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

[Bambi]

Missouri getting bashed at this press conference.

They really ****ed this whole thing up.

[HemiEd]

Good for Mizzou. So, to summarize, the Big 12 has lost its doormat, Colorado to the Pac 10.
It is to lose one of the past legends of Big 8 football, Nebraska, to the Big 10.
Next......

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by ArrowheadHawk

So when does NU make it official?

Should be sometime this afternoon, IIRC the Regent's meeting is at 1:00.

[DJ's left nut]

So now Forsee has something to say.

That's a really really bad sign, MU fans.

Yup, Mizzou ****ed this one up. Nicely done, gentlemen. Nicely done.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Wickedson

Missouri getting bashed at this press conference.

They really ****ed this whole thing up.

i hate mizzou as much as anyone but how would they **** things up?

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yup, Mizzou ****ed this one up. Nicely done, gentlemen. Nicely done.

In what way?

Allowed themselves to be deceived? Naivety? Ok, I could get on board with these claims. But, without more evidence, it's tough to say how they've mismanaged things.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So now Forsee has something to say.

That's a really really bad sign, MU fans.

Yup, Mizzou ****ed this one up. Nicely done, gentlemen. Nicely done.

Literally nothing has changed. Forsee repeated the same things that have been said all along. MU may end up screwed or they may not, but nobody in the media really has any idea.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Wickedson

Missouri getting bashed at this press conference.

They really ****ed this whole thing up.

It would have gone this way for any of the secondary schools - basically the bullies found out we had lunch money and took it, and there's nothing we can do about it. The principal's name is Delany, and he thinks it's funny.

But I look at it this way. I don't go to MU. I no longer live in the state. I don't have kids who will go there - at the end of the day, all I care about is a competitive football team that wins more often than it loses. Wherever we end up, it seems, we will be in a bully-free zone. Hopefully there will be a way for me to watch some games.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Buck

So it was Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor who joined to make it 12? When did this happen?

When God took the day off and allowed Lucifer to roam unhindered.

Tuck Fexas.

[Mr. Laz]

Even if all the remaining Big 12 teams decide to stay together and just replace colorado/nebraska, i want KU to continue to look for a new conference.

[Archie Bunker]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sp...-96137294.html


Remaining Big 12 schools to the Big East gaining momentum
By: Jim Williams
Examiner Sports Columnist
06/11/10 9:27 AM EDT
Anyone who thought that the Big East was just going to sit around and watch the Big Ten take Rutgers and possibly Syracuse and Pitt simply does now know the passion of the conference.

Once word began to spread that Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and perhaps Missouri would be looking for a home the Big East became very interested in talking to them about joining the league.

Yesterday I began to contact some powerful members of the alumni associations at Georgetown, UCONN, USF, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pitt, and Syracuse and I found them all very interested in adding the Big 12 schools. One very high profile member of the USF Alumni speaking on the condition of anonymity told me “You can bet the Big East is being aggressive in expansion we will not be crushed by the Big Ten.”

No doubt Big East Commissioner John Marinatto and his newly hired senior adviser former NFL Commissioner and Georgetown grad Paul Tagliabue will be talking to any of the Big 12 schools interested in joining the league.

By the way C-USA members Memphis and Central Florida and working through back channels to gage the interest of the Big East in expanding.

Meanwhile a 12 team Big East football conference and a 20 team super basketball conference would be a good move for the conference and one that is clearly being explored.

Football wise there would be an Eastern Division with Pitt, West Virginia, UCONN, USF, Syracuse and Rutgers or UCF with a Western Division that could be made up of Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State or Memphis, Cincinnati and Louisville.

They could hold a Big East Championship Game each year that could be rotated between New York, Washington, Tampa, St. Louis and Kansas City.

The Big East basketball with the addition of Kansas and maybe Memphis would further enhance the best basketball conference in the country.

They could also offer networks at many as 8 of the top 25 media markets putting them on the same level as both the PAC 16 and the Big Ten in terms of eyeballs. Because of their basketball and adding the new markets the Big East would have, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston (because of Providence), Tampa, and new markets St. Louis and possibly Orlando.

I know what you are saying Pitt, Syracuse and Rutgers could be headed to the Big Ten. The truth is Pitt won’t get a Big Ten invitation because the Big Ten Network already has Pittsburgh as market for their Big Ten network thanks to Penn State.

Rutgers to the Big Ten seems for the moment a lock but Syracuse might be falling behind as both Maryland and Georgia Tech keep popping up in the conversation.

Maryland is a great fit because of the academics and they can deliver both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore a combined mid-Atlantic region that is equal to the fourth largest media market in the country. Meanwhile Georgia Tech would give the Big Ten a strong southern presence and the Atlanta market. It seems the two ACC schools MAY have passed Syracuse – for now- on the Big Ten list – a list that continues to be debated.

There is another benefit to keeping the Big East strong and that is Notre Dame. The Irish make an estimated $22 million dollars a year from the NBC football contract as well as their relationship with the Big East in all other sports. Plus a new twist to the Notre Dame branding deal has been the team working out deals that allow them to play a additional home games in cities outside South Bend. So they add another game for NBC while also picking up a check for as much as $3 million a game while barnstorming across the country and keeping the brand a national one. A strong Big East means Notre Dame can continue to be independent and it also means the conference can keep the Irish happy and out of the Big Ten.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Laz

Even if all the remaining Big 12 teams deciding to stay together and just replace colorado/nebraska, i want KU to continue to look for a new conference.

I learned a lot in this thread, and just want UT out of their conference.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I learned a lot in this thread, and just want UT out of their conference.

you can bet that no matter what happens, Texas thinks they are better than everyone else and are only looking out for themselves. Everyone else is just a tool for them to advance themselves.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

In what way?

Allowed themselves to be deceived? Naivety? Ok, I could get on board with these claims. But, without more evidence, it's tough to say how they've mismanaged things.

Publicly, they were quiet.

It seems that privately, they were letting go of one branch before they grabbed onto the other one.

It seems they were dead certain that they had that offer and didn't. They were entirely too cavalier for an institution which is so important for so many people.

Pitt,

Forsee has been saying nothing. Nothing at all. When he was deadly silent, I was confident. Now he's slowly hedging, as is Alden and Deaton. They can keep saying "we've been saying X all along" but the tenor has certainly changed.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by Laz

you can bet that no matter what happens, Texas knows they are better than everyone else and are only looking out for themselves. Everyone else is just a tool for them to advance themselves.

FYP