B1G Expansion and more Conference Realignment

Interesting that Alvarez indicated one of the biggest factors of going after the East Coast schools was to keep PSU happy. They didn't want to lose them to the ACC. I am sure PSU is harboring resentment for the additional penalties that the league slapped on them for their institutional control issue and switching conferences would of been a way to avoid them.

 
Comish said:
How does MIami fulfill the contiguous threshold........?
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They don't but they would throw out that rule if Texas wanted in.

If we get the Canes then I will be severely disappointed. If there is a Florida school to be had I'd much rather go with the Noles.

 
matthew_m_g said:
HuskerShark said:
Yeah, Miami! What better to add to the B1G than another team under NCAA penalty for violating rules...

In all seriousness, that is how it will be viewed nationally in the short term if the B1G ends up getting them, but in the long term, if Miami can get their sh#t together on the football field, it would be a great addition.
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You're spot on HuskerShark--the B1G would sure catch holy hell for that, but the long-term dividends would help the conference immensely.

I ask, though, how much should the B1G listen to criticism that comes from the likes of ESPN, who are nothing more than paid mouthpieces for the SEC?

I'd propose that if Fox Sports ramps up their game and the BTN gets a bigger market share, then the B1G may be able to control some of their own message, which will help mitigate some of the damage done by picking up a school like Miami that's on the skids. CBS dumping more money and exposure into their College Sports Network, and potential competing networks from NBC/Comcrap may help diffuse some of the negativity coming from ESPN.

But there will be a certain level of spin by the B1G offices required to make this happen, no doubt about that. But hey--isn't Northwestern one of the best schools for journalism in the nation? This should be a cakewalk for them to help the B1G with! :thumbs
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the problem is that Miami is likely to keep getting in trouble years down the road. While UM and PSU's violations were probably one time aberrations, Ohio State, probably a decade or two in between pesky mistakes. But Miami, I think 3 different head coaches were supposed to have "cleaned up the program" Butch Davis, Coker, and then Randy Shannon. Not that it matters in this day and age but they are a terrible institutional fit.

 
Comish said:
How does MIami fulfill the contiguous threshold........?
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Delaney himself threw out the contiguous requirement some time ago, in the same set of statements referring to southern population shifts.

In short, there is no rule or threshold. Only a suggestion, and not a particularly strong one at that.

 
matthew_m_g said:
Comish said:
How does MIami fulfill the contiguous threshold........?
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Delaney himself threw out the contiguous requirement some time ago, in the same set of statements referring to southern population shifts.

In short, there is no rule or threshold. Only a suggestion, and not a particularly strong one at that.
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Yeah, I knew there was no rule, I just thought Delaney had semi-boxed himself in somewhat with prior statements and had not heard anything contrary after that.

I was being a bit facetious.

 
Comish said:
matthew_m_g said:
Comish said:
How does MIami fulfill the contiguous threshold........?
Click to expand...
Delaney himself threw out the contiguous requirement some time ago, in the same set of statements referring to southern population shifts.

In short, there is no rule or threshold. Only a suggestion, and not a particularly strong one at that.
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Yeah, I knew there was no rule, I just thought Delaney had semi-boxed himself in somewhat with prior statements and had not heard anything contrary after that.

I was being a bit facetious.
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Ah, my bad then. :(

 
And as soon as I acquiesce that perhaps Miami would be a better fit than FSU, Frank the Tank comes up with this piece about FSU putting feelers out to the B1G.

Of note:

On the same night that I put up that post, Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com had this interesting tidbit (via Warchant.com):

But it should be getting more and more clear after Maryland’s departure from the ACC, Florida State is not sitting around playing solitaire.
 
According to Warchant.com, the Florida State site on the Yahoo!/Rivals network, FSU officials are now exploring conference options and have put out feelers to the Big Ten.
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Frank also mentions that the names we're hearing (Georgia Tech, North Carolina) re: B1G expansion may only be put out there to see what shakes loose...like using Mizzery to shake Nebraska loose:

Remember back in 2010 how Missouri was repeatedly the most oft-mentioned expansion target for the Big Ten, but then the true intentions of the league were to really go after Texas and then Nebraska? Missouri was effectively used as a stalking horse by Jim Delany to cause instability (or create the perception of instability) in the Big 12 to shake loose one of the most valuable brand names in college football.
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As for Florida State's lack of AAU membership, Frank covers that too:

