College Football Realignment

[Slyder]

Originally Posted by Reds Freak

Hadn't thought of that. Would have been nice if Kevin Plank could have stepped in when eight sports were getting cut last year. Football is king obviously in Div. I. I wonder how much, if any, consideration is given to these programs non-revenue sports teams when making these conference decisions.

Of course there probably is some. If Maryland starts receiving more money by the move to the Big 10 then they have more to budget and probably renew some of those lost programs. I know WVU restarted a couple non revenue teams with the move to the big 12.

[Reds Freak]

I'd like to see the NCAA take control of college football realignment. Let schools choose whatever conference they want for their other sports. For football, create four conferences of 32 schools based on geography. Break down each conference into four divisions of eight schools. Schools would play each team in their division once for a total of seven division games and four non-conference games. The four winners of each division would play in a Final Four for their conference title. The four conference winners would play a Final Four for the national title.

This allows every team in the country an equal opportunity to play for a national title. It keeps travel costs down and increases attendance for all sports by breaking the schools up geographically. I would imagine the television money for a system like this would be astronomical. The schools that don't make the playoffs can play in bowl games. It keeps traditional rivalries alive by allowing schools to keep their conference ties with all other sports and allowing them to schedule out-of-conference games against traditional rivals without worrying that one non-conference loss will do them in.

[IslandRed]

Originally Posted by Revering4Blue

My guess is that the Big Ten Network has their eyes on the D.C TV market (Maryland) and the N.Y/N.J market (Rutgers).

However, College Football is an afterthought in both markets.

Yeah. I get that, but I have to agree with what Dan Wetzel wrote, if it's primarily about BTN money then the league is starting to let the tail wag the dog.

It's also interesting that Maryland was one of the two ACC schools who voted against raising the conference exit fee recently. (Florida State was the other, unsurprisingly.)

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by Slyder

Rutgers draws well, a couple of ESPNs highest rated games were involving Rutgers a couple years ago when they were potentially playing for Big East crown. Rutgers has always been that "what if" case.

I suspect those Rutgers games were out-rated by an old edition of Yankeeography on the Yes network. The only college football folks in NYC watch is Notre Dame. Turn on WFAN on a Friday afternoon in November and the #2 topic is the NFL. #1, as always , are the Yankees and the Mets. College football- nobody cares. Rutgers- get serious.

[paintmered]

Looks like we're approaching the endgame for realignment. I just hope my Bearcats aren't relegated to the MAC by the time the dust settles.

ESPN is pulling the strings again.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by paintmered

Looks like we're approaching the endgame for realignment. I just hope my Bearcats aren't relegated to the MAC by the time the dust settles.

ESPN is pulling the strings again.

Marquette will play em. If you insist on a football game too, we'll send UW-Whitewater.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by Slyder

Rutgers draws well, a couple of ESPNs highest rated games were involving Rutgers a couple years ago when they were potentially playing for Big East crown. Rutgers has always been that "what if" case.

I think its a great fit Maryland and Big 10. And a great financial winfall for an university that greatly needs it. I always thought it might happen, I am surprised though Rutgers would be #2, I always thought UVa or Ga Tech made a lot of sense.

Edit:
In a population center like the NY metro area you don't have to draw a huge number to get a lot of tvs. Rutgers does draw enough to move the needle if by default.

Great points. Plus if the Big Ten Network gets even a sniff of the cable fees it currently brings in from the current markets, that's an absolute bucketful of money.

New York, Washington DC and Baltimore, heck at 10 cents per subscriber, that's a boatload. And that's before you get 1 person to tune in.

I'd love UVa. I think they'd be an excellent fit. Ga Tech doesn't really fit in with the other schools. It would be the smallest school outside of Northwestern, and it competes in a crowded market where it barely gets interest.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by paintmered

Looks like we're approaching the endgame for realignment. I just hope my Bearcats aren't relegated to the MAC by the time the dust settles.

ESPN is pulling the strings again.

It's getting harder to see a scenario where this story has a happy ending for UC fans. I think the silence surrounding them in every one of these expansion stories is getting a tad deafening.

[Reds Fanatic]

Maryland is officially moving to the Big Ten starting in the 2014-2015 academic year. Rutgers will announce their move to the Big Ten tomorrow.

[Boston Red]

Silly season.

And UC is likely screwed.

[LoganBuck]

I don't think they are done at 14. I think you will see the BigTen make a play for 16. I think they will take two more ACC schools. My guess is that they are after two of UNC, Florida St, and Virginia. There has been some rumbling about Georgia Tech, too.

Rutgers and Maryland don't do anything other than grab the money they will need to buy the exit fees for bigger fish.

[Slyder]

Originally Posted by LoganBuck

I don't think they are done at 14. I think you will see the BigTen make a play for 16. I think they will take two more ACC schools. My guess is that they are after two of UNC, Florida St, and Virginia. There has been some rumbling about Georgia Tech, too.

Rutgers and Maryland don't do anything other than grab the money they will need to buy the exit fees for bigger fish.

In this order IMO:
UNC
Virginia
Ga tech
Miami is the consolation prize.

Big 12 if forced keys in on:
Fla St
Clemson
Ga Tech/ Va Tech
Louisville
NC State

SEC is who I want to see and may dictate to the rest.

[WMR]

I dont think sec has an appetite to expand further anytime soon.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by WMR

I dont think sec has an appetite to expand further anytime soon.

Nor do they have any financial inventive to. Their TV deal (along with the B12's TV deal) doesn't expand if they add new teams -- it merely increases the number of mouths that need to be fed and shrinks the revenue pool for existing schools.

[RiverRat13]

Has anyone else read any rumors that Fox, which owns a stake in the B1G Network and is about to acquire a stake in the YES Network, is going to bundle both YES and B1G together for NY/NJ cable networks and basically say if you want to carry YES on your basic tier you'll also need to carry the B1G on your basic tier? If that is pulled off, $$$$$ for the B1G.