Johns Hopkins Actually (maybe) Joining B1G?

Submitted by maizeonblueaction on

I know this came up earlier, and I don't know how much play it got. Anyway, everyone kind of thought it was a pipe dream, but dig this new-ish article: http://www.maizenbrew.com/2013/5/18/4341600/Johns-Hopkins-Big-Ten-lacrosse-conference-realignment

One potential snag is that they want to keep their ESPNU deal, and also join for a five year trial period, but jumping the hurdle of them actually deciding they want to join a conference is huge (a la Notre Dame), and they have done that. They might seem like a stronger fit with the ACC with their lacrosse focus, but if their intention in joining a conference is finding one they can get to the tournament with, the B1G is the better fit, as it's probably weaker overall, and there is some fit with the new Mid-Atlantic members as well as new Midwestern recruiting grounds. It's looking like this could really happen.

EDIT: From late April: http://www.collegecrosse.com/2013/4/29/4280178/conference-realignment-big-ten-b1g-lacrosse-conference-johns-hopkins-maryland/in/3696323. Apparently Gene Smith said the B1G would bring in an affiliate member for lacrosse. So there.

DISCUSS Man

June 1st, 2013 at 11:49 PM ^

If you think Michigan has it rough now, oh boy. 

They're 2-26 in two years and would be playing in a conference with powers maryland, johns hopkins and good ohio and penn state program.

 

The Carter 16

June 2nd, 2013 at 12:19 AM ^

They layed a pretty good foundation winning 3 consecutive club national championships iirc and they can recruit nationally now that they've joined the NCAA ranks. Additionally, playing in a conference w other elite teams enhances our chances of drawing elite talent

maizeonblueaction

June 2nd, 2013 at 12:13 AM ^

are basically saying it's the ACC or B1G at this point (note the 2015 conference start date), and the issue with the ACC is that if JHU's entire issue with this year was getting an autobid, it won't be easier in the ACC, with all the traditional powers. Plus, they will have Maryland as a conference game, and enough scheduling flexibility to still get all the ACC teams they want.

Michigan Arrogance

June 2nd, 2013 at 1:09 AM ^

well, if anyone didn't already know this, I'd say adding johns hopkins to the B10 is all the evidence you need that expansion has nothing to do with 1)football, 2)TV sets, 3) academic "fit"

 

it's all about research dollars from the fed government. these moves are all Billion dollar moves and anyone thinking it's about the tens of millions from TV, football or anything else is being small minded

Don

June 2nd, 2013 at 5:44 AM ^

The academic "fit" is perfect, since all conference members have been AAU members. Nebraska was a member when it joined the conference, but was booted out in a move orchestrated by Texas in revenge for leaving the Big 12.

JH has for years been one of the major research institutions in the country; in FY 2009, Johns Hopkins received $1.856 billion in federal research grants—more than any other US university. The conference presidents would naturally be enthusiastic about JH enhancing the already-strong research bona fides of the conference.

I'm not sure I agree that points 1 and 2 aren't also relevant in expansion overall, but obviously you're right that they're irrelevant in this case.

All that said, I'm not crazy about their joining since it would be solely for men's lacrosse. While the Big Ten has always placed a strong emphasis on academics when considering adding members, it's also an athletic conference, and JH is never going to be able to field the broad range of athletic programs that all current conference members do.

Michigan Arrogance

June 2nd, 2013 at 9:00 AM ^

AFA academic fit goes... i'm not sure we can reasonably get more divergent than Neb and Johns Hopkins.

i mean, LCC and Oxford U have more differences, but let's not go down the yellow brink road.

WTF is the difference b/t letting ND in for non-football  and JHU for Lax only? If the B10 is willing to do this, we might as well have let ND in as a non-football member. Except ND brings nothing to this conference when the football team is excluded.

I suppose we might as well pick thru the top universities in reaseacrch dollars and just send out recruiting offer letters to see who has interest.

