The Big Ten...or how many?

[temptation]

Gotta get to 20, go four divisions of 5 and the have the four division winners play in semis and two winners play in Indy a week later.

No other fair way.

[BTF]

5 hours ago, Boilernation said:

I would prefer to see the Big Ten think outside the box in try luring white whales like Notre Dame and North Carolina. Acadamically, athletically and name brand wise those would be amazing additions to the BIg Ten.s

I think Notre Dame knows that it's just a matter of time before they join a conference. They just want to be the last domino to fall and force a bidding war between the SEC and the Big Ten. 

[Boilernation]

37 minutes ago, BTF said:

I think Notre Dame knows that it's just a matter of time before they join a conference. They just want to be the last domino to fall and force a bidding war between the SEC and the Big Ten. 

At some point they’ll be forced into joining. The Big Ten and SEC will be calling the shots soon. I believe the new playoff format is only locked in for 2 years. 

[Impartial_Observer]

Geez boys, it was a joke. 

[Muda69]

Doyel on the The Big Ten expansion: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2023/08/06/big-ten-adds-oregon-washington-tradition-is-no-match-for-tv-schedule/70527990007/

Quote

The Big Ten is close to doubling in size. With 18 schools after the addition of Oregon and Washington next year, the Big Ten will stretch from Seattle to Los Angeles to New Jersey while the Pac-12, which was once the Pac-8 and then the Pac-10, will soon slide off into the Pacific.

IU will be playing league games at Washington. Purdue will travel to Oregon. Some of those games will end after midnight here because, you know, TV.

You’ll be asleep.

You’ll get used to it.

The people whining about the realignment of college by bemoaning all that abandoned history — think of the tradition! — are being intellectually lazy and missing the point. Take a listen to one of the best philosophers of the 20^th century, longtime baseball manager Jim Leyland, whose seen some things. Here’s what he always said about momentum in baseball.

“There’s no such thing as momentum in baseball,” he’d growl around a Marlboro. “Momentum is today’s starting pitcher.”

Apply that to the discussion here.

There is no tradition in college football. Tradition is today’s TV schedule.

Pac-12 wanted Apple TV? That's cute

The Pac-12 was done the moment it started negotiating its television rights with Apple TV.

No offense to Apple TV, but do you know anybody who has it? Maybe Sling TV wasn’t taking the Pac-12’s calls. Maybe Sling TV doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe it’s impossible to keep up.

The Pac-12 is playing the guilt-trip card right now because that’s the only card it has left to play. There’s a line in the 1967 movie “Cool Hand Luke,” a line so good, so deep, I’m wondering if it was first spoken by Jim Leyland:

“Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.”

Cool Hand Luke, played by Paul Newman, hadn’t seen the moping Pac-12 yet. With nothing for a hand, the league put out a real uncool statement Friday, the day the frat boys at Oregon and Washington pledged the Big Ten while the debutantes at Arizona, Arizona State and Utah took to wearing the Big 12 pin:

"Today’s news,” the statement starts, “is incredibly disappointing for student-athletes, fans, alumni and staff of the Pac-12 who cherish the over 100-year history, tradition and rivalries of the Conference of Champions.”

Let’s talk about that history.

The Pac-12 started with four schools as the Pacific Coast Conference in 1915. Oregon and Washington were among those four. By 1924 the league had grown to nine schools, including the additions of Idaho and Montana.

Lots of tradition in the Pac-12 with Idaho and Montana.

The PCC fell apart in 1959, and by that I mean it changed its name, after a cheating scandal. Turns out Oregon, without any help from Nike because Nike didn’t exist yet, was paying its players. Turns out some rich Washington boosters created a slush fund for athletes that sounds an awful lot — and by that I mean it sounds exactly — like today’s so-called NIL collectives that funnel money to players because, well, because.

The PCC was so chagrined, its blew itself up and started over. But with Washington and Oregon, of course. Montana and Idaho? Nah. Those schools weren’t any good in football!

