Beebe heavy on optimism

[Nexus]

Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe fielded questions for about 40 minutes on Tuesday evening after the first day's meetings with conference athletic directors.
Despite all the rumblings of some teams like Nebraska possibly leaving the conference, Beebe said he remains a glass half-full guy.

At the very end of the interview session, Beebe was asked: What are the chances nobody moves from the Big 12?

"Very high," Beebe said.

Why such optimism?

"Based on conversations we've had and the feelings I think have been expressed about the value of the conference and what it's been for so many in such a short period of time."

Before being asked a question Tuesday, Beebe said: "It looks like there's an elephant somewhere in this room."

The elephant, Beebe said, "was discussed in earnest with the athletic directors" during Tuesday's first round of meetings.

The commissioner called the conversations "healthy and productive."

Beebe said he expects it to be clear which schools are on board by April [2011] when the conference starts negotiating a new TV contract.

"I fully anticipate that we'll understand exactly who we're dealing with," Beebe said. "I need to know what apples are in the cart when I go to market and I think we'll have that by the time we start negotiations, not just by the time we finish it."

Beebe reiterated that he wanted to talk frankly with school representatives this week about when there's a date certain that schools might commit to the conference.

"My preference, in my chair, and anyone sitting here would say, 'Yeah, I would want that date to be as of the close of the meetings,'" Beebe said. "I don't know if that's realistic."

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[RedNeckHusker]

I hope his optimism is on target. I want the Big 12 to flourish and the best chance we've got is to rally around this guy and hope he gets it done. And I would surely hope that we'll know who's on first long before April of next year.

Uncertainty isn't good for any program including our own.

 

[Nexus]

My guess is we're committed to the Big 12 until further notice.

IF and I repeat, IF the Big 10 extends an invite to Nebraska, then I see them accepting it more so for the academics boost. The athletic benefits is secondary.

Fact of the matter is, the Big 12 can't compete with the Big 10 academically, therefore the smart $$ would be to accept the Big 10 offer if it comes.

 

[huKSer]

I want what bb is smokin'

 

[RedNeckHusker]

My guess is we're committed to the Big 12 until further notice.

IF and I repeat, IF the Big 10 extends an invite to Nebraska, then I see them accepting it more so for the academics boost. The athletic benefits is secondary.

Fact of the matter is, the Big 12 can't compete with the Big 10 academically, therefore the smart $$ would be to accept the Big 10 offer if it comes.

I hear this a lot but I'm not sure I get it. I graduated UNL and have done just fine. Is there something wrong with our university that I don't know about?

I'm probably thinking about this too simplistically, but I don't care how many astrophysicists we have on campus if we're an Indiana on the football field. God forbid.

 

[Nexus]

My guess is we're committed to the Big 12 until further notice.

IF and I repeat, IF the Big 10 extends an invite to Nebraska, then I see them accepting it more so for the academics boost. The athletic benefits is secondary.

Fact of the matter is, the Big 12 can't compete with the Big 10 academically, therefore the smart $ would be to accept the Big 10 offer if it comes.

I hear this a lot but I'm not sure I get it. I graduated UNL and have done just fine. Is there something wrong with our university that I don't know about?

I'm probably thinking about this too simplistically, but I don't care how many astrophysicists we have on campus if we're an Indiana on the football field. God forbid.

The Big Ten prides itself on Research & Development. Because of this, they've created what is called the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) which is an exclusive membership only available to Big Ten schools. To make a long story short, being a member of the CIC means you're privy to a lot of research grants that we otherwise wouldn't have access to as a Big 12 member. Something like 40% of all federal research grants were occupied by Big Ten schools.

Last year the CIC reeled in 6 billion dollars. Everything is split evenly across the board in the Big Ten. There are 12 members of the CIC (the 12th member is U. of Chicago, even though they don't compete in the Big 10 for sports). Therefore each school reaped a whopping 500 million dollars from Research & Development (R&D) in 2009.

I read somewhere that Nebraska averages about 150-200 million in R&D. So a move to the Big Ten would be a BIG boost by about 300-350 million dollars just from academics alone.

 

[knapplc]

The Big Ten prides itself on Research & Development. Because of this, they've created what is called the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) which is an exclusive membership only available to Big Ten schools. To make a long story short, being a member of the CIC means you're privy to a lot of research grants that we otherwise wouldn't have access to as a Big 12 member. Something like 40% of all federal research grants were occupied by Big Ten schools.

Last year the CIC reeled in 6 billion dollars. Everything is split evenly across the board in the Big Ten. There are 12 members of the CIC (the 12th member is U. of Chicago, even though they don't compete in the Big 10 for sports). Therefore each school reaped a whopping 500 million dollars from Research & Development (R&D) in 2009.

I read somewhere that Nebraska averages about 150-200 million in R&D. So a move to the Big Ten would be a BIG boost by about 300-350 million dollars just from academics alone.

