North Carolina, Kansas "high on the list of possible targets" for Big 10

[lv99]

http://www.omaha.com/article/201211...arfknecht-16-members-sounds-sweet-for-big-ten

from the article:

"That's no comfort to league commissioners and member schools who hear that ACC school North Carolina (where Delany played basketball) and the Big 12's Kansas are high on the list of possible targets.

Is this corner barstool chatter?

Doesn't sound like it. Four BCS conference coaches and administrators I talked to Tuesday said they think the Big Ten is actively hunting for members 15 and 16, and mentioned the Tar Heels and Jayhawks."

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Kansas is locked up in a grant of rights. I don't see how any league can add them.

 

[MattMang23]

My buddy whispered Kansas to me on Wednesday. Doesn't seem likely given the grant of rights but it's being talked about. Here's validation.

 

[UCFBfan]

So what does Kansas bring to the table? Serious question. If we've all learned anything it's that program success doesn't matter and TV set drive the bus. I know KU is a beast in bball but that sport doesn't bring money. I guess Kansas brings in the KC market? Is that what they bring in? Is it worth bringing that market in along with their atrocious football?

Moves like this is where I think conferences will face their downfall. The B1G already has been criticized the past few years as being overrated. Now you want to add KU on top of adding Rutgers and MD? Talk about driving down your FB product. All of this just so you can get more money and greed. Eventually people will stop watching....

 

[TRest]

The Big 10 is going to corner the market on bad football programs. For a conference that sees itself as the main competitor to the SEC, this might not work out very well.

 

[tzznandrew]

The Big 10 is going to corner the market on bad football programs. For a conference that sees itself as the main competitor to the SEC, this might not work out very well.

Name a school they could take, or that has been thrown out recently, that meets their requirements and improves their football?

Syracuse, UConn, BC, UNC, Kansas, UVA, GT have all been suggested or named by "insiders" (really only UNC, UVA, and GT for the "insiders"). None of them improve football. They'd have to take Clemson, VT, or FSU to really improve football, and they won't.

 

[SubbaBub]

Kansas isn't going anywhere. If the B1G wants Kansas, the B12 would help them pack.

OU and OSU would be a different story, but they are not abandoning Texas just yet.

Uconn >> Kansas to the BTN.

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[pj]

Yes ... I don't see what Kansas brings that UConn doesn't, except research may be better and it is "Midwest." UConn brings bigger markets, similar bball and other sports, doesn't share its state with another school, and doesn't bring the lawsuits Kansas would bring over the GoR (which if the B1G broke could be a Pyrrhic victory as it would sabotage the B1G's own GoR).

Kansas might have been a top choice ten years ago but in the current context I doubt Kansas ends up being ahead of UConn.

If UNC comes, presumably UVa may join them. Then do they go to 18? UNC, UVa, Ga Tech, UConn?

 

[UConnRock]

Missouri was (is?) the best fit for the B1G and everybody was saying that throught the last round of expansion. Given that the B1G didn't pull the trigger on Missouri, I highly doubt that Kansas would be of interest. This round of expansion is a shot over the bow of the ACC and ND showing both where the power is located. We are in the reaction phase where every ACC school is looking at options. They all did this in the last round, and decided that the ACC remained the best fit for them. Whether this is the conclusion for all again appears more doubtful. The SEC and B-12 were content watching the ACC grab Pitt and 'cuse as they don't see the ACC as a true competitor. However, when the B1G makes a move there is reaction at all levels.

As for UConn....I would rather see things brought to a conclusion now than wallowing in the revamped BE in Texas, Tennessee, Idaho and Cali.

 

[noeynox]

I'm going to a break from this for a while. Everytime you turnaround there is a new rumor. I just want UConn to find a soft landing spot. UGH

 

[UCFBfan]

Missouri was (is?) the best fit for the B1G and everybody was saying that throught the last round of expansion. Given that the B1G didn't pull the trigger on Missouri, I highly doubt that Kansas would be of interest. This round of expansion is a shot over the bow of the ACC and ND showing both where the power is located. We are in the reaction phase where every ACC school is looking at options. They all did this in the last round, and decided that the ACC remained the best fit for them. Whether this is the conclusion for all again appears more doubtful. The SEC and B-12 were content watching the ACC grab Pitt and 'cuse as they don't see the ACC as a true competitor. However, when the B1G makes a move there is reaction at all levels.

