What is the use of this channel, anyway? Does this mean I won't be able to see games like Mich vs. OSU which normally would be shown nationally? Big Ten schools graduate tens of thousands of alums a year, many of the games can draw a decent national audience whether they're on their own channel or not.
TV wrote:
Also when the Big ten is looking for TV rating they are not thinking about the new markets of the new school. Instead they are thinking about the TV ratings of the possible Big Ten championship game, which would be a huge game.
From the article:
"The broader [the network] is distributed, the more value [expansion] has. We have eight states. With expansion, you could have nine,"
Says right there they are thinking about new markets.
As for the Mizzou's rival, while Kansas may date back longer, they have a longer current contract with Illinois and their rivalry spans multiple sports. Mizzou is the logical choice to be the 12th member.
Curis Enis wrote:
What is the use of this channel, anyway? Does this mean I won't be able to see games like Mich vs. OSU which normally would be shown nationally? Big Ten schools graduate tens of thousands of alums a year, many of the games can draw a decent national audience whether they're on their own channel or not.
The channel is going to cover a wide range of sports, both male and female. The football games that used to be on ESPN+ or were not aired will now be on there. Games suchs as OSU vs. Mich will remain on ESPN/ABC, who the Big Ten still has a contract with.
Wyco Loco, after a bit of research you appear to correct, Kansas/Missouri is the bigger rivalry (by a fair amount, sadly), but I'm sticking to my guns in saying that Missouri should be the 12 member. The alternatives are kind of terrible.
Jim Delany guaranteed a much more interesting trip to Chicago for next week's Big Ten football kickoff when the commissioner told The Des Moines Register Wednesday that the Big Ten is again considering expansion. Rutgers and Syracuse are mentioned as potential targets, although Delany himself isn't specifically quoted as identifying those schools, so it's unclear whether those names represent the Big Ten commissioner's personal lead candidates.
The move would increase the reach of the Big Ten Network, underlining Delany's commitment to the league's fledgling broadcast arm:
"It changes to some extent how you think about it," Delany said of expansion. "The broader (the network) is distributed, the more value (expansion) has. We have eight states. With expansion, you could have nine."
Would expansion lead to a two-division split and a big-money conference title game?
Delany said he could live with such a scenario, but thought it had a negative impact on teams that lose in the title game. Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman, on the other hand, practically sounded like he was cheerleading for a title game:
"Any television executive would do whatever they could to be able to air a game like the Big Ten championship," said Mark Silverman, Big Ten Network president. "It would be worth a considerable amount of value.
"Fans would take to something of that nature if it were in the best interest of the conference."
It's hard to tell what to make of this right now.
Yes, expansion would be great for the Big Ten Network and, yes, a Big Ten title game would probably be the most profitable in college sports.
Michigan and Ohio State have traditionally been against expansion, and that's usually enough to kill any proposal in a league that revolves around football, but attitudes have shifted of late. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and Ohio State coach Jim Tressel have both expressed some support for a 12th member and/or a conference title game in recent years.
Given the criticism he's received over the inability to get the Big Ten Network on most Midwest cable systems, it's hard not to cynically wonder whether Delany is essentially creating a distraction on the eve of the league's biggest media gathering.
Motivations aside, Rutgers has to be the No. 1 target if television is truly driving expansion. Rutgers is a public institution with an excellent academic profile, was one of the best feel-good stories in college sports last season under Greg Schiano, would give the Big Ten a boost in the New York and Philadelphia media markets, and has long-time ties to Penn State.
If this is about television ratings, the other schools historically suggested - Syracuse, West Virginia, Missouri, Iowa State, etc. - simply don't bring as much to the table as Rutgers.
There will be a ton more written and reported on this story out of Chicago next Tuesday and Wednesday, after which we'll have a better idea of how serious Delany and his member schools really are about adding a 12th member.
East Carolina is praying a Big East school leaves and they get a shot at playing in the Big East. ECU football is pretty good but their hoops are horrible.
ECU football USED to be good...no longer.
Okay, maybe my previous post was a little too subtle when I said Columbia wouldn't be the market...Missouri is called Missouri for a reason. If you look at my name, it is listed as KC and STL. Mizzou's main market is of course NOT a town of 8O something thousand but instead the largest population centers in the state--Kansas City and St. Louis: THAT would be the gain of getting Missouri...not some little college town.
ECU defeated two ACC teams this past year. Skip Holtz has them playing good football.
Everybody is looking at this from the wrong perspective. I could see somebody from the MAC making the jump into the Big 10, maybe even Buffalo. Thinking it'll be a school already in a conference as established as the big 12, or Louisville leaving the Big East which they co own pretty much is ridiculous.
Look for somebody like Toledo or Bowling Green or Ball State to be the team, maybe one of those Michigan schools like Eastern Michigan.
article wrote:
Rutgers and Syracuse are mentioned as potential targets, although Delany himself isn't specifically quoted as identifying those schools, so it's unclear whether those names represent the Big Ten commissioner's personal lead candidates.
It is going to be Syracuse.
They've wanted out of the Big East for years to be able to concentrate more on football. They have always had their eye on the Big 10, and vice versa. Their gridiron program has taken a big hit since McNabb graduated, and they want to make a statement that they are serious about it.
What they bring to the table: good athletics (hoops, football - though recent past has been crappy, and lacrosse - the sport that midwestern AD's have their eye on.) Good academics in line with the Big 10 tradition. And a great broadcasting school with lots of alumns in the media business to cover the move. Their alumns travel well are are found in a lot of the big cities in the midwest. Perfect fit.
skinny runner dude wrote:
Everybody is looking at this from the wrong perspective. I could see somebody from the MAC making the jump into the Big 10, maybe even Buffalo. Thinking it'll be a school already in a conference as established as the big 12, or Louisville leaving the Big East which they co own pretty much is ridiculous.
Look for somebody like Toledo or Bowling Green or Ball State to be the team, maybe one of those Michigan schools like Eastern Michigan.
Some of these teams (particularly Ball State) can barely get enough fans per year to be considered Div. 1. Adding a team like that would be great for the new team, they'd make millions off the extra fans, but what's in it for the big, established Big ten teams? Not much.
I think Syracuse would be a horrible team to add. The Big Ten is a midwest conference. It's pretty easy to drive just a few hours and get to many games when you live in the Midwest. That's not happening with Syracuse.
Iowa State, anyone?
Yes Iowa State is exactly what I was thinking when I opened this thread & started to read through it. Be good to see them come in & add a challenge to the weak football schedules.
heyaha wrote:
Yes Iowa State is exactly what I was thinking when I opened this thread & started to read through it. Be good to see them come in & add a challenge to the weak football schedules.
Schools like Iowa State and the previous MAC schools mentioned don't fit with the other Big 10 schools. Keep in mind that the B10 is an academic consortium. The universities all share resources outside of just athletics. The B10 views itself as an academic conference and is as proud of the type of schools that make up the conference as they are about athletic achievements. That's why schools like Missouri and Syracuse make sense. I think Iowa State would face an uphill battle getting admitted to the B10 due to its lack of academic reputation. Toledo, Buffalo, West Virginia, etc - NO WAY.
I think you guys are all looking the wrong way. Nebraska would fit the mold best. Although I hadn't thought of WV. that could work out as well but the travelling for them would be a huge pain from way o'er there!
While Iowa State can't keep up with some schools in the Big 10 academically, it is still better than a handful of current Big 10 teams. The academic aspect that seems to give Big 10 schools an upper hand compared to Big 12 schools is that most have a med school and other professional schools. Iowa State, and all Big 12 schools, are also certainly much, much better than any MAC school.