Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

I think Misery's begging and the way they announced what was going on didn't sit well with the BIG... just a guess

[THE_WIZARD_]

The B1G for many years was only eying one school...Notre dame...over time they realized it was not going to happen...I think they always knew they could get Mizzou if they were desperate...then the B12 feud between Texa$$ and UNL happened and they had the Huskers fall right in their lap. Mizzou was shit outa luck. Worked out ok for both the B1G and Mizzou though...

[iam416]

I think Mizzou's lack of a national brand (1 conference title in 50 years or something like that) and relative lack of an real markets doomed them.

Nebraska is valuable because it's a national brand. Missouri is not that. They are a filler team. Period. And when you're dealing with filler teams, you look at markets, IMO.

Yeah, Mizzou is better, now, than Maryland. No doubt. But they aren't going to win the SEC in like, ever. They're a team for the SEC West to beat up. And they have mediocre markets.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Mizzou is the only FBS Football School in a state of 6 million people. KC and STL markets while not huge are pretty good sized markets. Why Mizzou has not been a very good program all these years is a mystery to me. Nebraska is in the same situation but with less than a third the population base.

Mizzou should be better.

[Optimus Prime]

Out of 121 teams there are only 22 that either break-even or actually make money, the pie is much smaller than you think.

[THE_WIZARD_]

This isn't about the individual schools making money. It's about the B1G and specifically the BTN making more and more money.

Cha-ching.

[Optimus Prime]

That leaves just 99 teams, essentially you are trading one bad apple for another, their markets are worthless, it's brand identification and they have none.

[iam416]

UConn will go to the ACC, apparently (and obviously). What's important is that this is will be perceived as a basketball move. FSU and VT surely wanted Louisville. FSU is sitting at 10-1 and ranked 10th. They're pissed. FSU is one of the two football cash cows in that conference. And Swofford has ignored them both.

[THE_WIZARD_]

There is going to be some major shit happen in the next 2-3 years...CFB as we know it is pretty much over. if it blows up the Bowl System and gets us closer to a true playoff then so be it.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I don't give a rats arse about basketball. Basketball is sitting fine the way it is. The NCAA Tourney is a golden fucking goose and will only get bigger. Football is fucked up. Needs to be fixed...pronto.

[entropy]

my big fear with the true playoff is CF becomes the NFL. the Oregon/Stanford game means less if 16 teams are in the playoff.

[iam416]

The mega-conferences are actually lining up to prevent that. 64 teams. 8 divisions of 8. You have to win your division to get to the CCG. The CCG winners make the "Final Four".

(A) That allows for really upgrading non-conference scheduling and (B) preserves the regular season value -- Oregon-Stanford still matters just as much (and Stanford-UCLA would matter). Michigan-Alabama does not matter.

[iam416]

The other thing about this, which has been mentioned previously, is that this is an opportunity for FOX to take aim at ESPN. In this age of the DVR, sports advertising is only growing in value. And FOX seems like they're out to snatch up as much of it as they can. And if that ends up in them breaking ESPN's CFB monopoly, then godspeed.

[Wild Hoss]

I think Mizzou's lack of a national brand (1 conference title in 50 years or something like that) and relative lack of an real markets doomed them.

Nebraska is valuable because it's a national brand. Missouri is not that. They are a filler team. Period. And when you're dealing with filler teams, you look at markets, IMO.

Yeah, Mizzou is better, now, than Maryland. No doubt. But they aren't going to win the SEC in like, ever. They're a team for the SEC West to beat up. And they have mediocre markets.

As Wiz said, Missou- as a Big Ten member- brings you the state of Missouri. Historical ties to NU and ILL, shares a border with Iowa as well. MU isn't THE big draw in the state...but neither are Maryland or Rutgers. It'd be easy to get BTN on basic cable in the St Louis metro for certain.

And people from most Big Ten states could feasibly attend events in Columbia, and vice-versa.

Financially speaking, Missou is far, far better off than either of them as well.

Unquestionably a superior choice IMO.

[iam416]

I understand your perspective, Hoss. My own is that Mizzou is a filler team. And, IMO, with filler teams, the quality of the football is not particularly relevant.

Missouri was an absolute known commodity to the B10. I think their added benefit could have been easily quantified. But, to their detriment, that value is more or less their ceiling.

I firmly believe, and I suspect you'd agree, that Maryland+Rutgers have more upside potential. I also know we'd disagree about how likely it is that those schools reach, say, 75% of that potential.