Saturday, March 20, 2010
Who’s Hot and Cold in Big Ten Expansion Talk
Need a little help figuring out why Rutgers is the new "flavor of the month" in the Big Ten Expansion pool or why Texas suddenly "jumped the shark?" Why is the Association of American Universities suddenly hot? Is Notre Dame hot or cold this week? A look at who's hot and who's cold will help anyone trying to get through the chatter of what the Chicago Tribune has reported Big Ten Commissioner saying is now "a silent phase" of Big Ten expansion.
Hot: William Blair Company — Why is an investment firm hot? The Chicago Tribune recently reported that this investment firm evaluated five schools: Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Missouri, Syracuse, and Rutgers for the purpose of Big Ten expansion. Hiring an investment firm implies the Big Ten means business. It could also mean that later down the line if the Big Ten makes a mistake, it has someone to blame outside of its member schools. A scapegoat could really help the ACC explain how Boston College is a good fit for its conference right about now.
Hot: Conference Championship Game For Football — Two divisions of six and one December game generally means millions of dollars for member schools. It also means an expansion of the season so a conference can remain in the national spotlight longer. Reports indicate conference championship games often bring in $12 million of additional revenue, which for the Big Ten equates to roughly $1 million per school.
Cold: Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Berths — Without a conference championship game, the Big Ten has the most BCS berths at 21 and second most BCS wins with 10. The SEC has 19 (most wins with 14) and the Big 12 has 17 (7 wins). What does a football championship game give a conference? A second place team, no ties atop the standings, and for some a clearer path to the Capital One Bowl.
The official BCS website reports the Big Ten received $22.2 million from having two teams in the BCS. The likelihood of getting two teams in the BCS every year decreases with a conference championship game. Losing $11 million in BCS money for $12 million of conference championship money seems like a fair trade-off. Of course, with two BCS berths and a conference championship, the potential to have it all exists. Is the potential swap of a BCS berth for December spotlight worth the risk?
Hot: Rutgers — Maybe a better gauge of temperature is"'Scarlet Hot." The Scarlet Knights appear to be the alpha dog in this race today. The combination of their academic reputation and television markets of New York and Philadelphia may prove too much for the Big Ten to resist.
Everyone remembers that one time the Rutgers football team earned an 8.1 rating while on ESPN. That night made everyone forget about the years and years of football futility for the state university of New Jersey. So what if there is preponderance of evidence that New Yorkers don't care much for college football or Rutgers. Rutgers football earned an 8.1 rating and that means it could happen again. Just make sure when the Big Red R joins the Big Ten that it wins all of its games every year. An undefeated Rutgers will surely draw that 8.1 rating again and again and again.
Cold: $20 million — How is $20 million cold? This is the amount Big Ten teams reportedly take home right now. Big Ten schools want to make sure that their $20 million dollars is kept safe regardless of which team gets to play football and other sports with them. They want an increase in their take home pay, not a decrease. In other words, The Big Ten can give an institution $20 million reasons to want to join, but Big Ten schools can give $20 million reasons some schools aren't worthy. After all, nobody likes to take a pay-cut and self-perseverance can make any hot deal a cold one in a hurry.
Hot: $5 million — Sources are being quoted as saying there will be an entry fee to any school wanting to join the Big Ten, a hefty $5 million. The Associated Press reports Wisconsin Athletic director Barry Alvarez as saying: "I think someone has to buy their way into the league." After dividing the entry fee by the current 11 teams, there is roughly $454,000 per school. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to get a couple more teams bowl-eligible and split those payouts? Suddenly, scheduling Little Sisters of the Poor for those four non-conference football games isn't such a bad idea.
Cold: Texas — The Big 12 takes television revenue and splits it into two buckets. The first bucket is split between member teams equally. The second bucket is split by how many times each team is on television. The more you are on television, the more money you get. Suddenly, the Big Ten Network doesn't look that great for BCS runner-up Texas.
Hot: Missouri — The Big 12 television revenue split (see Texas) isn't so great for Missouri. What is good Big 12 business for Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska doesn't trickle down to Missouri, Baylor, or Iowa State. I guess Missouri quarterback Chase Daniels' departure and those national television appearances he took with him was a little more devastating than earlier reported.
