College sports has always been about show me the dollars. It was just going into the NCAA's pockets.
Conference Realignment
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altenberger22
- South Carolina
KEVIN! = classic!!!
I am a little puzzled why so many on here want to separate Mich/MSU into different divisions when they are only an hour away from each other. Most of the other so-called rivalries have quite a bit more distance between them and (in the minds of MSU fans) their biggest rivals are UM.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
I predict they'll never be separated. Pretty important to keep decades-long rivalries intact. (Not sure we really have a rivalry that equates to either MICH/OSU or MICH/MSU.) As such, we would theoretically be a pawn piece to help ensure overall equity and balance.
I found this little tidbit interesting from this podcast...
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Other than the Covid snafu where they created a dumb rule then smartly fixed it at the end of the season to allow OSU to play in the championship, what has Warren done to earn the intense hatred? Is it because he's a commissioner and that's what we do (I can get behind this) or is he legitimately terrible at his job? Being as he was the highest ranking black executive in the history of the NFL, I assume it's likely the former.
*And ruling Michigan as the regular season basketball champions is not enough to show incompetence as many suggest.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I would say it's that everything that's happened over the past year has been communicated about and executed in a completely hamfisted way, even in instances where the results (i.e. the OSU example cited above) ended up being, on balance, ok. Off the top of my head, we had Josh Whitman feeling compelled to go scorched earth re: the basketball standings, you had Nebraska publicly threatening to go play somewhere else, you've Gene Smith making that snipe above....these things just cannot happen in a league that is being effectively run and that is earning the trust of its members.
as a league, we were really spoiled with the 30 years of Delaney.
Warren gets the job for various reasons, and now we find out he wasnt even on the original 3 or 5 person short list. oh well, that alone is not enough to dislike him , but the Covid hiccup and how it effected college sports required someone to really take charge and lead, and he did everything but.
our league gets postponed while his own son is simultaneously playing in the SEC
kowtows to Mich scheduling crap re mid season covid break and then tops that and screws us out of 1st Place
doesnt know Bret Bielemas name nor our school name at the presser last week
these are just things off the top of my head in 5 mins
Warren was not cut out for the job. its obvious . he should go now.
he might be a nice guy, but so is my garbageman
Warren gets the job for various reasons, and now we find out he wasnt even on the original 3 or 5 person short list. oh well, that alone is not enough to dislike him , but the Covid hiccup and how it effected college sports required someone to really take charge and lead, and he did everything but.
our league gets postponed while his own son is simultaneously playing in the SEC
kowtows to Mich scheduling crap re mid season covid break and then tops that and screws us out of 1st Place
doesnt know Bret Bielemas name nor our school name at the presser last week
these are just things off the top of my head in 5 mins
Warren was not cut out for the job. its obvious . he should go now.
he might be a nice guy, but so is my garbageman
Buck Turgidson
- Massachusetts
Totally agree on the Delaney point. He was always a step ahead of the other conference commissioners. He was playing 3D chess while the others were playing Pong
Having that kind of vision would have been valuable before UT and OU bolted...and moreso now that we're forced to react (or not)
Delaney was a neighbor of mine - not next door but a few blocks away
his youngest son played on the flag football team I co-coached when our lads were in 3rd or 4th grade
he was always nice & pleasant and he was very soft spoken at the practices and the games.
I suspect he was similarly mannered at business meetings but simply knew his stuff so much that he was a step ahead of most in the room
either that, or he had a heckuva buddy(ies) at the various networks and or at the consulting outfit the league used for advice on stuff like that.
but we were pretty lucky to have him . no one knew much about him when he took over for Wayne Duke in 1989.
I really wished we would have hired Jim Phillips before the ACC did.
all that said, the league is not letting Warren steer the ship thru these choppy waters right now. seems like Alvarez and a few others are on a committee that will study this and bring suggestions to the league in due time . I also wish we had a Univ President that not only understood the politics and finances of research money, but understood the importance of sports to a schools alumni and students . We've been kind of cursed with people who ONLY care about the research side of things and view sports as a bother. Boy , do I miss Ikenberry.
his youngest son played on the flag football team I co-coached when our lads were in 3rd or 4th grade
he was always nice & pleasant and he was very soft spoken at the practices and the games.
I suspect he was similarly mannered at business meetings but simply knew his stuff so much that he was a step ahead of most in the room
either that, or he had a heckuva buddy(ies) at the various networks and or at the consulting outfit the league used for advice on stuff like that.
but we were pretty lucky to have him . no one knew much about him when he took over for Wayne Duke in 1989.
I really wished we would have hired Jim Phillips before the ACC did.
all that said, the league is not letting Warren steer the ship thru these choppy waters right now. seems like Alvarez and a few others are on a committee that will study this and bring suggestions to the league in due time . I also wish we had a Univ President that not only understood the politics and finances of research money, but understood the importance of sports to a schools alumni and students . We've been kind of cursed with people who ONLY care about the research side of things and view sports as a bother. Boy , do I miss Ikenberry.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
But do we need to react? I mean assuming everyone in the B1G has given a vote of confidence and will stay put. I don't think $$ wise we are in a worse situation when the cards fall, if anything the opportunity to add Kansas among others might benefit us.
