Am I the only one who thinks...

[WestHartHusk]

We may hold more cards than we think? It seems to me that you have two conferences trying to lock down the NYC market with some important teams still in the wings. The ACC made the opening move by grabbing Syracuse, but there still remains ND, UConn and Rutgers which are integral to solidifying that market. If the Big Whatever is serious about their television network I don't see how they are not in talks with all three of the above I just mentioned. If you consider a league with Penn State, ND, Uconn, Rutgers your network essentially becomes must carry from Philadelphia all the way up to Boston. Then for good measure they throw in Missouri for St. Louis and Kansas City and I think they have created a network with as much value as possible. ND has to see that in a superconference world they are not going to be able to put together an OOC schedule their alumni will want, this may be the time for them to jump in or get left out.

On the other hand the ACC needs to block the B1G out from these markets, or at least minimize their entry. I don't see any way ND is joining the ACC, that means that the ACC needs Rutgers and UConn. I think we are in a great place and that is why we are staying silent here, I think their may be more happening than we think. I for one would much prefer playing in the B1G than the ACC.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't think the SEC is out of the question either given the fact that the ACC just locked down its membership. I think it is a good idea for UConn and Rutgers to lock arms here though.

 

[Revrat]

We should be. Big Whatever is kinda stuck if the path is to 16 and they lose all these Big East schools as options and If Tejas goes to the Pac with the Oakies

 

[upstater]

In the future, this is what will happen:

I see this as a MWC-WAC type situation. The WAC invited a bunch of new members only to see many original members leave. Eventually, the southernmost ACC schools will join up with the SEC into a mega conference. The bleeding will stop on the North Carolina border, and it will be like the BE football schools invited the Carolina schools plus Virginia and Maryland into the BE.

 

[upstater]

I don't think the SEC is out of the question either given the fact that the ACC just locked down its membership. I think it is a good idea for UConn and Rutgers to lock arms here though.

Absolutely do not lock arms with Rutgers. I don't think it's out of the question that other schools are in play.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I am absolutely not concerned about UConn finding a home. We are a brand. Nobody has won more basketball national championships over the last 12 years than us. Nobody else even has a relevant women's basketball team. And our football program has potential -- even if you consider it a wash, the basketball program gives you a huge amount of prestige.

When I tell people I grew up near UConn, nobody asks "What's UConn?" They know. Wherever we end up, I think it'll be fine, cause while football drives the bus, basketball still makes money, and come NCAA tournament time, I don't think there is a conference in the country that doesn't want a storyline like ours in their league.

Or maybe I'm just being naive.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I don't think the SEC is out of the question either given the fact that the ACC just locked down its membership. I think it is a good idea for UConn and Rutgers to lock arms here though.

i think you might be right.....but i dont want us to touch them. we might catch something. the only winners there would be the company that makes those tiny combs to get the crabs out.

 

[noeynox]

Absolutely do not lock arms with Rutgers. I don't think it's out of the question that other schools are in play.

I thought the same thing. Lets not forget RU kick started the BE uncertainty in the media when they all but begged the Big 10 to take them two years ago. I think that put all Big East members on notice that it is every man for himself in this stuff. We shouldn't be offering RU no life raft here.

 

[upstater]

Kansas may get left out. Theya re just as big a brand for bball. They also won an Orange Bowl game recently.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Kansas may get left out. Theya re just as big a brand for bball. They also won an Orange Bowl game recently.

But they are in Kansas.

 

[lsuconnman]

For the past decade people have spoken of the mythical New York and Boston Market's that college football yearns for, yet the conversation always deteriorates to insignificant matters like basketball or academics. The fact major conferences already possess their anchor schools seems to be overlooked.

Other conferences don't want to extend invitations for additional competing "brands", they want palatable or profitable additions necessary to survive the storm from consolidation. From a financial standpoint, it would be smart to force UConn into independent status in an effort to kill it. What perceived benefit does UNC or Duke envision by soliciting UConn? Clearly they want to avoid the creation of any conference that has the ability to overpower the ACC, but they'd prefer to suffocate programs one by one and subsequently absorb the market share. School's like ND or Texas aren't leveraging academics or potential championships, they're selling their savvy foresight to license their past. UConn's strongest position was to bail before BCU had the opportunity, now the school has a substantial predicament unless they can create a UConn TV network.

