B1G to announce at 1pm B1G Tournament moving to DC in 2017, NYC in the future

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

I hate this conference more and more with every move they make. 

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-05-05/sports/bal-big-ten-to-play-2017-mens-basketball-tournament-in-washington-dc-20140504_1_basketball-tournament-jim-delany-barclays-center

Also: shit

Delany wouldn’t be specific, but he acknowledged that the league also will look to play its men’s basketball tournament in the New York area

“This is the next major step,” Delany said. “There will be other major steps to be announced over the next couple of months.”

LSAClassOf2000

May 6th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^

If this is headed in the direction that I believe it to be headed, then we're talking about a scenario where by 2027 or 2028, we're playing this tournament in places like Jakarta or Vanuatu or even perhaps the fourth planet orbiting the star Sirius. That will also be the time when a recently reanimated Jim Delany adds The University Of Toronto as well as Cambridge to the Big Ten. 

MLaw06

May 6th, 2014 at 11:30 AM ^

You guys are so silly.  DC and NYC are core cities where most alums of our alma mater end up.  I am sure there are more Michigan alums in NYC or DC then in Indy.  No offense to Indy, but it's not a city that is on anybody's bucket list to visit. 

I mean Chicago is a nice city, but let's be real, what is there to do in Indy.  I would much rather take a trip to NYC and DC. 

Also, Jakarta is actually a nice city.  I stopped by there on the way to Bali (which is a fantastic place to visit if you can make it out there).

Finally, Toronto and Cambridge are a step above from Rutgers and Maryland so I would make that trade if we had to.  :)   Heck, they're probably a much better fit than MSU or Iowa.

MLaw06

May 6th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^

I was comparing NYC/DC vs. Indy.  For the law school at least, the number of grads who go to Indy are in the single digits....  The career services website is some Java app format so I can't copy and paste, but yea, I can imagine it's similar for the other schools.

jmblue

May 6th, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^

There may be fewer grads in Indianapolis itself, but that's not the best way to look at it.  None of these tournaments fill up their seats with locals alone.  Any city you choose is going to be a bit of a drive for a lot of fans.  Ideally, you want to make it not too difficult of a drive.

Indianapolis is just over four hours' driving time from Ann Arbor.  That's doable.  In contrast, NYC is 10 hours by car, and DC is nine hours away.  You basically have to fly to go to those cities from Michigan, and that's a big difference.  Deciding to drive to Indy at the last minute is one thing, but deciding to drop a few hundred bucks for a plane ticket to NYC is another. 

vablue

May 6th, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^

I bet the DC tourney fills up with locals alone. Michigan teams that go to play in DC fill up with Michigan fans and that is just one state. There have not been a lot of jobs in the Midwest for two decades, there are a lot of displaced Midwesterners and many are in this region and will enjoy their chance to see the Big Ten. Now, if they did it in DC every year, I would object. But putting it in the rotation is a great idea.

DMill2782

May 6th, 2014 at 11:45 AM ^

has plenty to do. Especially when it is hosting fans coming to town to watch basketball. There are plenty of fun bars and restaurants all over downtown Indy. What should a midwest city be offering the traveling basketball fans? Whale watching? Beach time and surfing? 

Bankers Life Fieldhouse is also one of the best NBA arenas. 

Loid

May 6th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^

I am pretty sure that MLaw06 is a bright lad, seeing that he most likely has a degree from one of the nations finest law schools.  And truth be told, his equating of the bar scene to whale watching has a slight ring of truth to it.  But last time I checked, this is a basketball tournament, not a travel junket.  Indianapolis is hands down the best place in the country to host an event.  Ask any journalist who has been to Super Bowls, or Final Fours as to which town does the best job in coordinating the event, and which city has the best logistical set up to host an event.  Indianapolis comes out on top every time.  If your intent is to hobnob with other yuppies at some Georgetown bar, or pay an arm and a leg for a hotel room, much less in getting there, then NYC and DC and the destinations of choice.  If you want to watch a basketball tournament in one of the country's finest arenas that is within relatively easy driving distance of most BIG school, and you can stumble out of the arena into any number of fine drinking and dining establishments, then Indy is your place.  

MLaw06

May 6th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^

The intent of my post was not to knock Indy.  I think that Indy is a very good sports town and that's why there have been so many events there.  My point was merely to counter the OP's and the first responder's arguments that NYC and DC are bad places to hold the B1G tourney.  The argument that NYC/DC were the first steps towards eventually hosting the B1G tourney in Jakarta or wherever seemed silly to me and that's why I spoke up in defense of NYC/DC.

Sorry if I offended the Indy folks.  :(

WindyCityBlue

May 6th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^

First. Last time I checked, there are a lot more M alums in the Midwest than east coast. (This was as of 2006 - I doubt it changed much). Making Indy a desirable location for most M alums.



Second. No one will disagree that NYC/DC offer a lot more compared to Indy. It's that fact that Indy is centrally located. The BTT has a luke warm reception these days. Moving away from the core group of fans might be detrimental to attendance and unfairly favor the Rutgers/Maryland fans.

bluesalt

May 6th, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^

Rather than having the same bunch of fans there who've gotten tired of the event. I, for one, am excited to go to my 1st B1G tourney in 2017. Also, I think I'll wear my 1990's era Michigan sweatshirt with actual maize.



