Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

talent.. not sure about Missouri. Selfishly, that would be fine by me. I live in KC and that would be an easy road trip. Then again, bringing back the boarder war would be good for sports in general. It wasn't an army/navy, mich/osu, neb/ou type thing.. but it is a good one for this region of the country.

[The Oracle]

http://outkickthecoverage.com/how-the-secs-rise-big-tens-fall-started-with-a-fumbled-arkansas-punt.php

Interesting at least.

[entropy]

With the ACC recently granting its television rights to the conference, most thought that meant the end of realignment in major college sports as we knew it.

But, according to a report by omaha.com’s Lee Barfknecht, the Big Ten has looked into taking Oklahoma and Kansas from the Big 12, along with Vanderbilt from the SEC.

“By the schools ‘granting’ media rights to the conference for 14 years, the theory is that it would be too costly for a school to change leagues because it wouldn’t have much of value to ‘carry’ to a new league,” Barfknecht wrote. “Two sources have told The World-Herald that the Big Ten has done prior ‘homework’ on Oklahoma, Kansas and Vanderbilt among other schools who might some day be expansion targets. The Big 12 grant-of-rights deal didn’t stop a look-see for OU and KU. Besides a legal challenge, the potential future TV money available could still make it profitable for a school to move. So what do you take from all this? When the most powerful people in college athletics want something, there are ways to do it, regardless of the contracts and paperwork in place.”

Geographically, a move to the Big 10 would make more sense for Kansas, whose streak of nine straight regular season conference championships in men’s basketball would come under serious jeopardy with a move to the Big 10, which had five Top 5 seeds (No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Wisconsin) in this year’s NCAA Tournament and a representative (Michigan) in the national title game while the Big 12 sent five total teams to the Big Dance.

While Oklahoma’s travel budget would likely expand with a move to the Big 10, the Sooners’ storied football rivalry against Nebraska would be renewed if that happened. Oklahoma last faced the Cornhuskers in 2010, before Nebraska bolted to the Big 10 and Colorado went to the Pac-12, with Missouri and Texas A&M agreeing to go to the SEC the following year.

[Wild Hoss]

I don't know. Rutgers, in football at least, is going to be a lot better than people think. They also bring the NYC market into play as well. Maryland is more a bridge to getting the prizes of the ACC. Plus they bring Baltimore and DC markets where a lot of B1G alums are.

As far as Delaney's legacy goes since 2010 it has been more down the road looking at things 10-30 years into the future. Sure if the demos trend back to people moving into the midwest (as opposed to the coastal and mid atlantic < Virginia, NC, SC, Georgia> etc.) the Big Ten's influence will only increase. But on the chance it does not (and at this point it does seem likely) then you have to expand to where the people are going to be.

2 things have emerged from the expansion though and I suspect these are going to be guidelines for the next wave (and there will be another) of Big Ten expansion.

1) Any schools coming into the Big Ten are going to have to AAU schools otherwise it is a non starter.

2) Schools are going to have to be contiguous states (exception made for Texas). This is another reason that Maryland was pretty crucial for the B1G (and Virginia still is). It allows the B1G to start moving a bit south.

I seriously doubt that there is going to be another chance for Delaney to get any more universities into the Big Ten during his tenure. Still, the work done by the Big Ten in the expansion search is only going to be needed to be updated (which will not take as long I think) so when the next round comes they can strike quicker.

One thing that is a big thing in favor of the Big Ten is that culturally Virginia and NC are becoming (part of a long term trend) less southern and more northern (in the broadest terms). So while not getting them is a bummer, the fact is that as long as they did not go to the SEC then in the long run it is a win for the Big Ten, because (if the trends continue) they are going be less likely to go into the SEC over time. That will make it easier for Delaney's successor to sell the B1G advantages.

That is not to say it will be an easy job to sell that to those schools. It will take someone that has Delaney-like talents to get those schools there. However, a lot of the groundwork as been laid there with this round of expansion. Ten years is a long time and a couple more schools might be admitted in the AAU in that time frame.

