Per Jeff Ermann (inside MD sports), UNC offered spot in B1G
February 19th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
I don't have a solution that has any chance in the real world, since the things I value don't coincide with what Delaney and apparently most other Big Ten fans favor. I don't give a damn about expanding the footprint at all costs, which means I would have much preferred Pitt and Missouri enter the conference than Maryland and Rutgers.
As far as UNC being more similar than I'd think, you're not just bringing a school, you're bringing its fans and therefore its region. My Dad lived in NC for about 15 years, and the idea that North Carolina culturally is remotely similar to the midwest would have made him laugh.
Regardless, I fully expect the conference to go to 16, and I agree that academically UNC and UVA are the best plausible match. There are only so many AAU members that are free to move, and I think GT is completely nuts as a possible addition. I'd argue that Syracuse would make sense geographically as long as we've got PSU, Maryland, and Rutgers, but Syracuse dropped out of the AAU in 2011 due to a dispute over how to count non-Federal research dollars.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^
As far as UNC being more similar than I'd think, you're not just bringing a school, you're bringing its fans and therefore its region. My Dad lived in NC for about 15 years, and the idea that North Carolina culturally is remotely similar to the midwest would have made him laugh.
Totally, totally agree with this. There's more to being a "good cultural fit" than "hey, we both have good athletics and academics" otherwise Cal-Berkeley or UCLA would fit right in with all these Midwestern schools too.
February 19th, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^
It goes both ways really. People move a little slower, no one is in a hurry. Its more about what you don't say than what you do say. But Chapel Hill and Ann Arbor are very similar. Both are full of hippies, greeks, geeks, good music and good food. Both have vibrant campus life and strong traditions.
There are plenty of differences though. I'd say Ann Arbor has a much stronger appreciation of the arts than Chapel Hill. It doesn't seem like its worked its way into the fabric of campus like it has in Ann Arbor. Michigan's campus also dwarfs Carolina's.
You get outside Wake/Orange/Durham County and it is the South-and I mean tobacco chewin, dog-huntin, we don't take kindly to strangers comin round these here parts South.
Personally, I would love the addition of UNC to the B1G.
February 19th, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^
I would love to add UNC and Duke. As a fan of the athletic teams and a non-former or current student of Michigan, I don't really care about academics. Of course I want them to be high, but don't care if they slip any. As a fan, I care about winning. Bringing the UNC and Duke basketball programs to the Big Ten would be awesome.
February 19th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^
Assuming we are going to 16 at least, UNC makes more sense than any of the schools we've added so far, probably even including Nebraska because of academics and research. UNC adds an entire state's tv market, a top-notch school with a similar profile to Michigan (public ivy, though less out-of-state), and good-to-great sports (Lacrosse and Basketball AND Baseball, with football that is certainly no worse than Purdue, Illinois, etc.).
What will be tough, unfortunately, is for all of the other sports not-football. This will be killer travel if the conference extends from Lincoln to NYC to Chapel Hill (and possibly even Atlanta). Just really hard on the players to have to go on the road so far away. For #16, my money is on GT, because UVA doesn't add any new tv markets even though it is geographically and academically (slightly) better. Fan base aside, Atlanta will show every GT game, and that's a lot of people.
February 19th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
When are we adding the University of Delhi? THINK OF ALL THE TV SETS IN INDIA
February 19th, 2013 at 5:04 PM ^
Watch out, that one guy who always brings up lacrosse on here will get mad. Everyone knows U of D doesn't have a team and has no recruiting talent in the area. If they're not a lacrosse power, we don't want them in the B1G.
~Herm
February 19th, 2013 at 5:09 PM ^
I heard they have a kick ass field hockey team.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
UNC and UVA would be about as good as you can get. Given that though, I'd still rather go back to 12
February 19th, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^
Late last year, Adam Rittenberg came up with an interesting blog entry on "getting smart" about Big Ten expansion (LINK), and it mentions four points which he considered part of the Big Ten's reasoning.
The one that is interesting, but it does put the notion of adding UNC and UVA in a more interesting light, is population and demographics as a driver, not on-field performance in revenue sports necessarily. I would imagine that the Big Ten would love to expand in the Midwest, but following the population (and a considerable number of its alums and fans) makes much more financial sense. He also mentions AAU membership as a key consideration as well. It's an interesting entry and does help make sense of expanding in a southeasterly direction.
I have to wonder if anyone in the ACC even considering leaving is wondering where the ACC / Maryland lawsuit will go. The judge in North Carolina refused to throw out the suit today, I believe. I have to believe that any school would be hesitant to leave until that is sorted out.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^
UNC wouldn't be a bad addition. Weakening the ACC is good for America.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
So, when we go to 20 teams we could pretty much have Big Ten (Old) and Big Ten (New) as our divisions.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:51 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 6:02 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 6:15 PM ^
Damn right.
February 19th, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 6:44 PM ^
No SEC member wants to add more schools from their home state and they are looking at expanding their footprint too. VT and NCSt are far more likely to end up in the SEC. They would give the SEC a presence in every southern state.
February 19th, 2013 at 10:05 PM ^
I don't know if having the University of Florida in Gainsville delivers the entire state. FSU in the panhandle and Miami are totally different markets, and much larger than those of the schools you mention.
Didn't we just have a thread discussing fans of MSU or UM not being fans of the other? Why would fans of Florida be interested in Miami or FSU games? Would delivering the Blacksburg market bring more than Miami or Tallahasse (nobody in northern Virginia cares about VaTech)? Really?
