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

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by luv

Don't they basically get to cherry pick their schedule right now?

I'm not implying they do by asking, I really don't know.

yes, they do but cherry picking isn't necessarily a good thing.imo.

Notre Dame vrs Ohio St every year
Notre Dame vrs Michigan every year


recruits know that they are getting a certain atmosphere when they sign up.

just my opinion, of course.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

They usually play half the B10 every year as it is, plus USC and usually Stanford, UCLA (or another Pac 10 team or two) and a team from the ACC, a team from the Big East - and a Service Academy.

ND has no benefit at all to move to a conference.

bullshit

[teedubya]

Texas politicians are only doing what Kansas Board of Regents will be doing.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by teedubya

Texas politicians are only doing what Kansas Board of Regents will be doing.

Will be?

what makes you think they haven't already done it?

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

The Big 10 will not be late to the party.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...tory?track=rss

Big Ten officials all but acknowledged Sunday that they intend to follow a turbocharged timetable for expansion.

With expansion candidates Nebraska and Missouri facing an ultimatum from the Big 12, the Big Ten clearly is ready to stop dawdling and get down to business.

A longer way of saying that came from Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon: "Our announcement in December has caused institutions and conferences to consider their futures, and that has had an impact on our deliberations."

Big Ten presidents and chancellors met Sunday in Park Ridge for more than four hours, and the majority of that time was spent discussing expansion.

Simon, who chairs the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors, said that no expansion votes were taken Sunday but that the conference's 11 CEOs will not have to be present for a supermajority (8 of 11) to approve inviting schools to apply for membership.

"My understanding of Big Ten bylaws," she said, "is that action can be done electronically, telephonically or in person."

Then she turned to Commissioner Jim Delany, seated to her left, and added: "My lawyer has concurred."

It would surprise no one if Big Ten expansion is resolved in a matter of weeks, though Delany and Simon declined to discuss the specifics of the timing and which schools could be involved.

These are some key remaining questions:

• Is Notre Dame still in the picture, and if the Irish (finally) say yes to the Big Ten, would that preclude adding schools such as Nebraska, Missouri and Rutgers?

• What will Nebraska do? There's a strong belief that if Nebraska remains in the Big 12, Texas also will stay. If the Cornhuskers join the Big Ten, Texas is more likely to head to the Pac-10 with five more schools (Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado or Baylor) in its pickup truck.

• If there's validity to the Austin American-Statesman report that Nebraska and Missouri have been given a deadline of June 11 to June 15 to pledge their allegiance to the Big 12, will the Big Ten cooperate by extending application offers by then?

Delany said that he could not comment on the Big 12 deadline report because he doesn't "have any knowledge" of it and that he had not spoken recently to Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe.

While maintaining it's possible the Big Ten will not expand, Delany said if the conference targets schools, the final steps will be "pretty serious — and pretty quick."

Here are a few other tidbits:

• Delany mentioned the seemingly odd possibility that the conference "could act and act again." Meaning if one school is ready to commit now but another needs more time, the Big Ten could expand in phases.

• On the heels of the Columbus Dispatch's publishing e-mail correspondences between Delany and Ohio State President Gordon Gee, Delany was asked whether he's cognizant of the contents of his electronic correspondences. "I am now," he replied. So look for Delany to gather votes by telephone.

• The $22 million figure bandied about to quantify the Big Ten's annual revenue distribution to each school is too high, conference officials said. A more accurate number is $20 million.

The Southeastern Conference on Friday announced revenue distribution of $17.3 million per school, but that does not include local media packages. ( Florida reportedly makes an extra $10 million from its local deal with Sun Sports.)

The Omaha World-Herald reported that Big 12 revenue figures from the 2006-07 fiscal year ranged from $7.1 million (Baylor) to $10.2 million (Texas).

• Simon insists the media have under-emphasized the importance of academics in the Big Ten's deliberations. "I have facetiously said that at the start of this process, if we had given fifth-graders the criteria, the list of institutions would be essentially the list that has been bandied about … by you all," she said. "With much more sophisticated analysis of the sense of 'fit,' but academics has not been much of the conversation. This is more than teams playing teams."

So what is the Big Ten's analysis based on — Association of American Universities membership? Academic Progress Rate numbers? US News & World Report rankings?

"Most of the people in the room were provosts before they were presidents," Simon said, "so it's a group that is perfectly capable of making very sophisticated judgments on academics. If anything, we obsess about that."

• Delany gladly acknowledged that he reads a packet of daily clips from newspapers and blogs obsessed with Big Ten expansion. "It's a story du jour with lots of twists and turns," he said.

He added that in the final analysis, the decisions by the Big Ten and expansion candidates will be "about fit, about destiny."

tgreenstein@tribune.com

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Laz

bullshit

Notre Dame has their own network, pull more money independently than they would in the B10 ($28M from football alone, not counting NBC), so between the NBC numbers and the BCS endowment of more than $5 billion. They get $1.3 million a year if they doesn't qualify for a Bowl Championship Series berth and $4.5 million if they do. They don't have to share that money with anyone. So the BCS system actually is encouraging Notre Dame to stay independent.

They already have a sweetheart deal with the BCS. What more can the B10 give?

The B10 Network is a huge step down from NBC. Financially and in viewership.

Brian Kelly said it a few weeks back - we want the flexibility to play coast-to-coast.

They already play 3-4 B10 schools a year, USC, plus another team or two from the Pac10, plus a game each, sometimes two against an ACC and Big East opponent.

And all of that doesn't even bring tradition into the mix, which is one of the main reasons given by ND everytime this comes up.

The best reason ND would have to move to the B10 is to cut down on travel costs for lower and non-revenue sports.

