Ruminating on final moves...
1) the last battleground between the Big 10 and SEC is Virginia/North Carolina. Do they divide it up like a half-assed Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, or does one conference snatch it all up?
2) ND will never join a conference for football. They're getting enough dough going forward, they have playoff access, its over. If the ACC falls apart some other conference (BE, Big 12) will give them the same kind of deal. In retrospect the ACC's experience with ND is like a guy who dates a stripper, "she'll change for me man, I know it." No she won't.
3) The SEC won't offer any ACC team in their current footprint. The Big 10 has a lot of mouths to feed already, which leads to...see #4.
4) The Big 10 and SEC eventually jettison their weaker members. I could see the Big 10 in particular doing this as they have no discernible ethics or conscience.
** Edited by mancunian at 12/11/2023, 10:23:57 AM
26 Replies
what's the reverse GOR $ ?
(In response to this post by mancunian)
2y
(In response to this post by MrBayAreaHokie)
2y
That knocks the Big10 out of the Southeast. The best remaining teams would be Georgia Tech and Miami.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
T
Truthahn
2y
I'm imagining a stripper named "Hail Mary", comes out dressed as a nun.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
Will adding all 4 NC/VA schools as mentioned...
by either the Big 10+8 or SEC be seen as a power move or as a sign of weakness or fear of the other P-2 conference? If UNC, NCSU, UVA and Tech are bundled together in a deal, I think both the Big 10 and SEC have different motives for adding those four. The Big 10 would love to go south an control the entire mid-Atlantic/upper Southeast but it seems like they would only want UNC and UVA and want Clemson, FSU and maybe Ga. Tech. The SEC would want to keep the Big 10 out of their geographic footprint but in order to succeed, I feel they would have to take FSU, Clemson along with 2 to 4 ACC public univeristies from VA and NC. The P-2 compromise would be to let the Big 10 and SEC take one ACC school from each state (NC and VA). I just wonder what a move like taking UNC, NCSU, UVA and Tech as a bundle would be perceived by the P-2 winner and P-2 loser. For example, if the Big 10 made the move, what would the SEC talkingheads be saying? I think the response would be the other P-2 conference (SEC in this case) quickly taking Clemson and FSU. FSU and CU and possibly Miami and maybe Ga. Tech to the Big 10 if the SEC takes the 4 from NC/VA.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
2y
At least in thought. Time will tell but grateful that the schools want to be a package deal. Hope it works out.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
2y
This doesn’t get talked about much but there is a reason the BIG gets such a big media contract despite the sports results not living up to the hype.
The BIG has a lot of large schools with large enrollments and large alumni groups. Here are some numbers I found online for comparison. The BIG doesn’t have strong and weak schools. They have very large, large, and kind of small schools. And you don’t want to see the ACC comparison.
For comparison here is what I have for VT. 37,000 total (30 undergrad, 7 grad).
SEC
Texas A&M - 73,284
Florida - 60,613
Texas - 51,991
Georgia - 40,118
Alabama - 38,320
LSU - 35,914
Carolina - 35,388
Tennessee - 31,701
Kentucky - 31,536
Auburn - 31,526
Arkansas - 30,936
Missouri - 29,866
Oklahoma - 28,840
Ole Miss - 22,967
State - 22,649
Vandy - 13,796
BIG 10
Ohio State - 61,369
Washington - 60,081
Illinois - 52,331
Minnesota - 52,017
Rutgers - 50,411
Michigan State - 49,695
USC - 49,500
Wisconsin - 47,935
Michigan - 47,907
Penn State - 45,901
UCLA - 45,900
Purdue - 45,869
Indiana - 42,552
Maryland - 40,709
Iowa - 30,448
Nebraska - 25,057
Oregon - 23,202
Northwestern - 22,316
** Edited by HokieAl at 12/11/2023, 1:33:57 PM
(In response to this post by mancunian)
E
EDGEMAN
2y
... "satellite campuses" too?
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
2y
Commerce campuses and they are over 100,000.
(In response to this post by vtdasc90)
2y
And it seems every site has a different count. At a macro level it is close enough to compare schools. But I’d guess that the numbers I posted are not completely accurate for the main campuses in 2023.
And I’ll edit to show VT numbers in there also.
(In response to this post by EDGEMAN)
E
EDGEMAN
2y
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
E
EDGEMAN
2y
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
2y
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
2y
Because many of the other members voting to expel them will be thinking they might be next to be put on the chopping block. If the B1G wanted to expel teams, I would think that Maryland and Rutgers would be the first to go. There has to be a lot of buyer's remorse over those additions.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
really?
I was that the Rutgers/VT game this year. That stadium at Rutgers was full, and gameday vibe was very cool. I would think that translates to $omething $omehow in terms of tv and what not
(In response to this post by tarheelblue)
2y
adios to Loserville
(In response to this post by tarheelblue)
2y
Louisville tomorrow. They have a basketball brand that some just don't measure up too.
(In response to this post by Windows NT)
2y
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)
2y
Depends on what the main drivers were behind the scenes.
The BIG got two large markets with lots of cable viewers and lots of alumni.
The BIG also got two easy conference wins each year for their top teams.
I don’t think the BIG cares at all that RU and MD have not been successful on the field. But that’s just my guess.
Now would they pick those schools today if they were not in the BIG? That would be an interesting debate. The markets are still relevant. But maybe the football quality would factor more this time for a different result?
(In response to this post by tarheelblue)
2y
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
2y
the sixth largest TV market with an opposing B1G fanbase attached. It's worth a bunch of money to advertisers. Maryland was not supposed to be an annual B1G championship contender.
(In response to this post by tarheelblue)