Oh, and nobody really cares about NC State down in North Carolina. The Big Ten certainly aren't courting them, are they? Nobody is courting NC State, now or ever in the history of everything. There is a reason.
February 19th, 2013 at 10:10 PM ^
I wonder what David Glen is going to do with his crappy ACC sports journal. I like that guy the least of all the terrible 99.9 personalities.
February 20th, 2013 at 10:30 AM ^
The BTN is on the standard cable packages statewide in every state they have a team. That's how they make a lot of their money and it's driving them into new states. That's why Pitt was never going to get invited. Dollars to doughnuts the SEC network is going to aim for the same kind of deals. Adding FSU and Miami would boost ratings a bit, but it wouldn't add significantly to their subscriber base. Adding NCSt and VT would. I think the SEC would prefer UNC and UVA, just like the B1G, but VT and NCSt are the obvious second choices. Aside from that, UF would be dead set against adding other Florida schools. USC doesn't want Clemson and UGA doesn't want GT. Those schools would almost certainly vote as a block against adding FSU and MIami.
February 19th, 2013 at 6:53 PM ^
for several years, it is crazy to watch the conference unravel at the seams. It is a direct effect of taking in Miami. They are a cancer.
I would love to have a reason to road trip down to Chapel Hill to watch Michigan/UNC matchups in football. Hearing the Dukies bitch would be icing.
February 19th, 2013 at 6:07 PM ^
Whats going to happen with the conference name? Is it going to stay the same no matter what?
February 19th, 2013 at 6:14 PM ^
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
February 19th, 2013 at 7:14 PM ^
A Rose... presented by Citi
They can't even revert to calling it the Western Conference if they add a bunch of east coast schools.
February 19th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^
February 20th, 2013 at 11:28 AM ^
If the B1G goes to 20, the name still applies. It would be the 2 Big Ten Divisions. Maybe this is why they didn't give up on the name. They knew it would be relevant again soon enough.
February 19th, 2013 at 6:36 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 6:41 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^
Spring sports absolutely fly places. I dropped a couple softball players at the airport last week and picked them up Sunday night.
February 19th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 10:50 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
I'm looking at AD (D1, but non-M) paid tags on AD provided baggage as I write this, dated 2/13. For my girlfriends trip to a softball tournament this weekend, they paid for parking at the airport, a certain number of pounds of luggage, airline tickets, food at the airport and transportation from the destination airport to their hotel, and then all of that stuff for the return home as well.
Schools like Michigan do this for every trip over a certain number of hours/miles; she doesn't get to fly as much as Michigan baseball does, and they do travel long distances on buses, but they definitely get plane tickets for their furthest conference games and every tournament.
February 19th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^
Florida Leaving the SEC would be like Mattison leaving Michigan.
February 20th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
This happened in 1997.
February 19th, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^
I can't see UNC going anywhere without Duke. FOr those saying that "it wouldn't be a big deal, just do out of conference games," no. Would you be ok with Michigan and Ohio State being in different conferences? Of course not. No amount of OOC games would make that ok. Michigan-Ohio State is the biggest football rivalry in sports, but the UNC-Duke rivalry is transcendent onto another level. They are 8 miles away. We share the same dry cleaners and apartment complexes. They're private, we're public. The basketball rivalry speaks for itself. It would be a HUGE deal to lose UNC-Duke. They are the yin to our yang.
February 19th, 2013 at 11:41 PM ^
It would be a huge loss, but isnt that what happen to the ND rivalry? I know its nothing like Michigan vs Ohio or UNC vs Duke, but its still (*was) a pretty big deal... it goes to show you that for the right price schools are willing to kiss tradition bye-bye
February 19th, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^
February 19th, 2013 at 11:32 PM ^
is Syracuse out of the question if the conference expands to 20?
February 19th, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
Something about this NC to B1G deal feels like an unsubstantiated rumor to me.
The internet is abuzz over a tweet. Various websites and forums are repeating the tweet, and it's as though an announcement from the school and the Conference were made.
It may be that I'm wrong but it just doesn't have the feel of real news.
February 19th, 2013 at 11:39 PM ^
I can tell you that every UNC grad I know is praying that its not true
February 20th, 2013 at 12:19 AM ^
UNC and UVA are the crown jewels of the ACC. If they go the league falls apart. People down here seem to be ignoring it, though. Which is probably best as it hasn't been substantiated yet.
My wife and her sister, both UNC alumni, hate the idea of it. More because of Southern pride than anything else I'm afraid - carpetbagging and all of that. Yeah . . . they still take that shit seriously. I always tell them if they had the talent down here then they wouldn't need us yankee's to do it for them. I am not a popular guy at times.
February 20th, 2013 at 10:17 AM ^
Even Ermann has tweeted that he didn't say NC was coming to the B1G, though he insists they have an offer.
I really don't see this happening. It might be fun if it did, but no.
February 20th, 2013 at 7:59 PM ^
From what it sounds like, they were given an offer. Ermann isnt the only one reporting this.
UNC has to be interested in leaving... I seriously doubt an offer was given without having some sort of conversation with school officials
February 21st, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
Swofford is a UNC alumnus as well. Living in the triangle you have to be aware of the criticisms the NC State people (and others) have for him - being UNC-centric. Its hard for me to believe UNC isn't being transparent with Swofford. He's too well connected to have an end-run like this upset his empire, even as weakly as it seems to be put together today.
February 20th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^
February 20th, 2013 at 12:16 AM ^