MGoLawyers: How difficult would it be to leave Big Ten?
I ask this because I frankly do not know and I think we need to seriously start looking into this. I know Brian referenced joining the SEC.
There is the Grant of Rights issue that ACC teams faced. Does anyone know how prohibitive the Big Ten’s GOR is?
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:44 PM ^
Will the idiocy never end?
Michigan is not going to leave the Big Ten. Just, stop.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:45 PM ^
Three years ago, the notion of USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 would have garnered a similar reaction
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:48 PM ^
USC and UCLA weren’t making boat loads of cash
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:59 PM ^
Michigan can make boatloads of cash anywhere they go.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
Boatloads of cash await Michigan wherever we go. My point is simply that conference loyalty is an illusion. The Pac-12's arrogant refusal to appreciate USC's financial importance to the conference led them to bolt with UCLA. Here, the Big Ten appears to be poised to jettison due process and levy an in-season penalty -- potentially threatening a national championship season -- all for an uncompleted investigation that traces back to an Ohio State PI firm. That's outrageous and I think it at least sparks a discussion about whether the Big Ten is the right place to be.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:09 PM ^
"Michigan should leave the Big Ten" is the MGoBlog equivalent of the "Urban Meyer to East Lansing" RCMB threads.
The Big Ten is in excellent financial health, and while Michigan might be able to do OK on its own, at least in football, that's simply not the way that school leadership or the athletic department have behaved since Yost was here (literally).
Comparisons to USC/UCLA are meaningless because the situation is nowhere near comparable.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:43 PM ^
The only reason that the B1G is in excellent financial health is because of Michigan and Ohio State. They are 70% of the media deal with Penn State and Wiscy making up another 15% and everyone else dragging down the rear.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
Agreed. This is just silly.
Edit: The fact that you're being negged for correctly responding to this absurd consideration reflects the board's declining mental health influenced by these media outlets and the likes of Pete Thamel. Stop the madness.
Bottom line: Michigan ain't leaving the Big Ten and the Big Ten ain't doing shit to Michigan until the NCAA investigation is completed.
November 3rd, 2023 at 3:52 PM ^
3rd base will still be at da ohio. Frames at penitentiary state. Sparty will still be trying to break Denard's neck, intimidating during stadium walk and attacking players in tunnels. Whisky and Illinois diving into kneecaps maliciously. AD's asking for Michigan's head on a platter and don't forget the AD vote in 1974 to send da Ohio to Pasadena so yea, let's stay in the Big 10.
November 3rd, 2023 at 11:47 PM ^
3rd base sure doesn't look as bad now. Knowing Mich cheated to win and then spewed that nonsense is rich!
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
Probably not, but the threat has to be there because most of the conference is beset by massive resentment and envy which fuels this witch hunt. This is not to say that we may not be guilty of something but it is not the capital offense that is being bandied about. At every opportunity these dipshits find a reason to complain and try to take us down a peg. It’s lost on them that only a handful of programs are major audience draws that allow them to keep their AD coffers filled. And we are one of those Big Three. We are also one of the Big Two that provides the academic halo that the others benefit from. Next year you can make a case for UCLA, USC, and Washington also contributing to both parts of the Big Ten’s glow, but overall we are still the strongest engine of the conference’s prominence.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Exactly. I doubt Michigan will exit, but any head fake in the direction of the ACC or SEC is just credible enough to make a difference as leverage. That’s the type of hardball I prefer. The kind where you can sit there, behaving with charm and equanimity (irateness is overvalued and mostly communicates weakness, IMO), while carrying a sufficiently heavy club that everyone else at the table is forced to ask and answer What If? on their own.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
Well when they are actively making it a hostile environment…we should be allowed to leave. Have they given ANY evidence yet? Like anything other than that stupid photo?
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:51 PM ^
My view is that Michigan will be in the same situation in the SEC … we will be second fiddle to Bama most years and Georgia or LSU other years !!!! If it happens going independent will be the best solution … make the teams come grovelling to us for big paydays with our tv contract!!!
November 3rd, 2023 at 6:39 AM ^
Independent in football, Big East in other sports would be my gut. The Big East not having football makes it a lot cleaner. I guess CCHA in hockey for a fun flashback.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:51 PM ^
I am looking forward to playing in the SEC and finally meeting rolldamntide.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:51 PM ^
You do realize that UM doesn't actually have to leave B1G. OSU needs UM as much as we need them. Just a threat would be enough for B1G to back off. Regardless, UM is going nowhere and this scandal is going to work itself out.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:27 PM ^
Exactly. Especially when committed to the ruse. Because any example of Big Ten brass disbelieving the lie would only drive Michigan to make it look more convincing. And the extreme logical end of that behavior is for the Big Ten to doubt to such extent that they accidentally drive Michigan away. And, in a world where Michigan were interested in earnestly trying this empty threat, I strongly expect that the Big Ten would never risk letting it go very far.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
The optics would look terrible for any conference to take us in the setting of rebuking potential punishment for what many/most people think is blatant cheating.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
Lol the SEC and ethics hardly go together smfh
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
And once UM joins the SEC, ESPN will suddenly talk about how we got jobbed by the Big Ten and the conference totally overreacted.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^
You have an excellent point, which is why independence and a thorough PR, litigation, and legislative campaign strategy needs to be concocted before we do anything. We can bide our time and then cold cock them when least expect it, the exact same courtesy they gave us.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
Optics be dammed. If your conference partners are trying to cut you off at the knee you have to respond.
Michigan football is the lifeblood of the AD. People fucking with that are fucking with the entire AD.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:13 PM ^
I think the commenter is saying that the optics for any of the now Power-4 conferences taking Michigan would be bad - It would look like they are harboring a program desperate to escape punishment. Plus, in terms of revenue-sharing, the only conference that is comparable to the B1G is the SEC, and culturally Michigan would stand out like a sore thumb with a bunch of deep south fanbases.
