Big Ten Fall Sports to Be Conference Only - What does it mean for XC?

Nothing good. Qualifying/at-large bids would be nearly impossible.

It means the return of Duel and Tri meets. And an all midwest BIG Nuttycombe meet

Does it mean they will be allowed to go to Regionals and Nationals? I'm assuming if Football teams can go to Bowl Games then they can go to regionals and nationals but does anyone know?

And why would Rutgers flying to play Northwestern be any different then them flying to play Florida?

Might make more sense for Rutgers for XC to go to Van Cortland park for XC right?

nattys? wrote:

Does it mean they will be allowed to go to Regionals and Nationals? I'm assuming if Football teams can go to Bowl Games then they can go to regionals and nationals but does anyone know?

And why would Rutgers flying to play Northwestern be any different then them flying to play Florida?

Might make more sense for Rutgers for XC to go to Van Cortland park for XC right?

Yeah, nothing makes any sense. No way this season holds up.

nattys? wrote:

Does it mean they will be allowed to go to Regionals and Nationals? I'm assuming if Football teams can go to Bowl Games then they can go to regionals and nationals but does anyone know?

And why would Rutgers flying to play Northwestern be any different then them flying to play Florida?

Might make more sense for Rutgers for XC to go to Van Cortland park for XC right?

I think the idea is that the Big Ten can regulate covid protocols for everyone in their own league, so if Rutgers is in an XC meet with Wisconsin and Iowa, even though it means more travel, they can be more confident that those schools are following testing and quarantine rules than if they ran against Iona at VCP.

But the bigger point that this is revealing is that the ridiculous geographic expansion of conferences make no sense, that the travel budgets for a lot of non-revenue sports are not sustainable, and that spending millions of dollars on lower-level football programs (FCS, MAC) is probably not going to last.

Everyone has been focusing on what is going to happen this fall and I understand that. But the longer-term implications are probably a lot more important. I don't think we're ever going back to the college sports world of 2019. Big Ten baseball teams are not going to be spending $50-100,000/year to play in Florida in February and March. Most track teams aren't going to be able to split their teams into three different meets every weekend. Some of that is going to be a loss and it sucks for anyone who gets their sport cut, and I think we'll see a lot of that. But some of it is going to be a lot healthier in the long run.

Dang. As a Wisconsin fan, I was really looking forward to WI vs. Notre Dame at Lambeau this year.

As this is developing, I can see a scenario that includes the cross country season ending with the conference championships. This would not shock me at this point.

This could have a large impact on the group of 5, in regards to football. Teams like FAU were due to play Minnesota and receive a large sum for doing so. Now that money is gone and these group of 5 football teams will be losing millions in revenue. All this could lead to further athletic budget issues in the future.

Question: In football, does this mean Big 10 teams will max out their schedule against other Big 10 teams (essentially playing an expanded Big 10 schedule) or will they just keep the league games they already had scheduled?

It leads to the most boring xc season in history. Example: byu hosts utah valley and southern utah in provo, then they drive up to Utah state for a tri meet with weber state. The elders dominate this elite competition and declare themselves to be repeat national champions. A new dynasty is born.

The pac12 should have a few good races.

XC will be like NCAA football was before the insane bowl "playoff" scenario.

Conferences will have championships, coaches or media will vote the championship team in, and that's it. No more NCAA Championships.

Those of you who have seen sequential decision and game trees in your education could dust those lessons off and apply them here. Tons of money on the line with football, yes, but the reality is we are well beyond the possibility of a season at this point.

Those of you who play chess could compare this scenario to having only the king left and wishing to move 21 times into a stalemate. That is the only option. Which path do they take while in survival mode? The one that can benefit their self interests most.

Their move preserves the value of Big Ten schools and competition. It says, "The Big Ten comes first." And, "The Big Ten said no to the SEC and ACC." In television terms, it sets up a situation where the Big Ten is at an advantage in future re-negotiations because games against the Big Ten schools are now in higher demand and they left on their terms. So other schools will have to show interest first when football resumes.

Kevin Hadsell wrote:

As this is developing, I can see a scenario that includes the cross country season ending with the conference championships. This would not shock me at this point.

That's not too bad. Big 10 is a really competitive conference. It sucks that guys will miss out on regionals and nats, but a season that ends at conference is infinitely better than a season that doesn't go off at all.

Big 10 (14) is being responsible. Big 10 (14) Conference does not want to spread covid-19 beyond region of Big 10 (14) Conference. Covid-19 will only spread from Nebraska to Maryland & Pennsylvania. Corona-19 will only spread from Ann Arbor, Michigan & Minneapolis, MN to Champaign, IL.

big 10 scheduling games/meets only with other schools in big 10 that are in your geographical area

Kevin Hadsell wrote:

As this is developing, I can see a scenario that includes the cross country season ending with the conference championships. This would not shock me at this point.

There are more than 300 teams in D1 and so far there are less than 50 teams who wouldn't be competing at NCAA's. That means there are still 250+ schools that currently intend to have a full season.

NJ fan wrote:

Kevin Hadsell wrote:

As this is developing, I can see a scenario that includes the cross country season ending with the conference championships. This would not shock me at this point.

There are more than 300 teams in D1 and so far there are less than 50 teams who wouldn't be competing at NCAA's. That means there are still 250+ schools that currently intend to have a full season.

If you think no more conferences will move to conference competition only or cancel outright, you're dreaming.

narcicist wrote:

big 10 scheduling games/meets only with other schools in big 10 that are in your geographical area

So you're saying University of Michigan & Rutgers University is one geographical area and University of Minnesota & University of Nebraska is another geographical area. Just as silly. Everyone knows Big 10 (14) is divided in east & west divisions.

NJ fan wrote:

Kevin Hadsell wrote:

As this is developing, I can see a scenario that includes the cross country season ending with the conference championships. This would not shock me at this point.

There are more than 300 teams in D1 and so far there are less than 50 teams who wouldn't be competing at NCAA's. That means there are still 250+ schools that currently intend to have a full season.

The teams do. Yes. However it will not be a decision by the schools that carves the larger path. The conferences are driving this ship and that ship is called football. With the Big10 going to conference-only football, and the ACC potentially to follow suit,the trickle-down is a net revenue loss to G5 schools.

Cross Country will not have a single seat at any table of discussions. The issues are far bigger and more impactful. Like it or not, football drives all of this. Not just because of the revenue but the nature of the sport being a collision sport (not just a contact sport) as well as the sheer number of athletes, coaches and support staff.

I would imagine the Patriot League will follow the Ivy League. Conferences like the MAC could end up trying to cut their losses and mandate a conference-only schedule and forgo NCAA tournament opportunities.

Remember, this is only July 10. The next two weeks will put the conferences on the path they will be stuck with for the rest of the fall.