Conference Realignment

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#27      
AutoPoster 3000
These Texas/Oklahoma rumors bring to mind this old dream I have—which of course will never happen—where the Big Ten expands to 20 and then splits into two divisions, one of which is composed exclusively of the ten schools that made up the conference from 1949 until 1990 and play each other every year. Call that the Original Division. The other one could be called the Revenue Generators From Defunct Eastern Conferences And Nebraska Division.
 
#28      
champaignchris
GilThorpe said:
football drives the conference expansion bus. Basketball is a far second
with the B1G, its all about eyeballs they can bring to the B1G Network.

the B1G would love to get into the state of Florida, but :
UF isnt leaving the SEC
Miami has too few eyeballs
FSU is not academically strong enough
UCF is not prestigious enough of an institution - nfw

hence, Gtech and UVa and/or UNC make most sense to us
ND isnt coming, had their chance and blew it. Unless Warren has contacts there and can do this thru back channels, but there is a lot of bad blood from the B1G side on this , that I dont see it.
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This is exactly right. The ACC is the direction the Big10 would try to expand.
 
#29      
the juiceman cometh
RockfordIllini said:
Would Notre Dame deign to lower itself to be a member of the same conference as those “other” schools in the state?
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I'm married to an ND alum and I can tell you, the ND fanbase, or at least a large portion of it, would never want to join the Big Ten due to slights from the days of yore. It's silly, but that fanbase lives in the past like no other, so what do you expect?
 
#30      
TarheelIllini
Big Ten South Division:
Virginia, Virginia Tech, UNC, NC State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Clemson

There will be a bidding war over Clemson, and Big Ten may win because Clemson will want to avoid Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia until a playoff.
 
#32      
Go Nats 88 Illini
Big Ten wants markets (hence the Rutgers and Maryland additions). UVA/VT would not build on that much. Further south would (as of course would Texas - but not happening).
 
#33      
Shief
I heard this rumor on the way home from a work trip, would not be surprised if this story has some legs.

If B1G goes to 16, I would go after Notre Dame (1), Virginia (2), Missouri (3), Kansas (4), and Iowa State (5), in that order. Virginia would be a good eastern add, Notre Dame could be east or west (depending if Virginia comes), and the other schools are definitely west. If we get west only teams, then Purdue or Northwestern go to the B1G East.

If B1G goes to 20, I would go after the same schools plus North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State. We should pick 3 schools from the west (KU, MU, & ND or ISU) and 3 from the east (UVA, UNC, & Duke or GT).

Let the realignment insanity begin.
 
#34      
illini80
The whole super conference idea makes me want to
Throw Up Season 2 GIF by The Office
 
#35      
Navy_illini
Conferences are too big. You don’t even play all the teams in football and struggle to play everyone 2x in basketball. You destroy the rivalries. However the Big Ten makes Ton of money. Maybe we go to 2 10 team divisions and you only play teams in your division to preserve the tradition
 
#36      
chrisRunner7
Give me Virginia, UNC, and Texas. They fit the B1G profile. That's 17 teams, though, so I'd kick out Nebraska, that school that was supposed to be good at football.

Oklahoma can go to the SEC.
 
#39      
Greensboro
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
Is there an institution more delusional about their place in the college athletics hierarchy than Texas?
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The problem is although there teams haven’t lived up to the hype, there’s $ value as a football program are second to none. They are the most valuable college out there. Huge market, huge fan base in a football above all else area.
 
#40      
Greensboro
Personally I think the B1G takes Texas & Oklahoma in a heartbeat in a package deal if they come in on equal terms. The Longhorn network seems like a nonstarter though for both Texas and the B1G. Also wouldn’t be surprised if contractually it has problems with ESPN ties to Longhorn & B1G ties to Fox.

I honestly don’t think this would move the needle in conference realignment, not much else in the B12 is worth taking. Makes the ACC more stable as it secures them as the 4th super conference, leaves the rest of big 12 scrambling for homes, nice add for SEC, but I think the B1G stands pat as it is unlikely to free up anyone in ACC & until the grant of rights is up they really can’t move anyway.

Also could be interesting on if A&M would be able to block Texas. It was rumored SC/FL/GA (iirc) had an agreement to keep there state counterparts out of SEC (Clemson/GT/FSU). A &M supposedly wanted away from Texas, but doubt they would have support to block Texas & politically it would get ugly. Maybe A&M would free up for the B1G.
 