This really happened.

Whine yourself to sleep, Pac-12 leaders. This will be over soon.

It’ll be faster that way.

Pac-12 sleeps with the fishes, and Ted Lasso

There are no good guys in this story, to be clear. The Big Ten wasn’t heroic when it sided with the Pac-12 and ACC in August 2021 to form what the leagues called “an alliance” to stop the SEC from taking over college football. A noble cause, right there, and over the next few months while the Pac-12 wasn’t looking the Big Ten was nobly stealing its two most important schools, USC and UCLA.

That was June 2022.

The Big Ten is not the good guy here. But it’s your guy, if you cheer for any of these schools, feel free to exhale. Your league survived. Your school, whether it’s Purdue or IU or Rutgers or, let me see, Nebraska, lives to play another game on national television. And by that I don’t mean Apple TV.

Seriously, Apple TV? Was Hulu Live not taking the Pac-12’s calls? Hulu Live has live sports, you know. Baker Mayfield told us.

Maybe the Pac-12 didn’t see the Baker Mayfield commercial.

Maybe tradition is overrated. Seriously, in the Big Ten, one game resonates nationally: Michigan vs. Ohio State. In our state we have IU vs. Purdue, unless you prefer Purdue vs. IU.

The league can add Rutgers and Maryland and USC and Oregon, but in this state do we really care? Seriously, does it matter? Sure the student-athletes will be flying around the country, missing all that class time, and while that’s a nice talking point, do you really care? These kids are getting paid now, and we got used to it. They can transfer every year, and we got used to it. They’ll start spending Tuesday nights on a plane from Seattle to Indianapolis? Do you really care?

They’re going to graduate anyway, because the schools will insist, and these kids will be your kids’ bosses someday. Don’t worry about the academics. The academics will be just fine.

As for the actual games, this is all you need to know: Big Ten games will be on Fox. They will be on CBS. They will be on NBC. They will not be on Apple TV, but then, neither is Ted Lasso. Ted Lasso is over. Long live Ted Lasso.

IU won’t play Iowa as often, and the Purdue-Minnesota game will take a hit, but those games aren’t traditional. No game in Big Ten play is traditional around here except Purdue vs. IU.

Do we still get Purdue vs. IU?

OK cool. Long live the Big Ten.

Not for me, Mr. Doyel.  The Big Ten is dead.  Love live The Monon Bell game.

 

[Bash Riprock]

While we know this expansion is all about TV/dollars, it does look like the Big 10 is only adding schools that have the Association of American Universities (AAU membership).  USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington all have this membership in this organization made up of 66 American Universities.  According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Big 10 will only add schools with this membership given the focus on academics.  The only school in the Big 10 not a member is Nebraska, as they were expelled after joining the Big 10.

https://www.si.com/college/northwestern/football/what-the-association-of-american-universities-has-to-do-with-big-ten-expansion

Current members of the AAU

https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members

I guess we shall see if this is a priority in the future.  Notre Dame, Stanford, Cal and North Carolina are members.....sorry Florida State.

[Boilernation]

58 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said:

While we know this expansion is all about TV/dollars, it does look like the Big 10 is only adding schools that have the Association of American Universities (AAU membership).  USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington all have this membership in this organization made up of 66 American Universities.  According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Big 10 will only add schools with this membership given the focus on academics.  The only school in the Big 10 not a member is Nebraska, as they were expelled after joining the Big 10.

https://www.si.com/college/northwestern/football/what-the-association-of-american-universities-has-to-do-with-big-ten-expansion

Current members of the AAU

https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members

I guess we shall see if this is a priority in the future.  Notre Dame, Stanford, Cal and North Carolina are members.....sorry Florida State.

Correct. AAU is huge for the Big Ten. I noticed a lot of ACC schools on that list. 