MIT

CIT

WASHU

CWRU

U Rochester

CarMellonU

Tufts

RIT

RPI

Fuck it- admit the whole SUNY system into the B10 and have each campus compete in different sports- Stoney Brook in Baseball, Albany in lax, Buffalo in football, etc.

all this is is a grab at gaining the highest market share of federal research dollars.

lilpenny1316

June 2nd, 2013 at 9:44 AM ^

Outside of football, they're more of a regional brand.  You don't have people turning on TV sets in Cali and Texas to root against ND hoops or hockey.

JHU would immediately give a new B1G conference two national title contenders in them and Maryland.  You're getting a quality product on the field and the casual lacrosse fan would be more likely to turn on BTN to watch them as opposed to two fledgling lax programs.

Federal research dollars are a factor, but football is still the driving force behind all this realignment.  

snarling wolverine

June 2nd, 2013 at 11:02 AM ^

WTF is the difference b/t letting ND in for non-football and JHU for Lax only?

JHU makes no pretense of being a serious sports school overall. Lacrosse is one of the only sports they care about. ND OTOH really does care about sports, especially football - and football is the main thing that is appealing about them. (They're actually quite mediocre when it comes to bringing in research money.) ND without the football is a waste of time.

Come On Down

June 2nd, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^

But I don't see how you can argue that the wave of expansion that has happened across the country in the last few years isn't primarily motivated by football revenues. To give one example, Maryland has openly admitted that one of the reasons it is coming to the Big Ten is that the extra money from the Big Ten Network (which comes almost entirely from football) will help stabalize its athletic program. The impact of research dollars is not uniform accross conferences, but the conference realignment has hit everybody equally.

It's possible that there is more than one reason why individual schools choose to move but the idea that football and television have nothing to do with it is a little absurd.

Perkis-Size Me

June 2nd, 2013 at 2:13 AM ^

From a money and research funds perspective, it doesn't get any better than Johns Hopkins. Don't know if they add anything on the field other than lacrosse. Personally I'd rather have UVA as they're more of a complete package with academics and athletics. But that's why I'm not in charge.

UMgradMSUdad

June 2nd, 2013 at 7:00 AM ^

There are a few sports where it makes sense (from an athletic standpoint) to allow schools to join the B1G for just one sport, and Lacrosse is one of those.  If it helps both Michigan Lacrosse and in research dollars, I'm all for it.  It's not like a Notre Dame, who doesn't have the research dollars and who wants to keep its one most marketable athletic program independent.

I'm a bit leery of allowing JHU to keep a separate ESPN deal, but it's not like allowing a team to do that with football or basketball, which would be a huge mistake.

Mr. Robot

June 2nd, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^

So if they joined for just one sport, why are we so sure they're going to get into the CIC?

I mean, it would be great if we DID allow them in, but what's stopping us from doing that anyway? The CIC still has Chicago in it, and whether JHU joins the conference for lacrosse or not, they certainly aren't affiliated with another major conference in any way, so they could just let them in anyway. While it is practically speaking all the B1G schools, its not like they couldn't make an exception if they wanted to.

Also, if the conference is willing to take on an affiliate member for sports only a handful of schools are sponsoring...

WHY THE HELL DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO GET A HOCKEY CONFERENCE!?

Don

June 2nd, 2013 at 11:00 AM ^

Excellent question. It might depend on what the administration at JH wants—a full membership in the conference in all academic matters, or literally just the athletic/lacross component.

I'd guess the reason that membership was extended to Chicago was due to its original founding membership in the conference. The fact that the conference is headquartered in Chicago might have helped too.

I think the ACC is a better fit for JH myself.

maizeonblueaction

June 2nd, 2013 at 11:09 AM ^

the ACC is probably a better fit, both in terms of lacrosse strength, and regional stuff. The issue is that they finally decided to join a conference because they couldn't get an autobid independently, so they want a chance at a conference tournament. The opinion seems to be that if they go into a way low conference, such as the new Big East, they only play bad teams, thus hurting their brand perception, as well as not having much of a relationship with the schools themselves. However, if they join the ACC, they basically play all top-5 lacrosse teams within the conference, and that doesn't help their autobid plan. The B1G actually offers the balance of strong overall brands, while offering games that are very winnable for them in general.