That assumption might be faulty, though, especially if Florida State were to come in together with an elite academic school such as Georgia Tech or Virginia. Besides, Florida State is ranked #97 in the U.S. News rankings compared to Nebraska at #101, so it’s nowhere near the academic stretch for the Big Ten in the way that Louisville was clearly outside of the ACC’s prior academic standards.
Beyond academics, out of all of the schools in the ACC, Florida State provides (1) the best on-the-field football program, (2) the largest state by population, (3) the highest national TV value, (4) the most regional TV value for the Big Ten Network, (5) the best football recruiting grounds and (6) arguably the best football fan base (neck-and-neck with Clemson). Basically, FSU hits every non-academic metric that you could possibly want in an expansion candidate.
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And what about FSU to the SEC? Not going to happen because of what was mentioned in this thread before--Florida won't allow it, and ESPN can already carry Florida w/o FSU, so why bother diluting the market? FSU would have a significantly higher worth to the Big XII or B1G than it would the SEC.

Anyway, a good read, and a very good case for FSU to the B1G. Frankly, we know that expansion will happen for the B1G, and it stands to reason that Florida expansion is a must if the B1G wants to be a significant 'Superconference'. Whether it's Miami or FSU remains to be seen, but the smart money appears to be on at least one of those schools being in the B1G as soon as the Maryland exit fee case is resolved.

 
schlumper said:
I prefer the pod system with protected rivalries. 2 pods form a division with the divisions changing every one or two years and each school having one protected rivalry with a team in every other pod.

West:

Nebraska

Iowa

Minnesota

Wisconsin

North:

Michigan

Michigan St

NW

Illinois

Central:

OSU

PSU

Purdue

Indiana

East:

Rutgers

Maryland

UNC

GT

Protected games: (best I could do to preserve rivalries, I think I got all the important ones)

Iowa-Michigan St-PSU-Maryland

Minnesota-Michigan-OSU-Rutgers

Wisconsin-Illinois-Purdue-UNC

Nebraska-NW-Indiana-GT

In this scenario, Nebraska would play Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana, and Georgia Tech every year and the remaining three schools from the other pod in their division.
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This style has been done once already and failed as it was to difficult to follow.

I'd say they'd do something like this

Legends:

Nebraska

Michigan

Michigan State

Minnesota

Iowa

Northwestern

Illinois

Leaders:

Ohio State

Penn State

Wisconsin

Indiana

Perdue

Maryland

Rutgers

This is the easiest solution and keeps the set as it currently is. No reason to change it and make it difficult to follow.

 
For those that follow this closely at all, you're probably familiar with the following sources. I recommend them only for entertainment purposes, some of their theories seem fairly plausible, others seem to border on the kooky. But I would look for the following on twitter:

The Dude of WV

MHver3

The Greg Swaim Show

JSI07 (though he doesn't post NEARLY as much, and simply seems to be an aside for Dude and MHver most of the time)

I make no claim to the authenticity of their commentary. Seem to have at least some knowledge, but that could be the part that happens to stick. I like some of their theories, find others preposterous, so take it with a huge grain of salt.

Three other places you might want to take a look at:

The Shag is a cesspool, plain and simple, but their realignment thread within their football forum seems to pool a LOT of different information that comes out. One of the better places that I've found tidbits about realignment that I may have missed. www.shaggybevo.com

eersauthority.com is a WV Mountaineers site were the Dude posts most of his tidbits/ramblings. He has a bunch of interesting blog posts on there, and there is also a thread on their forums for specific questions to him regarding realignment. Again, take it with a big grain of salt. www.eersauthority.com

Bluegoldnews.com is another WV website, and MHver posts tidbits in their forums (specifically a Big XII xpansion forum they have). Just interesting to see what floats there.

Those are the main off-mainstream places that I try and find out tidbits. Many of them are a little odd, and you have to wade through a bunch of crud to get anywhere, but there are pieces there that can keep you entertained regarding the topic, if you're so inclined.