 

[Sean]

I am absolutely not concerned about UConn finding a home. We are a brand. Nobody has won more basketball national championships over the last 12 years than us. Nobody else even has a relevant women's basketball team. And our football program has potential -- even if you consider it a wash, the basketball program gives you a huge amount of prestige.

When I tell people I grew up near UConn, nobody asks "What's UConn?" They know. Wherever we end up, I think it'll be fine, cause while football drives the bus, basketball still makes money, and come NCAA tournament time, I don't think there is a conference in the country that doesn't want a storyline like ours in their league.

Or maybe I'm just being naive.

Naive. I mean, you mentioned women's basketball as a potential draw. You also ignore that if we don't get a spot, Calhoun will retire shortly and basketball will drift into irrelevance. We NEED the ACC, not vice versa.

 

[tzznandrew]

Naive. I mean, you mentioned women's basketball as a potential draw. You also ignore that if we don't get a spot, Calhoun will retire shortly and basketball will drift into irrelevance. We NEED the ACC, not vice versa.

I don't think basketball will drift into irrelevance, but I'm much happier that JC is around now even than before. A stable conference stabilizes all athletics. You don't want to be in Memphis' shoes--you need a great coach and luck if you're in a conference to be a consistent player. If you have a mediocre coach, you're . In the ACC, if you have an above average coach (Gary Williams) you can make tournaments and final fours because you can pitch who you are playing to recruits. It's much more difficult pitching UCF than GTech (obviously Louisville is a draw, but I'm drawing apples to apples--worst to worst).

 

[WestHartHusk]

First, I apologize for being the guy who revives his own thread. But the Mizzou press conference to me said " The Big12 - we're over it. If we have to we'll go to the SEC, but we'd just assume go to B1G if you'd just come around to asking."

Which, if Mizzou can leverage them into an offer, and I think they can, this puts both the SEC and the B1G at an awkward / unstable 13 team configuration with presumably 3 moves left each, which if I were Deleaney, I would play two more immediately.

First, why do I take Mizzou if I am the B1G?...because it can have the effect of forcing ND's hand. If you take them together with UConn and Rutgers you have: 1) added / further penetrated 26.8 million homes for your network (NY/NJ/PA - 19M; StL/KC - 4.8M; Hart/NH/Stam: 3M) vastly increasing the value of your network and payout to your members; 2) taken away the ACC's presumed backstop in UConn/Rutgers; 3)opened the ACC for poaching. With one spot remaining you make overtures to Texas (which you don't plan to get, but hang on).

This single move then forces the SEC to make offensive moves to bring Texas into the conference and keep the B1G out of their backyard. Assuming for the sake of argument that the SEC poaches one of UL / WVU (which I personally think UL brings more to the table) then I believe that the SEC also pulls one team from the ACC - which I won't bother to speculate because frankly it doesn't matter to this scenario. Now the SEC is also at 15 teams and the ACC is actually weaker by adding Cuse / Pitt and losing one of FSU/VT/Clemson and is sitting at 13 teams.

By this point I have to imagine, despite the decades of tradition, that ND needs to make a decision - especially given that the B1G is openly courting Texas for the final spot. And looking around at a stable 15 team conference that still offers them fair exposure to the NE (PSU / Rutgers / UConn) versus an ACC that with legitimately 2 strong football teams needing to add an additional 3 members that may consist of the likes of WVU and who knows who else at that point, I can't imagine them not signing up. And to address the question, would the B1G really want Texas? I would think no. ND, in this scenario, would be the coalescing factor that unites and completely penetrates NYC and, let's not forget Chicago, a market of 9.4 millino covered by Northwestern / Illinois but, like NYC with UConn/Rutgers, needing that glue to sow it up.

Texas falls to the SEC, Pac-10 gets OK / OK State and may even stay at 14, the Big12 scoops up the remaining Big East / independents, and the ACC can suck balls.

Just this guys .02.

