OT: Power 5 Expansion Warming Up?
The Big 12 has formed an expansion committee that comprises Gordon E. Gee (WVU), David Boren (Okla), and Ken Starr (Baylor). All three presidents are pro-expansion. It's no coincidence that Gee is leading that committee either. He has the experience from the B1G. Many analysts are expecting them to target Nebraska and BYU and think they will be at 12 or 14 teams by 2017 or 2018. However, I can't see that happening regarding Nebraska as they are hauling in record revenue with the B1G along with an academic windfall that goes with it.
However, a new report came out confirming that Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Kansas and Iowa State sought to join the Big Ten in 2010. As you know, Nebraska was added and the others were either left behind or joined the SEC. The article ends with an interesting sentence:
"If the predictions come true that the clock is ticking on the Big 12 sticking together, remember what we previously reported from two sources at Nebraska the Big Ten has done its "homework'' to evaluate Oklahoma and Kansas as potential members."
If you remember Delaney's comments. The B1G may continue to expand south and/or east with contiguous boundaries and AAU institutions. Oklahoma and Kansas certainly fit that model. David Boren has been outspoken this summer about expansion too. So, will we see another round of expansion soon? Say 2017 or 2018?
http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/oklahoma…
That's what I meant by "we've had our share of other issues." But, ok.
Then we'll really dominate college sports. Watch out SEC!
I don't see the need to add anyone. If you can get Texas, UNC or ND, fine. They'd make the conference better and fit academically. But adding schools just to expand makes the conference worse. There's no need to compound previous mistakes. Only thing I could go fo isr 20 schools divided into old and new divisions. No interleague play in football or basketball until the postseason.
Aren't the new ACC exit fees astronomical? I think the window to get UNC, UVA or GT has closed for the foreseeable future.
A lot of schools are going to be turned off by that. I think the Big XII is going to have to poach mid-major schools like Boise (which I'm surprised they haven't done yet, because that move feels like it'd make sense), Cincinatti, USF, or something like that.
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I would guess that they add BYU and one of SMU or Houston to get to 12. The two Florida schools would be interesting if they want to "expand their footprint," but neither really bring that much to the table outside of that. Similar deal with Cincinnati.
Boise State brings nothing but football (no other sport, not a large market, pretty far away geographically) and I wonder how long their football team stays good with Peterson gone and wonder how good it would be with stronger competition.
The good news for the Big12 is that 6 of those 7 schools would definitely say yes (does BYU want to stay independent?) and each is a reasonable if not exciting addition. So they can get to 12 and get their championship game with ease.
They have religious issues with scheduling games on certain days of the week. No big deal for football, but non-revenue sports play on Sunday's.
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They may end up in the very weak and messy AAC with UConn.
is going to accommodate their issues? Or are they just going to have to bite the bullet and play on Sunday's? My guess would be the latter if they really want in a P5. Maybe the Big 12 would take them?
I don't think there's any other way they join a P5 conference. Could happen with the Big XII.
I think OU will have trouble getting out w/out OKST tagging a long.
And no thanks on Kansas. These decsions should never have basketball as part of the consideration.
That's what they said about Texas and Texas A&M.
Sometimes, it just goes faster, as late last month when Oklahoma President David Boren called the Big 12 “psychologically disadvantaged’’ for having the smallest number of members (10) among Power Five conferences. He said the league should “strive’’ to get back to 12.
That's from the article that appeared in Omaha's paper. I found that use of "psychologically disadvantaged" rather interesting because it sounds like something that could be taken as a shot at the conference's long-term viability in the current absence of clear targets. Indeed, there are already some rumblings in the Big 12 media that the conference is by far the most unstable of the Power Five, which I could totally believe - more schools have compelling reasons to leave (if the opportunity presented itself) than to stay, it seems.
They are right. When you are surrounded by conferences with 14 schools, ten schools feels "temporary". It leaves the Big 12 unstable and ripe for poaching.
The ACC was in the same boat, but they have become a lot more stable since they expanded to keep up. There is no longer the default assumption that they will disband like there is with the big 12.
I don't see that as a show stopper. The money will get negotiated and the new money will make up the difference.
I'd rather tne B1G not expand. But if you are going to expand, I'd love to see Oklahoma and Kansas.
They are elite programs in Football and Basketball repectively, in football they add strength to the B1G West (Purdue would come East), it would re-create the historic, compelling Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry under the B1G banner, and it would balance out the over-emphasis on the East coast that the B1G has recently gone through.
It would be an excellent, strategic add for the B1G as a whole.
Yes it's true, Oklahoma and Kansas are not in the largest media markets. But at some point, every decision can't be about the last marginal dollar. The B1G is an athletic conference, not just a bunch of $$ prinitng presses.
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I agree on Rutgers, though. They are completely useless.
