NYT Article on Big Ten Expansion and Conference Realignment
Interesting article on the potential ramifications should the Big Ten expand:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/sports/30bigten.html
EDIT: Forgot to mention that Bill Martin features, FWIW.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:42 AM ^
Interesting article that only 25 of 119 D1A colleges have budgets in the black, while those in debt have significant debt on average. I wouldn't mind the major conferences leaving the NCAA as the article suggests as a remote possibility. I think financially it would be more sound than to share more money with less profitable conferences and have more rules to create artificial parity.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:16 AM ^
The vague threat of NCAA sanctions for misbehavior is the only thing that keeps programs all over the country even close to doing things the right way. Just imagine what would be going on in the recruiting game at USC and Texas and LSU and Alabama and FSU and Florida if the NCAA wasn't around. It would be like Deadwood.
January 31st, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
If the major conferences left the NCAA for financial reasons, they would start a new organization. The new organization might even enforce the rules better than the NCAA and be less hypocritical and pathetic such as not letting Jeremy Bloom accept money to go towards his US Olympic ski team costs while playing CFB.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:09 AM ^
I really don't like the direction college football is going as a whole. It is nice to see that the Big Ten is putting such a huge emphasis on academic prestige. This is the way it should be.
January 31st, 2010 at 10:31 AM ^
No mention of Texas in this NYTimes, which was previously written of as a top candidate:
http://frankthetank.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/the-big-ten-expansion-inde…
It is a perfect fit academically and athletically. Geographically, it works fine. It would be a step up for them in many ways. For us, the State of Texas as a rich recruiting pool would expand greatly and for the Big 10 Network, its footprint would enlarge substantially. Opening the East Coast (esp. NYC), to our recruiting and to BTN TV revenue is huge as well but Syracuse? Rutgers? vs. Texas. It's no contest. And the Longhorns are listening.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:21 PM ^
When reading that post, you can see the merit of Texas joining. That said, no coaches or athletic directors from Texas or a Big Ten school have even addressed the possibility, so there is no reason for a newspaper to report Texas as a top-rumored candidate.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:35 PM ^
First of all - you think Texas works fine geographically? Keep in mind that they would be joining the Big Ten for all sports, and not all sports have the money to travel all the way to Austin on a regular basis. Geographically, it is the worst option anyone has presented.
Secondly, what motivation does Texas have to join? They dominate a league where they don't have to share their revenue equally, they have rivalries with a handful of Big 12 teams and no history with anyone in the Big Ten, and baseball is a major sport for Texas and the Big Ten is a glorified mid major in baseball. Texas' athletic department is one of the wealthiest in the NCAA, so they don't have a financial need to move. I'm not the first person to completely dismiss this as a possibility.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:56 PM ^
Geography is at first a problem, admittedly. but using this distance calculator: http://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/US_Distance_Calculator.asp
I discovered that the distances are not at all out of line. for example:
minn. to penn st=966 mi.
minn. to austin= 1175 mi
austin to penn st.= 966
minn. to rutgers =1179
so, while i appreciate your concern re: distance and travel expense for non-revenue sports, the problem would not be that much aggrevated with austin (a great town btw) in the loop.
as to revenue: the math, when the BTN dollars (even pre-texas) are factored in, comes out much better for Texas, even though it is shared equally with us compared to the sliding scale in the big 12.
as to history and rivalries: you got a point there, but when i talk to texas fans they only give a rat's ass about 2 schools (i think TT and A&M). anyway, they could keep those alive in their non-confernce play. after all, they have only been in the conference for what, less than 10 years? OSU and texas have something going and the rose bowl couple of years ago b/w us and texas could also be the start of something grand.
Academically, Texas has much more in common with us, nwu, ill. and the big ten generally and this is not a small consideration. Also, Austin and Ann Arbor have much more in common (attitudinally, politically, behaviorly) than Austin and any of the college towns in the big 12 (i think)
re: baseball. i have no rebuttal
bottom line: the chances here are greater than zero and should not be dismissed altogether. and that it would work, in balance, to the advantage of all parties. imho.