November 3rd, 2023 at 12:22 AM ^
What better way to welcome some certain folks to the year 2023 (of their lord, or whatever).
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:40 PM ^
“for any conference to take us”. 😂 LOL…
You sound like a 10 year old. Do you have any idea how many hundreds of millions Michigan drives from just TV revenue? Do you think Fox pays a billion dollars to the B1G to show Iowa vs Illinois?
This “scandal” is a social media creation and they can’t even get the crime straight. Is it a scandal because of sign stealing? Or because an idiot broke a rule to get a better view than the what you can get from the film review?
November 3rd, 2023 at 1:07 AM ^
The SEC would take Michigan in a heartbeat.
Michigan generates $210M/year in football revenue. (4th behind OSU at $251M, Texas at $239M, and Alabama at $214M.)
Michigan averages 4.4M viewers per game. (3rd behind OSU at 5.8M and Alabama at 5.11M.)
Big 10 would have to be complete morons to drive Michigan out.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:54 PM ^
As George Bush the Elder would say … nah gun happn. Big Ten is more profitable than any conference and with our friends from the West joining, that should continue. Only ND makes more as an independent, and I don’t see us going that route.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
Good lord. This is not happening. The better question is for the Mgoblog lawyers, who aren’t going to spend time on this anyway, is how if the big ten tried to do anything, what Michigans or Fox lawsuits could entail.
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^
It would entail Ono not caving in and throwing our coach under a bus
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:57 PM ^
SEC showdown: Michigan is playing Texas and Oklahoma
SEC Shorts had been adding Michigan
IT’S HAPPENING!!
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:57 PM ^
Now I get why Notre Dame doesn't ever want to join a conference. It's just another level of management. Might as well report directly to the empty suits. And you get to keep all your TV contract money. It's quite brilliant, actually.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:05 PM ^
If Michigan didn’t have such historic ties to the Big Ten and its member schools I think independence is actually a better option. It worked well for ND and for a long time they could credibly boast that they were the only truly national program and joining a bunch of regional schools was beneath them. In truth we were more national than ND by virtue of our academic standing and brand but were always hemmed in by our Big Ten affiliation. Most of the time being in the Big Ten has been good for us. But if we had to, we could claim the same national spotlight as ND.
November 3rd, 2023 at 4:32 AM ^
Yes, we have deep historic ties to the Big Ten, but that doesn't include whatever conference we now have that includes USC, Rutger, Maryland and UCLA. The big doesn't care about historic ties, so why should we?
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:58 PM ^
Difficult
November 2nd, 2023 at 10:59 PM ^
is it not obvious? Michigan needs to join the PAC2 to make it The Three Amigos conference
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
I like this idea. We would clearly be the El Guapo of the bunch.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:14 PM ^
Michigan would win a plethora of championships.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
With enough $$$ and enough lawyers, literally anything can be done.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:12 PM ^
The Big Ten grant of rights has got ot be at least as long as the new media deal. The "enough $$$" could easily be into the nine figures.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
None of this is going to happen but if Michigan were to leave the Big Ten, they should just go independent. The Michigan athletic department is among the wealthiest in the country and Michigan's TV ratings and massive following would land them a good media rights deal in which they'd be able to keep every penny.
On the field, the annual game with Notre Dame should be restored, a game that annoys a lot of people but is frankly mutually beneficial to both programs. Annual games with Oregon State and Washington State could also be on the schedule, with both teams likely having to move to a conference like the Mountain West or go independent themselves, creating demand to schedule strong competition.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:04 PM ^
Well, generally speaking, a school could do what it wants. It may cost somewhere between a little and a lot, which is subjective to the school.
Is Michigan a client that says it’s not about the money, it’s about the principle? Or a client that writes the check to be done with the issue and move on? Clients always say it’s about the principle until they receive the invoice.
They’re not leaving the B1G. They’re not getting any punishment this season. Hell, arguments can be made rules, as written, were not broken.
lastly, can we all stop saying ‘illegal’? nothing alleged is ‘illegal’ in a legal sense.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:30 PM ^
Chillax. When a referee calls "illegal use of hands" in a game, no one is confused and thinks that the player is getting arrested.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:08 PM ^
What would the consequences be academically to leave the B1G?
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:14 PM ^
With the (hopefully obvious) caveat that this is all REALLY unlikely...
This is (another) reason to go all-in on a national title this year. If they win it on the field, my concern about the NCAA (do they even control the CFP) vacating any victory is minimal. And if OSU is deeply involved in this investigative firm etc., I think we're maxing out the off-field drama of that particular rivalry.
A pissed-off, vindicated national champion Michigan openly flirting with the SEC, however? Yeah, sign me up, haven't seen that movie yet!
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:16 PM ^
This would never happen, but I like the idea of an all academic conference. Stanford, Cal, UM, ND, Northwestern, Virginia, UNC, Duke, Vandy. That’s 9. Another to make 10? A lot of natural rivals. The academic collaboration potential would put the B1G one to shame.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:20 PM ^
How does Syracuse stack up academically? As a lacrosse fan, the potential of your proposed conference makes me salivate...
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:42 PM ^
Not up at that level. Those schools are ones that legitimately can use use the term world-class as more than just an unjustified superlative or hyperbole. Backed up by international rankings not subject to home team bias.
November 2nd, 2023 at 11:38 PM ^
This really is the way forward as a counterweight to the Ivies but with more a more well-rounded bent. I think you could throw in UCLA definitely (begrudgingly better than us academically according to most rankings), and Texas or Wisconsin (3rd best Big Ten school)
November 3rd, 2023 at 12:31 AM ^
Georgia Tech