As for UConn....I would rather see things brought to a conclusion now than wallowing in the revamped BE in Texas, Tennessee, Idaho and Cali.

I agree and feel that the Big-12 is in a position where it might need to act soon if it ever wants to expand. I feel like if the big boys are all going to 14, the Big-12 can't afford to be 4 teams behind. Before, the Pac-12 and B1G each had 12 so the B12 could stay at 10. However, their options are becoming more limited. I think they're going to see what the end result will be on MD's exit fee before they act. However, if they want Louisville they may need to act soon. I'm only guessing, but I think they are monitoring Louisville's chances of getting into the ACC.

 

[SubbaBub]

The B12 has their own ND-like problem. The conference exists at the whim of Texas and to a lesser extent the OU/OkSt combo, if either left it's doomed.

They should expand to at least 12 if not 14-16, but it is to Bevo's and OU's advantage to have a 10 team non-championship.game conference. The other 8 are too weak to do anything about it.

I am not convinced the B12 is in a stronger position than the ACC. The B12 can be attacked by 3 conferences rather easily. The ACC only by the B10 and SEC with those conferences having no interest in most of the teams. If UNC, VT, FSU, and VA all left the old school BE/ACC teams would result in a stable top 5 conference. Any B12 leftovers would have to merge with the MW or any leftovers from the NNBE.

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[sportsart]

I'm going to a break from this **** for a while. Everytime you turnaround there is a new rumor. I just want UConn to find a soft landing spot. UGH

True fans don't take breaks.

 

[uconnfan68]

The Big 10 is going to corner the market on bad football programs. For a conference that sees itself as the main competitor to the SEC, this might not work out very well.

Works perfectly for the OSU/Michigan fans. 12-0 every year if in different divisions. 2 BCS bids.

 

[businesslawyer]

Name a school they could take, or that has been thrown out recently, that meets their requirements and improves their football?

Syracuse, UConn, BC, UNC, Kansas, UVA, GT have all been suggested or named by "insiders" (really only UNC, UVA, and GT for the "insiders"). None of them improve football. They'd have to take Clemson, VT, or FSU to really improve football, and they won't.

Which is why in a rational world they would stop. Before they dilute the product to the extent that even in their core markets they can't make the money that they want to.

 

[UCFBfan]

The B12 has their own ND-like problem. The conference exists at the whim of Texas and to a lesser extent the OU/OkSt combo, if either left it's doomed.

They should expand to at least 12 if not 14-16, but it is to Bevo's and OU's advantage to have a 10 team non-championship.game conference. The other 8 are too weak to do anything about it.

I am not convinced the B12 is in a stronger position than the ACC. The B12 can be attacked by 3 conferences rather easily. The ACC only by the B10 and SEC with those conferences having no interest in most of the teams. If UNC, VT, FSU, and VA all left the old school BE/ACC teams would result in a stable top 5 conference. Any B12 leftovers would have to merge with the MW or any leftovers from the NNBE.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

This has turned into a big game of Risk I feel. The Big-12 is in a bad spot because the nations of Pac-12, B1G, and SEC can attack them while the ACC can only be attacked by the nations of the B1G and SEC. It's insane how college sports have become less about the actual sport and more about the money and who can go where.....

 

[SubbaBub]

This has turned into a big game of Risk I feel. The Big-12 is in a bad spot because the nations of Pac-12, B1G, and SEC can attack them while the ACC can only be attacked by the nations of the B1G and SEC. It's insane how college sports have become less about the actual sport and more about the money and who can go where.....

Should we invite Western Australia?

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[tzznandrew]

Which is why in a rational world they would stop. Before they dilute the product to the extent that even in their core markets they can't make the money that they want to.

I don't disagree with you in principle. I can imagine there being conferences of 16 or 18 schools (hell why not even 20 at this point), and then they sort of "break" into two 8 or 9 mini-conferences, and each of those only "associates" with the other, and there is a championship game (football), and tournament (basketball) they play together.

