Big 10 Report: Conference Realignment

[Mr. Laz]

A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Many have speculated that such an expansion would include Notre Dame but ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me today that the Irish prefer to stay independent in football and in the Big East for other sports. Swarbrick said maintaining football Independence is such a part of what Notre Dame is.

He went on to say the Big East is a great partner for the University in other sports.

"We do have to monitor what is going on," Swarbrick said. "There will be significant shifts. "Hopefully we can navigate them by keeping our football independent and keeping our Big East affiliation because that is what we care about."

The move of Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers to the Big Ten from the Big East could categorically change the landscape of the Big East itself. Thus, what Swarbrick is referring to when stating the University must continue to monitor what is going on.

The interview with Swarbrick was done before the late afternoon announcement.

http://www.wndu.com/sports/headlines/92447574.html

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

A&M is going to go to the SEC, replace them with Utah in the PAC-16.

I'm hearing that the Mountain West is petitioning to become a BCS conference.

Air Force
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Utah
Wyoming
+
Boise St
Kansas
Kansas St.

I think KU & KSU just found their home!

KU vs New Mexico and KSU vs Wyoming are very compelling games.

[DJ's left nut]

I'm being told that the MWC is actually a far better place to end up than the Big 10.

Looks like KU wins again!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!!

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm being told that the MWC is actually a far better place to end up than the Big 10.

Looks like KU wins again!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!!

I think the KU guys are probably right....read this:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/0...-millions.html

The Boise State athletic department could collect $2.6 million per year in additional revenue by joining the Mountain West Conference - more than double what the Broncos netted from their appearance in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

The Mountain West earns more money from TV, the Bowl Championship Series, the NCAA men's basketball tournament and its own conference basketball tournament than the Western Athletic Conference, Boise State's current home.

The Mountain West presidents are expected to consider adding Boise State during their meetings Sunday through Tuesday in Jackson, Wyo. Expansion likely will be addressed Monday.

Here's a breakdown of the key financial considerations:

TELEVISION: The Mountain West has a 10-year, $120 million contract with Versus and CBS College Sports. That would be $1.2 million per team per year in a 10-team league.

The WAC gets $4 million per year from ESPN. Teams that play non-Saturday games get a larger share, so Boise State's share for 2010-11 is about $500,000.

Net gain: $700,000.


BCS: The Mountain West and WAC share 9 percent of BCS revenues with the other three non-BCS leagues - Conference USA, the Mid-American and the Sun Belt. Part of the distribution is based on performance, with the Mountain West usually getting the most and the WAC the second-most.
So under the new BCS deal, a
10-team Mountain West could expect $329,333 per team in revenue. A nine-team WAC could expect $320,185.

That's not a big deal.

However, the Mountain West provides two major benefits. Its champion generally is first in line for a BCS berth among the five non-BCS leagues.
And most importantly, the Mountain West could receive an automatic BCS bid in 2012 and 2013. Those bids are worth $21.2 million per conference. Take out $2 million for expenses, and that's $1.92 million per school.

Net gain: $1.6 million (with an automatic BCS bid).


NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: The NCAA distributes revenue from March Madness based on the number of games played by a conference over a rolling six-year period. Each game played was worth $222,206 this year.

For the past six years, the Mountain West holds a 21-12 lead over the WAC - a $2 million advantage. That lead likely will get bigger next year.
Worth noting: The share Boise State earned by playing in the 2008 tournament would stay with the WAC.

Net gain: $170,000.


CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS: The Mountain West reported record revenue from its basketball tournament in Las Vegas this year. The number wasn't released, but estimates put it in the neighborhood of $1 million. That's $100,000 per school.

The WAC will play its next two tournaments in Las Vegas and needs to sell out the arena to make the $60,000 per school that Reno guaranteed for the past two events. That isn't likely.

Net gain: $75,000 (estimate).


TICKET SALES: Boise State almost certainly would sell more football and basketball tickets because of the higher quality of competition and more respected names in the Mountain West. Those teams also are more likely to bring fans to Boise with them.

Net gain: $50,000 (estimate).


TRAVEL:Boise State's travel costs would drop, but the Broncos also would lose the right to play 13 football games every other year for playing at Hawaii. That's a wash at best.

The travel benefit is for the athletes and coaches. The average air distance between Boise State and the Mountain West schools is 18.2 percent less than the average in the WAC.

Net gain: None


POTENTIAL GAIN? Add it up and the total potential gain for Boise State is $2.6 million - a number that could increase when the Mountain West TV contract expires in 2016.

The benefit would be offset initially. Boise State would forfeit its 2010-11 WAC revenue, estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million, and likely pay an entry fee of $1 million or more to the Mountain West.

[KChiefs1]

Honestly, I believe the best fit for KU, KSU, ISU & BU would be Conference USA.

Less travel
Basketball-type conference

[Pants]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm being told that the MWC is actually a far better place to end up than the Big 10.

Who, when and where told you that? Seriously.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

I think the KU guys are probably right....read this:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/0...-millions.html

Tell me you're not comparing the WAC to the Big 10.

Please.

[KChiefs1]

http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblo...-thats-a-wrap/

KANSAS CITY — From here on out, the Big 12 Conference is going into stealth mode. Around noon on Friday, Commissioner Dan Beebe wrapped up his final news conference of the week, and while he delivered some closure to the Big 12 meetings, very little about this story has been resolved.