People hate change, I get that, but there was a time, not too long ago for me to remember, that everyone complained we had a basketball tournament at all, and we should have never changed. Now we're complaining that some years it's going to be driving distance (or Metro distance), from a different set of fans.



I honestly wonder how many fans from Minnesota, especially the poor students we always think about, could ever make it to games in Indy anyway. I doubt many, considering it's a longer drive from Minny to Indy than Ann Arbor to DC. The fact is, the original conference footprint has always been too large to accommodate everyone by just putting things in the middle. Now that the footprint has grown, there is even less reason, but don't kid yourself that Indy was fair to everyone, or even all the real Big 10 members, when it wasn't.

jmblue

May 6th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^

I honestly wonder how many fans from Minnesota, especially the poor students we always think about, could ever make it to games in Indy anyway. I doubt many, considering it's a longer drive from Minny to Indy than Ann Arbor to DC.

So we should help out those Minnesota fans by . . . putting the BTT in an even more inaccessible location for them?

Putting the BTT on the East Coast is good for exactly three of the 14 fanbases: Rutgers, Maryland and PSU. That's it.

UM2k1

May 6th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^

Also, you know, Purdue and IU have plenty of alums in Indianapolis. This isn't just about where UM alums live, but the conference overall. I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that there is a much higher number of B1G alums within a 5 hour drive of Indy than DC.

mGrowOld

May 6th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^

So is the objective to move the tourny as far away from the schools playing in it as possible while still keeping it in the lower 48?  I'm starting to think Delany saw all the empty seats watching the neutral sight games in hockey and thought "man - we've got to get some of that!"

Wolverine Devotee

May 6th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^

Moving the B1G Tournament to the East Coast means that one of their next "big steps" is adding two more East coast members. Georgia Tech and Virginia.

Just my opinion. 

Alton

May 6th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^

Rutgers makes it plausible for an otherwise reasonable person to suggest that the University of Connecticut would be a good addition to the Big Ten.  You have to hand it to Delaney, that's an accomplishment in itself.

MLaw06

May 6th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^

Rutgers played the first college football game!  Lol...  Yea, that's about it. 

The funny thing is there are more Syracuse and UConn fans in NYC, then Rutgers fans, but I guess B1G looked for geographic proximity (even though Rutgers is still 1 hour outside NYC)...

UMxWolverines

May 6th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^

Both of those schools add literally nothing to the B1G. Georgia Tech has won the ACC three times since the 60s and Virginia once. They suck. Then again they added Rutgers and Maryland...so I wouldn't be surprised. 

woomba

May 6th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^

some of you guys forget how many of us no longer live in the Midwest.

DC has one of the largest concentrations around of Big Ten Alums - attendance will be fine.

creelymonk10

May 6th, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^

Yea sure, great for the alumni in the east, but what about travel for the teams, staff, parents, students, and fans near the schools? It's a big middle finger to all of them, especially schools like Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, all with a more concentrated fan base near the school.

robpollard

May 6th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^

- UM's roster last year: http://www.umhoops.com/information/roster/

Not a single person from the East Coast. 

- Michigan State roster: http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/msu-m-baskbl-mtt.html

All from Midwest (MI/OH/IN/IL), except a guy from Wyoming.

...etc

While I am sure there are one or two (on avg) guys from VA or MD on B1G rosters, the vast, vast majority of them are from the Midwest.

This has zero to do with students and their families. Please don't perpetuate that nonsense.

woomba

May 6th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^

I'm talking about students and athletes in aggregate, not just Basketball players.

A good chunk of the student base of Big Ten universities are based on OOS students, Michigan included.  This number balloons up even higher if you include graduate students.  There's also alums who moved out of the midwest who would love to attend games closer to them.

Thinking that everyone would prefer Indianapolis to DC is nonsense.

robpollard

May 6th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^

- You said "Many students and athletes..."  My point is it is not many athletes.

- Regarding students: At U of M, which has a different than most public universities, the % of students from Michigan is still 60%. That 40% out-of-state comes from all over (every state, many countries). There is a huge concentration from NJ/NY/CT, and I'm sure hundreds of folks from VA/MD. But you know where those students will be during the B1G tourney? They will be...in Michigan. It's not much more convenient for them, just b/c their parents live in Greenwich.

- And the B1G is not just about U of M. MSU has 88% of its students in-state. Wisconsin is 75+% WI & MN students. Etc.

So this it all about "expanding the footprint" and alumni. I'm fine with alumni (I am one) but the students should be the primary consideration -- as many as reasonably possible deserve a shot to see their team.

And of course "everyone" wouldn't prefer Indianapolis. I prefer Chicago or Detroit over Indianapolis. Delaney is not calling me.

But this is just another step on the "brand building" of the B1G, that will eventually lead to not much of a brand at all. That's my point.

If you want to have alums on the east coast see games, great -- schedule non-conf games in CT, NJ, NY, MD, etc. But you don't need to add Rutgers or have your tourney (which is multiple games) far away from the vast majority of your fan base.