will also follow opportunity.