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but you don't need Rutgers to do it. Everyone gets top ranked players from New Jersey except for Rutgers. Michigan, OSU, and PSU basically duke it out for their best players right now it seems
but it'll go a long way to locking other conferences out of Jersey., An added plus is it gives B1G teams an additional advantage by providing kids from Jersey a chance to play in front of their families every other year (if they go to a B1G East Division School).
Ignore performance. It's that UMd is NOT a B1G culture. Frankly, it doesnt have any real culture, the DC area is pretty ambivalent to its existence. But its roots are Tobacco Road, its ultimately more of a Southern school than anything. Its campus is an eyesore. It doesn't have alumni who give a crap about any other B1G schools, except perhaps PSU. The only reason they are in the conference for athletic purposes, from UMd's perspective, is the $$$. Frankly that's basically what they said when they joined, and it was a President and AD who had virtually no historic experience with UMd or the ACC who made the decision. Their Pres was actually from Iowa. This was just a nonsense move for the B1G.
Getting those D.C. area viewers into the BTN was exactly why Maryland was brought into the Conference.
I would personally target northern ACC schools. Virginia and Virginia Tech
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Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa St, and A&M wanted in the B1G. We also know Missouri lobbied the B1G.
asked to join the Big Ten together. I'm not sure why they've been left out of this story, but the Big Ten had no interest in that OSU. Just taking Oklahoma wasn't seen as an option.
Why would taking a single team in Nebraska be differen than just taking a single OU?
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The ACC schools all granted their media rights to the conference, they can't take them with them if they leave. BC is in the same boat. Now, BC isn't exactly a football powerhouse right now but they are the sole representative of the New England market for the ACC.
Moderate academic profile (I don't believe thye are AAU). Nothing for football or basketball. No fanbase to speak of. Their chances of ever getting in the Big Ten are pretty much zero
Add Oklahoma and un-ass Penn State?
Upvote, I would be so happy to get rid of pedophile state university and their delusional joepa loving fans. They are a blemish on the B1G, nothing any of the real B1G schools has done - Ed Martin, Tattoogate, etc. - compare to the stench of what they have denied and covered up.
The Big 12 has problems, one of the biggest being Texas. Their Longhorn Network and throwing their weight around is a large part of what drove off Nebraska and Texas A & M. The conference acceptance of West Virginia shows they have no concern for either geography or academics, though several of the original schools aren't exactly academic all stars either (and West Virginia was never a realistic option for the Big Ten because of its dreadful academics). Fans and talking heads around here (I live in Oklahoma City) have been bemoaning that the conference didn't go harder after Louisville instead of West Virginia.
There are a contigent of Nebraska fans who want to rejoin the Big 12, but I have to believe a lot of that is motivated by nostalgia for a time when Nebraska football was relevant nationally. As others have pointed out, even if for nothing else, finacially and academically Nebraska is far better off now than what it was in the Big 12. The biggest losses for Nebraska were losing some recruiting strength in Texas and the rivalry with Oklahoma, but Oklahoma already considered Texas its big rival game any way.
That was lost before Nebraska went to the Big 10. When the Big 12 went to 2 divisions Nebraska and OU were in separate divisions and didn't play each other every year. They still played each other now and then but the annual rivalry had ended.
one of the power 5 conferences will get absorbed by the other 4. Right now if expansion continues as outlined here with the bgtwelve getting poached I would say the big twelve could be in danger of disappearing.
I agree with this. The ACC isn't going to fall apart, it's too powerful now and the conference now owns the media rights of its schools. The Big 12 has the Texas issue and that may prove to be its downfall. Expect the vultures to start picking it apart, starting with Oklahoma and Kansas, proceeding to Baylor and TTU (the Texas media market is big). Both the B1G and the SEC will make a push for Texas.
Oklahomas does not "fit the model" with respect to being contiguous or an AAU member, it is neither.
Somehow, I thought they were in the AAU. Turns out they aren't. However, if you add Kansas then you have your contiguous footprint.
Since Nebraska is no longer an AAU member, the precedent for adding non-AAU schools has already been set, so I don't think non-membership in the AAU would be a blocker for Oklahoma or Oklahoma State (especially since Michigan and Wisconsin voted to kick Nebraska out of the AAU and the vote took place after Nebraska had agreed to join the B1G). If anything, distance and lack of geographic contiguity is a bigger deal than non-membership in the AAU.
I think it's far more likely that the entire Big 12 is absorbed into the other 4 leagues than it is that they successfully poach Nebraska or any other Big 5 team. The Big 12 is the weak conference right now probably because it's viewed as the Texas & Co. Conference.
If Delaney wanted to, he could probably pick off half the conference before the season started
The Big 12 may fall apart long before they get lucky with a Nebraska, FSU, or Miami etc.