Matt Hayes of SN and Brett McMurphy at ESPN are always good for an interesting/entertaining view on the topic as well. The more those two tend to contribute to the conversation, including a McMurphy appearance on Finebaum last night, the more I'm inclined to believe that the 'when' of realignment is a lot closer than many might have thought. Should be interesting to follow, regardless. :)

 
Wanted to list those sources to get to this:

Dude's latest theory, based of course on sources, is that the B1G is playing an expansion game to kill the ACC, and that at least for now, the end game is 18. The first stone to fall would be BC, supposedly right after the Orange Bowl. The ACC would then likely add UConn, and give FSU incentive to move, and FSU and GT move as Southern traveling partners, with the last piece supposedly being ND, or if ND won't come after that, UVA. This also includes SEC taking UNC (and Duke to ensure UNC comes), and the Big XII some two, four, or sixsome of the remnants. While I'm not sure all those dominoes would fall, I'm also not sold that this theory is an impossibility either. We've talked BC before, and even though they're not AAU, they do have a decent academic rep, bring a massive TV market, and are a premiere hockey school to team with others in hockey for the B1G. (Stop laughing. :D Even if hockey doesn't move the meter for a lot of people, one of the major markets where it DOES is New England... and getting BTN on basic cable there would likely be much easier with BC hockey to sell.) FSU isn't AAU either, but their academic status is pretty comparable to Nebraska, and they bring the Florida market and another marquee name in football. Again, while not the most plausible theory out there, certainly not outside the realm of possibility either.

Oh, and for those interested, a commentary from Sports Business Daily about the strategy used to get BTN on basic cable in Nebraska, and how that strategy might be employed in the cases of Maryland and Rutgers.

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2012/12/10/Media/BigTenNet.aspx

 
Chuck--excellent info!

I had heard something similar, though with NC, BC, and a FL school to be determined as ACC defectors. Especially with BC, the whole court case with Maryland and exit fees will impact whether they can jump. But 16 doesn't to be the stopping point, though.

As for the hockey thing, you're right about it being big up north. And don't forget about the new B1G hockey conference--it would help the BTN keep live programming on opposite of basketball that would garner decent ratings. Additionally, for Nebraska, it's no coincidence that Eichorst has experience in starting a NCAA hockey program from scratch. I wonder if Nebraska is going to shift eggs from baseball to hockey since Delaney seems intent on running B1G baseball into the ground.

One other thing, since you mentioned "traveling buddies"--I keep hearing that Kansas is strongly in the mix for a potential B1G seat, due to their strength in basketball. But with all of the NC talk, I'm wondering if they're a "Plan B"for Delaney if NC does indeed go to the SEC as you mentioned?

 
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matthew_m_g said:
Chuck--excellent info!

I had heard something similar, though with NC, BC, and a FL school to be determined as ACC defectors. Especially with BC, the whole court case with Maryland and exit fees will impact whether they can jump. But 16 doesn't to be the stopping point, though.

As for the hockey thing, you're right about it being big up north. And don't forget about the new B1G hockey conference--it would help the BTN keep live programming on opposite of basketball that would garner decent ratings. Additionally, for Nebraska, it's no coincidence that Eichorst has experience in starting a NCAA hockey program from scratch. I wonder if Nebraska is going to shift eggs from baseball to hockey since Delaney seems intent on running B1G baseball into the ground.

One other thing, since you mentioned "traveling buddies"--I keep hearing that Kansas is strongly in the mix for a potential B1G seat, due to their strength in basketball. But with all of the NC talk, I'm wondering if they're a "Plan B"for Delaney if NC does indeed go to the SEC as you mentioned?
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I don't see us getting rid of baseball since as you stated its virtually an easy road to the regionals. But I do remember seeing drawings of a hockey arena to be built in the Haymarket area. I havn't followed college hockey at all. But if theres women hockey then it'd be easier to just add mens and womens hockey teams. If not then theres always another female sport like field hockey.

 
matthew_m_g said:
Chuck--excellent info!

I had heard something similar, though with NC, BC, and a FL school to be determined as ACC defectors. Especially with BC, the whole court case with Maryland and exit fees will impact whether they can jump. But 16 doesn't to be the stopping point, though.

As for the hockey thing, you're right about it being big up north. And don't forget about the new B1G hockey conference--it would help the BTN keep live programming on opposite of basketball that would garner decent ratings. Additionally, for Nebraska, it's no coincidence that Eichorst has experience in starting a NCAA hockey program from scratch. I wonder if Nebraska is going to shift eggs from baseball to hockey since Delaney seems intent on running B1G baseball into the ground.

One other thing, since you mentioned "traveling buddies"--I keep hearing that Kansas is strongly in the mix for a potential B1G seat, due to their strength in basketball. But with all of the NC talk, I'm wondering if they're a "Plan B"for Delaney if NC does indeed go to the SEC as you mentioned?
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I believe Kansas would be out, didn't they sign a GOR with the remaining Big 12 teams?

 
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