We need to make this its own post and sticky it. This is the big-money factor that so many people seem to forget in this discussion. Most folks seem to want to look at this only as it pertains to football matchups, which is by far the most simplistic and unrealistic way of looking at this situation.

 

[Nexus]

The Big Ten prides itself on Research & Development. Because of this, they've created what is called the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) which is an exclusive membership only available to Big Ten schools. To make a long story short, being a member of the CIC means you're privy to a lot of research grants that we otherwise wouldn't have access to as a Big 12 member. Something like 40% of all federal research grants were occupied by Big Ten schools.

Last year the CIC reeled in 6 billion dollars. Everything is split evenly across the board in the Big Ten. There are 12 members of the CIC (the 12th member is U. of Chicago, even though they don't compete in the Big 10 for sports). Therefore each school reaped a whopping 500 million dollars from Research & Development (R&D) in 2009.

I read somewhere that Nebraska averages about 150-200 million in R&D. So a move to the Big Ten would be a BIG boost by about 300-350 million dollars just from academics alone.

We need to make this its own post and sticky it. This is the big-money factor that so many people seem to forget in this discussion. Most folks seem to want to look at this only as it pertains to football matchups, which is by far the most simplistic and unrealistic way of looking at this situation.

Well knapplc, you and I have been harping on this aspect of it since this sub-forum was created.

Fact is, everyone from fans to media are looking at this from an athletic perspective. What people need to realize is that from NU's perspective, and this is me assuming on behalf of Chancellor Perlman, and that is we're looking at it from an academic standpoint. It's not that Perlman doesn't care about the athletic benefits of such a move, it's just that he prioritizes academics over athletics in the grand scheme of things, since he himself is a scholar and lawyer. Like we've both been saying, the $ made from academics in the Big Ten makes the athletic $ look like chump change.

 

[skersfan]

As seen from recent TV commercials, Nebraska is moving closer and closer to the Big 10 in accademics futures. We want to be on the same level and this is the biggest and best step to accomplish it. If it happens, this will be the reason that Nebraska goes I think. You two are spot on on this.

 

[RedNeckHusker]

The irony is that this isn't being driven by the pursuit of academics, but rather the pursuit of more TV sets and $$$ on Saturdays. Not sure who is the pimp and who is the ho. I don't care for any of it.

The Big 10 was, is, and always will be a yankee conference. Furthermore, it's square in the middle of the rust belt which hosts an entirely different culture, demographic, and future to that of the geography of our current conference. The future is affiliating with schools like Texas and Oklahoma. While we might have a disdain for U of Texas for their arrogance, they don't have the arrogance market cornered. The Big 10 epitomizes arrogance.

If NU goes to the Big 10 it's going to be like going to a foreign land, and is going to be mighty uncozy for many of us. Dollars be darned.

 

[knapplc]

The irony is that this isn't being driven by the pursuit of academics, but rather the pursuit of more TV sets and $$$ on Saturdays. Not sure who is the pimp and who is the ho. I don't care for any of it.

The Big 10 was, is, and always will be a yankee conference. Furthermore, it's square in the middle of the rust belt which hosts an entirely different culture, demographic, and future to that of the geography of our current conference. The future is affiliating with schools like Texas and Oklahoma. While we might have a disdain for U of Texas for their arrogance, they don't have the arrogance market cornered. The Big 10 epitomizes arrogance.

If NU goes to the Big 10 it's going to be like going to a foreign land, and is going to be mighty uncozy for many of us. Dollars be darned.

That's part of it, but you're kidding yourself if you think Football and TV sets are the biggest motivating factors here.

Think about it. I'm going to offer you two reasons to take a job:

Reason 1) Pay somewhere around $20,000-$25,000 a year. You get prestige, you get to hobnob with some of the best people in your field, and you get a lot of the nuts and bolts you need to improve that tricked-out hotrod you've been working on these past 15 years. Overall a pretty good gig.

Reason 2) Your "extra benefits package" lies somewhere in the $500,000 a year range. You get to become a peer with the elite folks of your field, you still get to have all of that face time, and you still get to tinker with your car you love so much. But on top of that you're going to have the kind of cash you'll need to buy an acreage with some horses, build a nice house, join the country club, and at the same time you're going to get inside information on how to grow your wealth portfolio and set your kids up for the rest of their lives.

Now, which set of circumstances are you going to base your decision on, that flat salary of $25,000 per year, or the half a million in extra benefits that can set you up for life?

 

[RedNeckHusker]

so it's a forgone conclusion that NU would accept an invitation to the Big 10 if asked?

With that analogy, they would have no choice. But I'm not sure it's that cut and dried.

 

[knapplc]

Let's just say that if the Big 10 told Nebraska that our application would be accepted if we sent it in, it would be extremely difficult for us to pass that opportunity up. Extremely difficult.