4 PM announcement OPEN THREAD

Submitted by wresler120 on

I have no clue what is being announced .... but we can discuss afterwards

michgoblue

December 28th, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^

I think that with all of the build up here about the announcement, it would be kind of funny if DB announced something like the hiring of an assistant trainer for the field hockey team.

SAvoodoo

December 28th, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

BrewCityBlue

December 28th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^

wait to see what it is. I've been waiting all day in anxious anticipation. 

My only hope is that it is some sort of Big 10 and Pac12 conference scheduling agreement for the future, and that they don't start it until at least 5-6 years from now. 

But who am I kidding, why on earth would that happen?!?!? Oh well

triangle_M

December 28th, 2011 at 4:08 PM ^

Park Ridge, Ill., and Walnut Creek, Calif. – With a history of Rose Bowl competition dating back more than a century, the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced today a collaborative effort to enhance long-term scheduling commitments between the two conferences across all sports amongst the 24 institutions.

The new Big Ten-Pac-12 collaboration will feature more games between the two conferences in an effort to enhance the experiences for all student-athletes, fans and alumni while broadening the national scope of both conferences. Details of the new effort will continue to unfold as administrators and conference staff members meet in the coming year.

“As other conferences continue to grow through expansion, we believe there is great merit in deepening the historic relationship between the Big Ten and Pac-12,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “We believe that both conferences can preserve that sense of collegiality and still grow nationally by leveraging our commonalities in a way that benefits student-athletes, fans and alumni. This collaboration can and will touch many institutional undertakings, and will complement our academic and athletic missions.”

“Through numerous conversations over the past several months with stakeholders from the Big Ten and Pac-12, we decided there would be great value in building upon the history and collegiality that exists between our member institutions, by initially committing to an increased frequency of play between our schools in all sports,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.

In football, the objective is to create an annual 12 inter-conference game schedule between the two conferences by the 2017 season. The plan calls for each school to play an opponent from the other conference every year with some flexibility built into the process to respect existing post-2017 FBS non-conference match-ups. Additionally, more inter-conference games are expected to appear sooner based on schedule openings. Many sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, could see an increased level of inter-conference competition in the near term, possibly as early as the 2012-13 academic year. Over the coming months there will be a series of detailed scheduling planning meetings among administrators of both conferences to work out exact details.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 share culture, tradition, values and a rich history of intercollegiate competition, dating back to the inaugural Rose Bowl Game in 1902. The two conferences have met in Pasadena on 62 occasions, including 55 consecutive meetings from 1947-2001. Both the Big Ten and Pac-12 have strong commitments to diversity, gender equity and the sponsorship of broad-based programs, with over 17,000 student-athletes competing on more than 550 teams between the two conferences.

In addition, the Big Ten created the first national conference-owned television network, the Big Ten Network (BTN), which was launched in 2007 and is now in its fifth year of operation. The Pac-12 will be launching its own television network in August 2012. Both networks will be able to provide national coverage to a number of the inter-conference competitions.

maizenbluedevil

December 28th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^

Great move.

It essentially gives both conferences more of a national reach, without all of the pain-in-the-ass travel involved in a national conference.  Keeps both conferences geographically intact, keeps things practical, yet gives both a broader reach through promoting each other on the TV networks, etc.

Plus as others mentioned, this maybe forces ND's hand.  Perhaps they will replace Penn St.  This agreement makes the B10 a natural fit for ND's schedule as it is anyways.

Huma

December 28th, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^

I have to say that this is a brilliant move.  I wonder if those football games will be excluded from each conference's ESPN/ABC deal and instead be broadcast on the B1G or Pac 12 networks.  Perhaps the two networks will do something similar to Fox / CBS for NFL games, whereby the away team's network will broadcast the game ...