Hot: Association of American Universities (AAU) — All Big Ten universities belong to this group which calls itself calls itself "an association of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada." Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Missouri are all members. Notre Dame isn't a member of the AAU. If membership to this group is paramount to a team joining the Big Ten, then suddenly AAU members Rice, McGill University, Tulane, and Vanderbilt are on the Big Ten's radar. Wait, maybe academics isn't as important as the Big Ten says.
Hot: University of Chicago — If academics are important to this expansion, then take a look at another academic group all Big Ten schools belong to: the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The only member of this group not currently in the Big Ten is the University of Chicago. The CIC website explains the CIC this way: "for half a century, these 12 world-class research institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs."
The University of Chicago Maroons recently announced an expanded football schedule of ten games for the 2010 season. If academics are important to this merger, they may have to move their University Athletic Association games to the side, which means out goes Case Western Reserve and here comes Wisconsin! It will be a jump for the NCAA Division 3 Maroons, but finding a school that shares its passion for academics is important to the Big Ten, right? Well, maybe the University of Chicago isn't so "hot" after all.
Hot: Pittsburgh and its Rivalry With Penn State University (PSU) — Pittsburgh is supposedly a long-time rival of the Big Ten's Penn State. The red-hot football rivalry of Pitt vs. PSU hasn't been played since 2000. Each of these teams gets four non-conference games, right? Maybe this rivalry's whole future is dependent on Big Ten expansion. Can anyone imagine Notre Dame and the University of Southern California going dormant for the same amount of time?
Hot: Syracuse — As for Syracuse, they could certainly enhance the Big Ten with the Carrier Dome. After all, the University of Minnesota has left the Metrodome and the Big Ten will need a dome for one of its teams to call home.
Cold: Nebraska — The Big Ten Network doesn't see a whole lot of opportunity in Lincoln Nebraska. Of course, as Nebraska again ascends nationally in college football and becomes a household name once more, that whole "Lincoln is too small" thing may bite the Big Ten network in the old you know what.
Hot and Cold: Travel — The Big Ten has acknowledged travel as a consideration in this process. The Big Ten has said it is important to find a school where travel won't be an in issue, especially with regards to sports other than basketball and football. This makes travel "hot."
But since the Big Ten is apparently considering Syracuse and Rutgers, maybe travel is "cold." The Iowa to Syracuse trip or Wisconsin to Rutgers travel junket could prove to be daunting and expensive for the gymnastics and wrestling teams. If travel is a consideration to any of the teams outside of football or basketball, then shouldn't the Big Ten look at expanding to a Mid-American Conference school like Miami of Ohio?
Hot and Cold: Notre Dame — The only person who knows what Notre Dame will do is Touchdown Jesus and he isn't talking. With regards to geography, money, academics, and tradition Notre Dame seems like a natural fit. The school is in the heart of Big Ten country, is known nationally, would bring a lot of money to the conference, is sound academically, and has a long history. Notre Dame is the perfect fit for the Big Ten!
The flip side is obvious, of course. Notre Dame's geography is national and not limited to Big Ten country, as it can command a national contract from NBC. Notre Dame makes a lot of money on its own, is not a research institution like the Big Ten universities, and didn't establish its history by being a conference champion.
Notre Dame is both the long-shot and favorite in the Big Ten expansion pool and it appears as though they are loving every minute of it.
Hot: The BCS — The BCS rewards six conferences for being "power conferences." Big Ten expansion could lead to Pac Ten expansion, Big 12 expansion etc. etc. The six "power conferences" could quickly become the only six conferences. Oh no, the BCS is suddenly foreshadowing college expansion. Who knew the BCS would gently guide college sports into the future?
Cold: Expanding the Recruiting Base — Most of the Big Ten powerhouses are recruiting nationally now. Are there a lot of five-star recruits out there who don't know about Ohio State football or Michigan State basketball these days? By extension, these recruits must realize that letters of intent for these schools means trips to other Big Ten schools. Besides, aren't the most fertile recruiting states Florida, Texas, and California anyway? If expansion of the recruiting base is what the Big Ten wants, it should take a look at UCLA, the University of Florida, and the University of Texas. Wait, that Texas thing didn't work out as planned.
The bottom line is the Big Ten may or may not expand. Big Ten expansion is everything and nothing all at the same time. For a "silent phase," the volume of debate is at a fever pitch.