 

[huskypantz]

I don't think Texas to the SEC would happen - LHN is an absolute dealbreaker. I also think that at the end of the day, the SEC will take a couple of ACC schools. UConn and RU to the BIG is interesting - but it would be even more interesting if you throw Maryland into the mix. Is that enough to entice Notre Dame to a conference that provides them with northeast exposure and midwest roots and traditional rivals? I still don't think so. But if we go to the BiG, I think we need two or three of RU/Maryland/SU/Pitt/ND to not be completely out of place.

 

[Nostical]

Since I've been saying from the beginning that we'd be most likely (Herbst's preference) moving to The Big 10 and not the ACC, all I've heard are a lot of "no way's"---and yet it makes too much sense given our large land grant pedigree, our new and aggressive academic and endowment plans under Herbst's leadership (including AAU), and the eastern eyeballs essential for the Big 10 network. I again say that's where we're headed-----and now here's another word of wisdom from brassbonanza.......

 

[Dann]

being in the same boat as rutgers sucks. depending on them even the slightest amount sucks even more.

 

[mattp]

Since I've been saying from the beginning that we'd be most likely (Herbst's preference) moving to The Big 10 and not the ACC, all I've heard are a lot of "no way's"---and yet it makes too much sense given our large land grant pedigree, our new and aggressive academic and endowment plans under Herbst's leadership (including AAU), and the eastern eyeballs essential for the Big 10 network. I again say that's where we're headed-----and now here's another word of wisdom from brassbonanza.......

also keep in mind, if the ACC adds Uconn and Rutgers, the "old big east" controls that conference more than the NC schools. does anyone really see the NC schools doing that? B10 makes more sense to me. if you don't think we'll ever go there, than i think we should get used to life in the new new big east, because the ACC will never want us. they'd rather see us go back to 1AA so we won't be able to afford to compete with them in basketball.

 

[huskyrob1]

We may hold more cards than we think? It seems to me that you have two conferences trying to lock down the NYC market with some important teams still in the wings. The ACC made the opening move by grabbing Syracuse, but there still remains ND, UConn and Rutgers which are integral to solidifying that market. If the Big Whatever is serious about their television network I don't see how they are not in talks with all three of the above I just mentioned. If you consider a league with Penn State, ND, Uconn, Rutgers your network essentially becomes must carry from Philadelphia all the way up to Boston. Then for good measure they throw in Missouri for St. Louis and Kansas City and I think they have created a network with as much value as possible. ND has to see that in a superconference world they are not going to be able to put together an OOC schedule their alumni will want, this may be the time for them to jump in or get left out.

On the other hand the ACC needs to block the B1G out from these markets, or at least minimize their entry. I don't see any way ND is joining the ACC, that means that the ACC needs Rutgers and UConn. I think we are in a great place and that is why we are staying silent here, I think their may be more happening than we think. I for one would much prefer playing in the B1G than the ACC.

Though I think it's much more likely that we end up in the ACC, I can see certain Big 10 AD's and presidents arguing for UCONN vs Rutgers. Our academia is very very strong and getting stronger by the month and if Big 10 AD's want to shore up it's basketball leagues versus the ACC, then getting the UCONN men's and women's programs in the Big 10 is one sure way to do it. I mean imagine the ratings for the men's team playing in the Big 10 championship. It also gives them a huge foothold in the Boston, Hartford, and NY markets. The football program would get a huge recruiting advantage vs Cuse and Pitt as well. Also imagine the number of households in the northeast markets that would instantly sign up for packages containing the Big 10 network if that were to happen.

 

[zls44]

being in the same boat as rutgers sucks. depending on them even the slightest amount sucks even more.

They need us more than we need them.

 

[hinson32]

I thought the same thing. Lets not forget RU kick started the BE uncertainty in the media when they all but begged the Big 10 to take them two years ago. I think that put all Big East members on notice that it is every man for himself in this stuff. We shouldn't be offering RU no life raft here.

No one from Rutgers has EVER mentioned the Big Ten in the press. The message boards folks do consistently, but no RU person ever has. If have proof otherwise, I would love to see it.

 

[BlueDogs]

The Big 10 would be the best possible outcome from a football perspective. It would transform the program like nothing else could. The ACC would be fine, but can't hold a candle to the Big 10, IMHO.