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#44      
spotter
Shief said:
I heard this rumor on the way home from a work trip, would not be surprised if this story has some legs.
Let the realignment insanity begin.
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I don't want four super conferences with 20-schools each crammed into it. It'll probably $$$happen$$$, I'll still be a fan, I'll watch, but I don't like it.

But, I want the natty decided by AP voters and 12 total college football bowls, so what do I know......
 
#46      
Greensboro
The other wildcard out there is the pandemic impact on revenues. Last round there was also a big debate on TV values going forward as bundling goes down & cable cutting continues to increase. As programs are coming off losses/reduced revenues they may be less likely/able to give up any short term cash.
 
#47      
Greensboro
So Texas & ND can go anywhere they want under equal rules...but neither has equal rules today or anything close. Big would take Texas or ND as equal members in a second or Texas/ Oklahoma package deal in a second. Hard feelings by the big to ND we would need to get over. There are also a handful of SEC schools the B1G should take, but won’t be available, namely Fl/ GA/A&M because of market.

Texas to SEC would stabilize ACC, less reason for current members to leave. The only change that I would see opening up an ACC school is hard feelings or more money coupled with revenue reductions from the pandemic, that was supposed to be the reason MD was available. I think NC & VA would be top choices, Clemson & GT are interesting, FSU bringing the state of Florida might move the needle.

I don’t think anyone outside of Texas/ OK move the needle in the Big 12. If we wanted MO they would already be in the Big, ISU has little additional value over IA, Kansas football is meh & market is not big enough
 
#48      
Champaign Toast
Virginia, North Carolina/Duke, and Georgia Tech are attractive; but I hear it'll be near impossible to get them out of the ACC. Iowa State and Pitt don't add new TV markets. Oklahoma State and Kansas State may discourage Big Ten presidents from an academic standpoint. Kansas is great at basketball, but poor at football--and yet I think Kansas could be the most likely fit overall among Big 12 schools.

And while my dream scenario is that original member University of Chicago jumps back into the Big Ten 75 years after it left, I know that won't happen.

Thinking slightly outside the box, I think these two overlooked schools are worthy of this conversation because they open up big new TV markets (... because what I remember hearing most during the last round of expansion was, the conference desired new TV markets):

Boston College (Boston is the 10th largest TV market in the country)
Strikes against:
- not an AAU member
- doesn't fit the non-sectarian status of other B1G schools
- mediocre football and basketball
- generally lower scores than B1G schools in the annual Director's Cup rating of all interscholastic sports
- would be the smallest in the B1G in student enrollment
- stadiums would be among the Big Ten Conference's smallest

Ticks for:
- that TV market size!!
- football usually makes a bowl game
- US News and World Report ranking of #35 (Illinois is #47) among national universities
- geographically distant from most ACC members and not a longtime ACC member

Colorado (Denver is the 16th largest TV market in the country)
Strikes against:
- mediocre football and basketball
- only 6 men's sports and 9 women's sports

Ticks for:
- AAU member
- again, the TV market size
- geographically distant from most PAC 12 members and not a longtime PAC 12 member

So if it were to come down to fresh TV markets for the Big Ten Network and schools that don't have strong ties to their existing conferences, I'd count them two as viable possibilities.
 
#49      
mattcoldagelli
Qwiksilvur said:
There just isn’t much room to maneuver here.
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I kind of disagree?

There's the basketball play: take Kansas (the points raised previously have merit, although I think some are being a little hyperbolic on academics - they're comparable to Nebraska) - use them to sell North Carolina (or, why not? Duke).

There's the (valid) "this is all about football" approach: just go get Clemson. Sounds crazy? Why? They're a land grant, top-75 school and frankly, wouldn't be leaving a ton behind in terms of ACC football, and would get to play OSU every year. If you get them, you'd have your pick of Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, or Virginia coming too (assuming UNC wants to stand pat).

The old "hey, you're a lot like us" approach from the last go-around: big land-grants with academic cred - Virginia Tech and Clemson fit this bill. Iowa State kinda technically does, but I don't think that would ever happen.

The "kill the ACC" maneuver: basically take what the SEC is doing to the Big XII and do it to the ACC. Duke/Clemson? UNC/UVA? Florida State/Miami? They all kind of work for you.

Have fun out in the cold, Notre Dame!
 
#50      
ILL_INI
Whatever happened to the "Tech problem"?

Can the Big12 attract Houston, Memphis, UCF, Cincinnati and stay alive? Would they still be a P5 conference?
 
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