Maryland to big ten official

Submitted by ak47 on

Don't have a non-insider link but according to sources in MD the UMD board of regents voted today to join the big ten.  On the bright side of all of this maybe they will rename the divisions, so that might be something.  Here is the link if you are interested http://maryland.247sports.com/Article/Source-Maryland-to-the-Big-10-102…

Update: Brett Mcmurphy reporting vote to join as well and tomvh retweeted it so that counts as official for me.

Also for people hating on MD, besides bringing the baltimore/dc metro market which is the 4th largest in the country, it also brings aau membership, the third most wins in acc basketball behind only unc and duke, elite lacrosse and soccer teams on both the mens and womens side, access to the best basketball recruitng hotbed in the country, a football team that has been to the bcs more than michigan state (I just thought that was funny) and other benefits.  While its football program probably tops out at mediocare so does most of the big ten, and honestly most bcs football schools in general, I'm not happy about the move for personal reason but if the big ten wants to keep expanding there aren't really a lot of better viable options than Maryland.

MGoBoard

Needs

November 19th, 2012 at 11:47 AM ^

This is a terrible idea. 

1. If the Game is to be protected, it places Michigan at a competitive disadvantage within the division (assuming OSU is usually good). Every other team in our division will get an easier protected cross-over. Given the factor that the loser of the game will give up a half game in its division race, rematches are going to be far less common than people think.

2. It dilutes the meaning of the Game yet further and likely leads the Big 10 to move it to earlier in the year. The finality of the Game is what has given it meaning over time. The possibility of a rematch dilutes that. Moving it earlier in the year destroys it.

3. The demand to have games against the big profile teams might lead the league to abandon the protected crossover, in which case, bye bye OSU rivalry.

 

Joined: 08/05/2008

MGoPoints: 11636

GoBlueGladstone

November 19th, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^

I know that in today's conference alignments that geographic and cultural linkages are waning, but there is something creepy about a B1G school that touches saltwater.

 

I live in DC and it would be cool to catch another tailgate/game without the travel, but also, a future loss to the Terps would ruin my life forever in this area. Also, no offense, but MD automatically, they are the next to worse academic institution in the conference. Just sayin...

 

Joined: 02/02/2011

MGoPoints: 599

LSAClassOf2000

November 19th, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^

Yahoo! has a decent piece on this - (LINK)

Two interesting questions were posed:

"The potential drawbacks to Maryland's move lie in these two questions: 1. Is that windfall worth throwing away years of tradition in the ACC? 2. Will Maryland's football and basketball teams and Olympic sports be as successful in the Big Ten the next few decades as they would in the ACC?"

I suppose if I am Maryland, then the answer to the first question is that I jut looked at my books and said "yes" to this one. The athletic department's road to be out of the red by 2019 probably just became a shorter road, or at least that must be the bet they made with themselves. Also, as others have pointed out, they don't have a rival in the ACC really, though trading the chance to play Duke for the chance to play Iowa in basketball must be less than thrilling.

As for the second question, I would think that, for the foreseeable future, this is an emphatic "not at all". Despite being in a talent-rich area, they aren't a draw by most accounts, and Terrapin football's welcome to the Big Ten will probably result in a very long fist several seasons for them, whenever they are officially on board.

 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130612

mjagger

November 19th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^

Baseball head coach Eric Bakich will now be playing the program he left every year in conference play. I believe a contributing factor to the Bakich move was the lack of upgrades to their facility, as promised by the school, because of lack of funds. Big money from their portion of the BTN contract may now see those upgrades come to fruition.

Joined: 10/11/2011

MGoPoints: 1131