Meh. The “New York Market” is a pipe dream...because there is no New York market for college football. If there was, Rutgers isn’t going to provide it.

Maryland put fewer people into its stadium last year than Kansas did, and its AD is drowning in debt. I look at that level of support and wonder how assuming they will bring the DC/Baltimore market is anything but questionable, at best.

If the Big Ten wants to be popular in non-native markets, gobbling up third-rate programs who happen to exist in the right zip code isn’t the way to do it. Those programs are third-rate in their own regions for a reason; nobody cares much. Nobody is going to care much no matter league they’re in.

Improve the product and we don’t have to worry about 30-year plans, outmaneuvering people in backrooms, and possible demographic shifts. You don't get far trying to force people to buy products they don't want.

[entropy]

F it... Grab KU, OU, misery and cuse and move Purdue, I'll and NW into the east and call it good.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Official vote on divisions and the 9-game schedule is taking place on Sunday

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/75574/b1g-presidents-to-vote-sunday-on-divisions

[Dr. Strangelove]

The Big10 was looking at Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. back even before they added Maryland & Rutgers. If a GOR makes the ACC raid-proof, well, the Big12 has the same.

I could see Kansas having some interest but I doubt Oklahoma's fine and dandy about leaving behind rivalries with Texas and OK State.

[WM Wolverine]

Oklahoma might be added to potentially stick a dagger in the Big XII and lure Texas later, I'd hope/assume. Love to strengthen that 'West' to balance the divisions especially if and when PSU gets to be very good again.

[Wild Hoss]

The Big10 was looking at Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. back even before they added Maryland & Rutgers. If a GOR makes the ACC raid-proof, well, the Big12 has the same.

I could see Kansas having some interest but I doubt Oklahoma's fine and dandy about leaving behind rivalries with Texas and OK State.

Oklahoma's not joining the Big Ten without Texas. Period. Frankly, at this point I don't see any reason either one of them would want to.

I could see KU making the leap, as they weren't on the bus headed to the PAC back in 2010. The KSU and WSU alums in the state legislature might have something to say about that however.

[Optimus Prime]

I see what you did there. I'm no mormon.

True story, when I was kid, I thought moron and mormon were synonymous. I derisively called someone a mormon when I was 6, leaving my parents perplexed. They figured it out upon inquisition and told me they mean different things. Then, later in life, I found out I was right the first go around. Mormons are morons.

I once heard a chap who experienced something very similar but his parents ended up in the freezer in his basement.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Just a reminder to everyone but the new divisions ought to be made official today. Delaney is supposed to be on BTN tonight at 7:30 to talk about the changes.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Most everything announced had already been predicted but made official today

* B1G East: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers
* B1G West: Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois
* Indiana-Purdue is the only permanent cross-division game.
* 9-game conference schedule to start in 2016.
* In even-numbered years the East teams will play 5 B1G home games. In odd-numbered years the West will play 5.
* According to Delaney, PSU, OSU, and Michigan all wanted to be in the Eastern division so there was no chance of any of these heading west.
* Also according to Delaney, for the next two decades, cross-divisional scheduling be based on parity: stronger teams will play the stronger teams. In other words, Nebraska will be playing Penn State, OSU, etc. more than they play Indiana and Rutgers.
* Strong push to encourage teams to beef up their non-conf schedules.

[WM Wolverine]

Everything as expected with the divisions, cross-division games & 9 game schedule. And most everything we hoped too; e.g. 5 home games for East, 4 for West in even years and cross-division games will be top teams vs top teams. Plus they are making a push to not only get rid of FCS schools but also non BCS conference schools too, setting up a potential split of Div I football.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Much ado about nothing.

This returns the big ten, in a graduated fashion to 9 conference games. That's a plus.

The divisions make sense. That's a plus.

The next move to 16 will be interesting but about as boring.

Lets play some football.

[WM Wolverine]

Sounds like they'll attempt to put the top teams in the East against the top teams in the West then from there, rotate through the teams as much as possible.