Buck Turgidson
- Massachusetts
I think standing pat is a very real probability. But if USC has reached out (per the podcast NEIlliniFan posted), you have to listen. And if the PAC12 dominos then start to fall, we don't want to be caught reacting. We'll want to be out front to get the best package we can
If we can add the top teams from the PAC, there is no way we can pass that up.
word is that both UT and OK reached out to us when they contacted the SEC. I had heard that OK not being in the AAU was a deal breaker. Those two schools wanted to be a package deal and then got serious with the SEC.
the good thing about the B1G, is schools (ones we want and ones we dont want) tend to contact us before they contact anyone else. I really doubt that anyone is going to change leagues without reaching out to us first. that said, you dont just sit around waiting to react. you do what you can "legally" do if you want to talk to a school. I have to imagine back channel communication has been had with A & M , and they probably called us first. not that they are leaving the SEC, but they need to know what their options are. They are not happy about UT going in to their league in 3-4 years
the good thing about the B1G, is schools (ones we want and ones we dont want) tend to contact us before they contact anyone else. I really doubt that anyone is going to change leagues without reaching out to us first. that said, you dont just sit around waiting to react. you do what you can "legally" do if you want to talk to a school. I have to imagine back channel communication has been had with A & M , and they probably called us first. not that they are leaving the SEC, but they need to know what their options are. They are not happy about UT going in to their league in 3-4 years
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
It's been said both in this thread and elsewhere, but it seems like the school to watch now is USC. They're the entity/brand being hurt the most by the PAC-12's underachievement both on-field and in TV negotiations. They're also private and would have greater freedom of movement in the event they did make up their mind to look elsewhere. Then, obviously, if they were to make a move, that destabilizes the PAC-12 and all bets are off.
We're (understandably) putting Kevin Warren under a microscope, but the PAC-12 has a new commissioner too, and he's got a much tougher sell because he's trying to dig out of a hole of years of mismanagement.
Edit to add: I see this is pretty much what @Buck Turgidson already said a few posts up.
We're (understandably) putting Kevin Warren under a microscope, but the PAC-12 has a new commissioner too, and he's got a much tougher sell because he's trying to dig out of a hole of years of mismanagement.
Edit to add: I see this is pretty much what @Buck Turgidson already said a few posts up.
I think if we are able to get USC (and maybe Stanford) , it makes our league REALLY attractive to ND. throw A&M in there somewhere too and we are large and in charge . I think KU is outta luck if we get to 20 with who we really want.
Gritty, I love the idea of keeping the traditional rivalries so that the conference can emulate the success of the Ivy League. That tradition is truly the secret sauce, what makes college football more popular than any other sport besides the NFL.
And why would anyone object if the conference exited the national playoffs to crown their own champion? Traditionally, multiple champions were crowned in football. I love that you're bringing football back to her roots.
Also, traditionally, Big Ten schools didn't make so much money off of college sports. And here you go, splitting up the pie to the have nots of the Big XII and beyond.
Bold. Forward thinking while backward thinking at the same time! Love it, love it, love it.
Makes you wonder how many (if any?) ADs were actually in favor of Warren.
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
OSU and scUM, at least retroactively.
we will never know
they hash out their agreement/disagreement on issues in private, then do a show of hands on the down low and then try their best to have unanimous on the record votes. no one wants to be officially against the hiring of the new Commish.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
For 15 years after I retired from full time work, I travelled about 60 days a year for a company in St Louis covering a lot of SEC country. I had a client in Columbia Mo who was a big supporter of Mizzou football.
Just before they left the B12, I remember him telling me that "Texas destroys every conference they are a part of"
He of course meant their demands for preferential treatment, the Longhorn network, not having to share that money, blah blah blah. To quote Tony Soprano lets talk about "the 500 pound elephant in the room". Do you really see Bama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia letting Texas call the shots. Mizzou and Texas A&M left the Big12 to get away from Texas. This is a marriage not for love but money., Do you really see Texas steamrolling those other schools in football, basketball.
There has always been a undercurrent in Texas thinking that we are no longer the national power we once were because the conference we are in is not worthy of us. Watching this could be fun.
Just before they left the B12, I remember him telling me that "Texas destroys every conference they are a part of"
He of course meant their demands for preferential treatment, the Longhorn network, not having to share that money, blah blah blah. To quote Tony Soprano lets talk about "the 500 pound elephant in the room". Do you really see Bama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia letting Texas call the shots. Mizzou and Texas A&M left the Big12 to get away from Texas. This is a marriage not for love but money., Do you really see Texas steamrolling those other schools in football, basketball.
There has always been a undercurrent in Texas thinking that we are no longer the national power we once were because the conference we are in is not worthy of us. Watching this could be fun.
I worked at Nebraska for 8 years, and football drowns everything else out. I had been gone for a few years when Nebraska joined the B1G, and count me among those who thought it was a weird move. It made little sense geographically, didn't open a new TV market, other than Omaha/Lincoln, and didn't bring a significant level of competition into the conference. Academically, UNL is not the equal of most other B1G schools, so I just didn't see the draw of adding them to the conference besides a fan base that will travel to the ends of the earth to watch the Huskers play. Husker fans used to love the Texas and Oklahoma games, and those were proper rivalries back in the day when Nebraska football was a thing. Now, they try to get excited about playing Iowa, but it's not the same. Financially, for Nebraska, it was a good move to join the B1G. But that's about it.
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