The B1G would still win because of all the new content they'd be able to air on their network. In that scenario, too, they could actually re-create rivalries.

 

[storrsroars]

Should we invite Western Australia.
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I'm surprised Aresco isn't talking to McGill.

 

[SubbaBub]

I'm surprised Aresco isn't talking to McGill.

You can't hold Eastern Canada early in the game. Taking Australia in the first round is the key to winning or take South America as a second option.

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[frankthetank]

Speaking from the Big Ten viewpoint, I don't think Kansas is realistically available because of the grant of rights issue in the Big 12. That being said, though, I absolutely believe that Kansas would be high on the conference's radar with all things being equal. Consider that before the Longhorn Network was created, the school that made the most money by far off of third tier TV rights in the Big 12 was Kansas. They're one of the few schools that turns the traditional thinking that "football trumps all". When it comes to the Big Ten Network, the value of Kansas basketball would actually be pretty huge.

There are 2 different ways that the BTN makes money by adding a school. The first is what most people over the past week have been talking about, which is simply to add the largest markets possible and then get the channel onto basic cable in such markets. What's talked about less is the second way, where you add a school whose fan base is so rabid that a cable carrier literally can't survive in that school's market without carrying the BTN. That's why Nebraska makes plenty of money for the BTN - they might be a small market, but the BTN can literally charge any price that it wants in that state because missing any Husker game there is a non-starter. It would be like a Packers game getting blacked out in Green Bay. Kansas basketball is on that level in its home base, which is larger than its own state since the Kansas City metro is mostly in Missouri.

Note that the BTN doesn't charge the same in every market. The 80 cents per subscriber per month rate that you see reported is an average. In reality, the BTN charges a lot more in Omaha/Lincoln and Columbus than it does in Philly. So, the BTN makes money by lower priced volume in the large markets and higher priced intensity in the smaller markets.

Anyway, I don't think the Big Ten is moving again for bit, so the threats are more about whether the Big 12 would want to (or able to) make a move.

 

[fcclaw613]

Excellent point!

 

[CL82]

I'm surprised Aresco isn't talking to McGill.

I'm surprised Aresco isn't talking to CBS trying to get his old job back.

 

[storrsroars]

You can't hold Eastern Canada early in the game. Taking Australia in the first round is the key to winning or take South America as a second option.

My bad, completely missed the reference.

 

[pj]

Speaking from the Big Ten viewpoint, I don't think Kansas is realistically available because of the grant of rights issue in the Big 12. That being said, though, I absolutely believe that Kansas would be high on the conference's radar with all things being equal. Consider that before the Longhorn Network was created, the school that made the most money by far off of third tier TV rights in the Big 12 was Kansas. They're one of the few schools that turns the traditional thinking that "football trumps all". When it comes to the Big Ten Network, the value of Kansas basketball would actually be pretty huge.

There are 2 different ways that the BTN makes money by adding a school. The first is what most people over the past week have been talking about, which is simply to add the largest markets possible and then get the channel onto basic cable in such markets. What's talked about less is the second way, where you add a school whose fan base is so rabid that a cable carrier literally can't survive in that school's market without carrying the BTN. That's why Nebraska makes plenty of money for the BTN - they might be a small market, but the BTN can literally charge any price that it wants in that state because missing any Husker game there is a non-starter. It would be like a Packers game getting blacked out in Green Bay. Kansas basketball is on that level in its home base, which is larger than its own state since the Kansas City metro is mostly in Missouri.

Note that the BTN doesn't charge the same in every market. The 80 cents per subscriber per month rate that you see reported is an average. In reality, the BTN charges a lot more in Omaha/Lincoln and Columbus than it does in Philly. So, the BTN makes money by lower priced volume in the large markets and higher priced intensity in the smaller markets.

Anyway, I don't think the Big Ten is moving again for bit, so the threats are more about whether the Big 12 would want to (or able to) make a move.

If this is true, then it bodes well for UConn as our market position and brand is very similar to that of Kansas.