[temptation]

On 8/5/2023 at 8:11 PM, Boilernation said:

At some point they’ll be forced into joining. The Big Ten and SEC will be calling the shots soon. I believe the new playoff format is only locked in for 2 years. 

Can't see the Big Ten going past 20 (hell I couldn't see it going past 10 at one point either, lol) so Notre Dame might be on the clock...

Their cute little NBC deal has now been matched/surpassed by Big Ten money and EVERY Big Ten team now plays on NBC...

Edited August 7, 2023 by temptation

[Bash Riprock]

26 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Correct. AAU is huge for the Big Ten. I noticed a lot of ACC schools on that list. 

You are right...caused me to take a second look...UNC, Duke, GA Tech, Pitt, Virginia, and Miami.  How about a Miami to Seattle flight for a mid week sporting event??

Conversley, the SEC has the following schools as members: Florida, Texas, Mizzou, and Texas A&M....in which the last 3 are all fairly recent adds to the conference.  Says a little about priorities...my guess is AAU membership wasn't a primary consideration...it one at all.  

[PHJIrish]

This whole situation reminds of Pac-Man.  It's sad, just very sad!

[Muda69]

ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU

https://apnews.com/article/acc-conference-realignment-expansion-stanford-cal-smu-95e7d6f990dd35a638f9bef72fe96ee7

Quote

The Atlantic Coast Conference voted Friday to add Stanford, California and SMU next year, providing a landing spot for two more schools from the disintegrating Pac-12 and creating a fourth super conference in major college sports.

The move provides the ACC a windfall of revenue for its current members.

“It really is a transformational day for the ACC,” Commissioner Jim Phillips said.

Starting in August 2024, the league with Tobacco Road roots in North Carolina will increase its number of football schools to 17 and 18 in most other sports, with Notre Dame remaining a football independent.

The ACC needed 12 of its 15 members to approve expansion, and the vote was not unanimous.

“I can tell you when we left that call today, everybody was in a really good place and felt really good about the process,” Phillips said.

North Carolina and Florida State both voted no. The Seminoles said the move did not fully address its concerns about the ACC’s revenue distribution model.

....

The ACC becomes the fourth league, along with the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Big 12, to have at least 16 football-playing members, starting in 2024.

The formation of the sprawling leagues has raised concerns about everything from the impact on athletes’ travel to the changing recruiting landscape and the lost rivalries treasured by fans now facing different destinations if they want to cheer on their teams.

....

$

[Irishman]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

ACC becomes latest super conference, expanding cross-country by adding Stanford, Cal and SMU

https://apnews.com/article/acc-conference-realignment-expansion-stanford-cal-smu-95e7d6f990dd35a638f9bef72fe96ee7

$

Simple name change to All Coasts Conference. 🤣

On another note, I will try to find the stories, but there is some buzz that is in your wheelhouse. The common theme I have been seeing is a system of relegation and promotion in the future college game. 

[Muda69]

4 hours ago, Irishman said:

Simple name change to All Coasts Conference. 🤣

On another note, I will try to find the stories, but there is some buzz that is in your wheelhouse. The common theme I have been seeing is a system of relegation and promotion in the future college game. 

One can only hope. 

[PHJIrish]

Maybe just call the BIG the American Conference or the American League.

[Boilernation]

23 hours ago, Irishman said:

Simple name change to All Coasts Conference. 🤣

On another note, I will try to find the stories, but there is some buzz that is in your wheelhouse. The common theme I have been seeing is a system of relegation and promotion in the future college game. 

Where have you been hearing buzz about a system of relegation? Seems farfetched. Not sure how I think about it. Seems like it would suck as a Purdue fan and be great as an overrall fan of college football. 

[Irishman]

6 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

Where have you been hearing buzz about a system of relegation? Seems farfetched. Not sure how I think about it. Seems like it would suck as a Purdue fan and be great as an overrall fan of college football. 

Google it.....and apparently it is an idea that dated back to 2017-18 while looking at expansion of the playoff format. A couple articles refer to a proposal.