First, a bit of news to report: The conference will distribute $139 million in league-generated revenue from 2009-10, an increase of approximately $9 million from last year’s total.
Also, the Big 12 Board of Directors awarded championship game sites to various cities — all the same locations that currently host the championship games. Technically, the board has only granted the Big 12 permission to negotiate with the following cities:

Football: Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, Texas), 2011-13
Men’s basketball: Sprint Center (Kansas City), 2012-14
Women’s basketball: Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City), 2012-13
Baseball: Bricktown Ballpark (Oklahoma City), 2012-14
Soccer: Blossom Soccer Stadium (San Antonio), 2011-12


As for the rest of the business conducted by the board on Friday, Beebe didn’t reveal much. Essentially, the board has decided on a process to manage the alignment issue, but it will be handled confidentially. Beebe would not spell out any timetable established by the board. He said the board’s next scheduled meeting is set for October.

"The process that was set is firm, but I’m not going to engage in what that is," he said.

"I am optimistic by nature," he added. "And I’m encouraged by the discussions and the course of action. … I think there’s more clarity, but I’m not going to go further."

Asked several times about reports that the Pac-10 is prepared to ransack the Big 12, Beebe sounded neither surprised nor overly concerned. "I don’t blame those other conferences for looking at our institutions … because they’re valuable institutions with their history and traditions," he said.

Beebe mentioned more than once that he and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and ACC Commissioner John Swofford have come to the conclusion that 12-member conferences are the best model for college sports and that anything bigger than 12 is not optimal. "To tinker with it would be a risk," he said. Though Beebe also said he wasn’t necessarily opposed to expanding the Big 12 beyond its current membership.

Now, why exactly did Beebe skip Thursday’s press conference when he had little to actually discuss on Friday? From what I’ve gathered talking to people in the Big 12, the league was flustered by the Pac-10 report, then further agitated that Colorado AD Mike Bohn went rogue and gave the Orangebloods.com story some credibility with his comments to the Boulder Daily Camera. (Side note, upon arriving in Denver Thursday night, Bohn was bombarded with questions about his comments to the Boulder paper.

Later, he re-confirmed to the writer everything the initial story reported.)
Texas President Bill Powers, the designated spokesman for the board, was originally expected to address reporters on Thursday and again on Friday but apparently ducked out of town to catch an earlier flight. Powers, of course, is ensnared in his own interesting situation these days, reports the Columbus Dispatch.

Among the emails between Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany obtained by the Dispatch, I thought this was the most interesting. To Delany, Gee wrote on April 19 he was "of the mind that we control our destiny at the moment, but the window will soon close on us. Agility and swiftness of foot is our friend."

Delany responded: "We are fast-tracking it but need to know the $ and observe contracts. Also need to make sure we leverage this to increase chances of hr additions. Finally double chess # of moving parts including not harming brand as we executy."

By hr, I think we can assume Delany meant home run, as in a home run addition, as in a school like Texas or Notre Dame. This reminds me of what a person in the Big Ten told me a few weeks ago: "Missouri is not a home run by itself." Not exactly an earth shattering comment, but Delany’s email probably suggests he’s been fishing for a big catch all along.

OK, enough for one day. The Panic on the Plaza seems to have subsided … and probably migrated to the Big 12’s home office in Dallas. I’ll have more on the meetings, including some comments from Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton, in Saturday’s Tribune, plus another piece in Sunday’s paper, as well as an Emptying the Notebook item on the blog early next week.

Farwell, KC. Hello, I-70.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Tell me you're not comparing the WAC to the Big 10.

Please.

It's called being a smartass which I'm good at!

[Mr. Plow]

What I'd like to see.....KU join the ACC. Yeah yeah yeah....I know it won't happen. But a conference with KU, Duke, UNC bball in it. Man I'd love that shit.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm being told that the MWC is actually a far better place to end up than the Big 10.

Looks like KU wins again!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!!

and some people wonder why MUrons are so ****ing irritating

[luv]

Originally Posted by Laz

and some people wonder why MUrons are so ****ing irritating

We love you too, baby. MUAH!

[jAZ]

Originally Posted by jAZ

Since the AFC West is already made up of Southern California, Bay Area, Denver and Kansas City, this seems like a very natural set of rivalries.

Adding KU, Colorado, K-State, Texas and maybe A&M and Tech.
Pac 16 would be good by me then split into:

Mountain region:
Arizona, ASU, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, K-state, A&M, T-Tech

Coastal Region:
UCLA, USC, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, OSU, UW, Wazzu.

Seems like a perfect setup. Good for TV too.

I'm (very nearly) a genius.

[Tits McGee]

Realistically, how soon can Missouri leave the Big 12?

[alanm]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

I'm hearing that the Mountain West is petitioning to become a BCS conference.

Air Force
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Utah
Wyoming
+
Boise St
Kansas
Kansas St.

I think KU & KSU just found their home!

KU vs New Mexico and KSU vs Wyoming are very compelling games.

At best pay per view. Travel expenses would kill them in the Mountain West.

[Tits McGee]

Originally Posted by alanm

At best pay per view. Travel expenses would kill them in the Mountain West.

And that's the very thing they are trying to cut down.