Gary Barnett watches Big Ten expansion speculation from an interesting perspective, having been a head coach in that league as well as in the Big 12.
His perspective offers insight into how significant a change Nebraska would face moving from the Big 12 to the Big Ten.
“I think there’s obviously a big cultural difference,” Barnett said. “It actually touches a lot of things.”
Much of it, Nebraska might just appreciate.
Barnett was head coach at Northwestern (1992-98) before taking over at Colorado (1999-2005). In the Big Ten, he said, “everybody’s close. You never felt like anybody would or could get away with doing things that weren’t on the up and up. There was just a constant feeling of oversight. In the Big 12, because it’s so spread out, there wasn’t that same sense of trust and same sense that everybody was following all the rules.
“That’s not to say people in the Big 12 weren’t following the rules. But there wasn’t this sense of oversight.”
That actually may depend on one’s perspective. I talked to another coach last week who’s been an assistant in both leagues. He strongly disagreed with Barnett, saying Big Ten rivalries can become bitter and cutthroat.
Even so, Barnett might be on to something. The billion-dollar Big Ten Network — arguably the most influential factor driving the expansion discussion — came together in part because solidarity among Big Ten schools helped them push through rigorous negotiations that ultimately led to an agreement to share television revenue evenly. In the Big 12, half the football television money is distributed evenly, while the other half is divided up based on TV appearances.
Let’s face it, the Big Ten oozes wealth, prestige and tradition, from dotting the “i” at Ohio State to Nile Kinnick’s Heisman Trophy acceptance speech in 1939. The brand name is iconic. Same goes for Nebraska’s. The Huskers’ eminent football tradition and brand name seemingly would bolster the Big Ten, and vice-versa. What’s more, a move would enhance NU’s academic reputation, which has been on the rise in the past decade and will continue to improve with the coming of Innovation Campus.
In terms of academics, Nebraska would have to adapt its football recruiting accordingly. Compared with the Big 12, Big Ten teams in general are more stringent in their academic vetting process of incoming players, according to a former Big Ten assistant who now coaches in the Big 12.
Said Barnett: “In the Big Ten, they look at everything a little closer and a little tighter.”
As one might expect, Big Ten teams are more apt to use academics in their recruiting pitch than most Big 12 schools. Whatever the case, I’m guessing the academic part of the equation wouldn’t negatively impact Nebraska. After all, Bo Pelini’s program places a major emphasis on recruiting high-character players, and the Huskers’ nation-leading list of academic All-Americans for all sports speaks for itself.
Nebraska may appreciate a few other aspects of the Big Ten.
Larger population centers mean bigger stadiums and bigger crowds than in the Big 12. The Big Ten last season ranked second among Football Bowl Subdivision conferences in average attendance at 71,769, easily ahead of the third-place Big 12 (62,875).
“I would really think that would be very appealing to a school like Nebraska,” Barnett said.
Meanwhile, the recruiting question obviously looms large. Nebraska might have to alter its stategy some. NU’s strong recent recruiting in Texas may diminish a bit, but the Huskers could compensate in other areas. They may have to shift their efforts toward the East, to places such as New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They might try to increase their presence in cities such as St. Louis, Chicago and Indianapolis.
On the other hand, Chicago, a 50-minute direct flight from Omaha, already is overrecruited, and St. Louis isn’t exactly teeming with talent.
You also have to factor in the Big Ten Network, a 24-hour national cable network that could help a school like Nebraska that recruits nationally
“Would the national appeal of the Big Ten and Big Ten Network be enough to keep your recruiting base as it is?” Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini asked. “Or, would you need to find new population centers? I will say this: Once you put your tentacles into a region, you never want to give that up. … Once it starts being neglected, it quickly goes away.
“We have started to reach our tentacles into Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. We’re not going to give those up because we have too many relationships developed there now.”
As for style of play, the Big Ten generally isn’t as wide-open offensively as the Big 12. Let’s not mince words: The “Big Ten-is-slow” stereotype came about for a reason.
We can laugh about it, but there’s an element of truth, said the former Big Ten assistant. For one, he said, much of Big Ten country is oversaturated recruitingwise. Plus, Big Ten teams often put a high priority on in-state recruiting. Those factors can add up to less overall speed and athletic ability than we see in the SEC and Big 12.
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