Otherwise, they'd be stupid to move, IMO.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Notre Dame has their own network, pull more money independently than they would in the B10, between the NBC numbers and the endowment of more than $5 billion. They get $1.3 million a year if they doesn't qualify for a Bowl Championship Series berth and $4.5 million if they does. They don't have to share that money with anyone.

Brian Kelly said it a few weeks back - we want the flexibility to play coast-to-coast.

They already play 3-4 B10 schools a year, USC, plus another team or two from the Pac10, plus a game each, sometimes two against an ACC and Big East opponent.

And all of that doesn't even bring tradition into the mix, which is one of the main reasons given by ND everytime this comes up.

The best reason ND would have to move to the B10 is to cut down on travel costs for lower and non-revenue sports.

Otherwise, they'd be stupid to move, IMO.

you are only thinking about this from a business perspective.

Notre Dame football is not what it once was .... as doesn't look to be improving anytime soon. Being in the Big 10 conference with add legitimacy on the football field. It would also provide a measuring stick for the coaches and players to judge themselves by. It will also force them to focus on getting better because of the consistency of their schedule.

Being this elite "above everyone else" school makes them arrogant and entitled which almost never leads to top performance.

nobody know if it will happen but imo it would definitely help Notre Dame field a better football team.

[luv]

Sounds like ND could go either way. They're definitely good financially, but movies have been made based on their football tradition. If being part of a conference would help with recruiting, then you have to think they consider it.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Notre Dame has their own network, pull more money independently than they would in the B10, between the NBC numbers and the endowment of more than $5 billion. They get $1.3 million a year if they doesn't qualify for a Bowl Championship Series berth and $4.5 million if they do. They don't have to share that money with anyone. So the BCS system actually is encouraging Notre Dame to stay independent.

They already have a sweetheart deal with the BCS. What more can the B10 give?

The B10 Network is a huge step down from NBC. Financially and in viewership.

Brian Kelly said it a few weeks back - we want the flexibility to play coast-to-coast.

They already play 3-4 B10 schools a year, USC, plus another team or two from the Pac10, plus a game each, sometimes two against an ACC and Big East opponent.

And all of that doesn't even bring tradition into the mix, which is one of the main reasons given by ND everytime this comes up.

The best reason ND would have to move to the B10 is to cut down on travel costs for lower and non-revenue sports.

Otherwise, they'd be stupid to move, IMO.

http://www.nctimes.com/sports/column...f0e84ddb6.html

Notre Dame gets around 9 million from NBC. Plus throw in the BCS contract, BE tv reveune, and others its around 15 million.

Big Ten schools get 22 million each.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by luv

Sounds like ND could go either way. They're definitely good financially, but movies have been made based on their football tradition. If being part of a conference would help with recruiting, then you have to think they consider it.

so far they have refused to admit that they need a conference. It will probably continue ... the arrogance of Notre Lamers is pretty legendary.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Laz

you are only thinking about this from a business perspective.

Notre Dame football is not what it once was .... as doesn't look to be improving anytime soon. Being in the Big 10 conference with add legitimacy on the football field. It would also provide a measuring stick for the coaches and players to judge themselves by. It will also force them to focus on getting better because of the consistency of their schedule.

Being this elite "above everyone else" school makes them arrogant and entitled which almost never leads to top performance.

nobody know if it will happen but imo it would definitely help Notre Dame field a better football team.

It's all that matters. It's the only reason Mizzou is in this discussion, and it's the only reason Notre Dame would join a conference. The measuring stick is BCS games (more money)... they play the same basic schedule every year.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Laz

so far they have refused to want to admit to needing a conference. That will probably continue ... the arrogance of Notre Lamers is pretty legendary.

Then it sounds like MU and NU won't have to worry.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by luv

Sounds like ND could go either way. They're definitely good financially, but movies have been made based on their football tradition. If being part of a conference would help with recruiting, then you have to think they consider it.

No team can guarantee a BCS appearance at 8 wins, and no Big 10 team can tell a recruit they'll play at USC once or twice in their career, as well as Michigan, on the east coast, etc. Plus, the Big 10's reputation is shot right now, just like Notre Dame's.... maybe they should join the SEC with Kansas.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Laz

you are only thinking about this from a business perspective.

Notre Dame football is not what it once was .... as doesn't look to be improving anytime soon. Being in the Big 10 conference with add legitimacy on the football field. It would also provide a measuring stick for the coaches and players to judge themselves by. It will also force them to focus on getting better because of the consistency of their schedule.

Being this elite "above everyone else" school makes them arrogant and entitled which almost never leads to top performance.

nobody know if it will happen but imo it would definitely help Notre Dame field a better football team.

Yeah, it's stupid to think of things from a business perspective.

Dan Patrick interviewed Brian Kelly and Kelly flat out said that moving to the B10 would HURT recruiting. They'd become a regional school instead of a national school.

He said something along the lines of their current recruitment across the country, coast-to-coast, and that it's a huge advantage for a east coast kid to know that ND will play several EC games, same with the West Coast.

Holtz, old and senile as he is, also made a good point on ESPN. ND is the only school in the nation that could go into California and steal a top prospect from USC. Same in Texas. Same in Florida.

Only the ND haters refuse to see all of this.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

It's all that matters. It's the only reason Mizzou is in this discussion, and it's the only reason Notre Dame would join a conference. The measuring stick is BCS games (more money)... they play the same basic schedule every year.

normally i would agree ... money = everything

but Notre Dame is reaching a tipping point. If they lose too much prestige the money flow will slow and they could be in trouble. They are already in a conference in other sports. Imo it's only a matter of time before they are forced to join one in football.