Big Ten Source: League targeting OU, Texas for 2024-25

[Vowelguy]

Not a surprise.
Big Ten really could use Oklahoma.

The BT West is a dumpster fire and the demographics of its footprint aren't good for future recruiting. Okla solves both of those problems.

 

[bobbyinaz]

Not a surprise.
Big Ten really could use Oklahoma.

The BT West is a dumpster fire and the demographics of its footprint aren't good for future recruiting. Okla solves both of those problems.

If it were to happen, OK is nothing more than a plus one. This is about UT

 

[Adios]

You people are actually taking that Flugar dude, whatever his name is, seriously?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

They invited Nebraska even while B10 schools were leading the charge to remove AAU status from the Huskers. I don’t think it’s a stumbling block.

Its a key data point for the B1G President's as the AAU represents big research dollars and prestige for the B1G. That said, a school like Nebraska is still a state flagship university that rakes in singicant research dollars, even after the AAU designation was lost. Oklahoma has I imagine a similar profile and when one throws is other factors such as its a state flagship university, blue-blood football, and servces as a physical link to Texas (assuming U Kansas is also added), gets enough boxes check to get in.

 

[The X Man]

You people are actually taking that Flugar dude, whatever his name is, seriously?

No but his track record is no worse than yours.

 

[Adios]

No but his track record is no worse than yours.

I have one? All I've said is we are on the Big Ten's radar. If that such a massive, hard to believe statement, well, boo hoo hoo.

Ironically, that's not my observation. So babble on.

 

[XOVERX]

I don't think there's any doubt UConn is on the B1G's radar. Delaney was quoted somewhere as saying he wanted to finish off the NE Corridor. That means either UConn, BC, or, some say, of all schools, Cornell, which I seriously doubt.

I think the Texas, Oklahoma, and/or Kansas theory remains the most viable theory going into the early to mid 2020s, but this recent business involving the PAC is interesting maybe.

What, exactly, does the B1G want?

Stand pat with a league of 14? Doubtful. Too unwieldy.

A league of 16? Maybe. That seems to suggest 2 out of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. But it leaves the far end of the NE Corridor waving in the wind.

What about 20? Was it Gordon Gee who mentioned 20 several years ago? UConn definitely fits here, as well as the B12 schools.

But what about the PAC? Would the key Pacific schools be willing to join the B1G, along with the B12 schools? I doubt it, but it's a theory.

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington, and ... UConn?

A league of 24, in 4 pods of 6? I mean, probably not. No way, right? But it would work.

 

[uconnyankee]

IMO our best case is the AAC merging with the remains of the B12.

I think best case for Uconn right now is that the playoffs expand to 8 and the G5 get a spot.
That would give The AAC some breathing room and even give them some leverage to poach Boise and maybe lure BYU into the league. The winner of that league would essentially be given the G5 spot.

Uconn could use that stability for a few years while RE works his magic the next 2-3 seasons.

 

[dayooper]

I don't think there's any doubt UConn is on the B1G's radar. Delaney was quoted somewhere as saying he wanted to finish off the NE Corridor. That means either UConn, BC, or, some say, of all schools, Cornell, which I seriously doubt.

I think the Texas, Oklahoma, and/or Kansas theory remains the most viable theory going into the early to mid 2020s, but this recent business involving the PAC is interesting maybe.

What, exactly, does the B1G want?

Stand pat with a league of 14? Doubtful. Too unwieldy.

A league of 16? Maybe. That seems to suggest 2 out of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. But it leaves the far end of the NE Corridor waving in the wind.

What about 20? Was it Gordon Gee who mentioned 20 several years ago? UConn definitely fits here, as well as the B12 schools.

But what about the PAC? Would the key Pacific schools be willing to join the B1G, along with the B12 schools? I doubt it, but it's a theory.

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington, and ... UConn?

A league of 24, in 4 pods of 6? I mean, probably not. No way, right? But it would work.

20 is doable with pods, but 24 wouldn’t be, in my opinion. Combining 2 of the 4 pods into a division of 12 would require 11 conference games and that just doesn’t work with the Big10 schools. 20 would work (9 conference games) and I could see it happening, but who would the 6 schools be? In your scenario, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and UConn would be 4 of them, but the other 2 would be very difficult.

Most, if not all of the original Big1O schools want to play each other as much as possible. Let’s say Michigan, Indiana or OSU were pushed to a pod with all “new” schools (PSU, Maryland, Rutgers and UConn). They would be very “unhappy.” So, to appease the Original 10, they would have to be placed in pods with each other. So that leaves 4 in the East pots and 4 in the West pod. The West pod would be relatively easy to fill. Texas Tech, ISU, or even trying to pull Colorado from the PAC. There are numerous schools tha “could” work.

But that east pod? Not so much. In fact, besides UConn, there really only is 1 NE/Mid Atlantic school not in the ACC that would be ready for the Big10 athletically, and that’s WVU. They aren’t close academically and many Big10 presidents would balk at the thought.

Are there others? Buffalo? Nope. UMass? No. Cincinnati? OSU would fight that to the death. I can’t even think of any other possibilities. I just don’t see pods working. I think it’s why Delany is now floating the divisionless conferences. It would make it easier to fit those couple of schools needed to “finish off” the Big10.

 

[billybud]

Large, 20 program conferences, play havoc with traditional rivalries.

Breaking up Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State would be a killer...but in a pod, that pod may be overly strong.

Putting schools together to make geographic sense might lead to the same...like the old Big 12 South dominating the North.

 

[dayooper]

Large, 20 program conferences, play havoc with traditional rivalries.

Breaking up Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State would be a killer...but in a pod, that pod may be overly strong.

Putting schools together to make geographic sense might lead to the same...like the old Big 12 South dominating the North.

Splitting Michigan and OSU would be, but there are some at MSU that would love to be in a pod centered around Chicago. MSU gets the majority of its students from the state of Michigan, but the next biggest area is Chicago. Would MSU like to be in a pod away from UofM? Some would, but if it is feasible, I don’t know.

Mixing up the pods would help, but keeping the original 10 together in two 5 team pods would be very important, at least to fans.

 

[CL82]

Splitting Michigan and OSU would be, but there are some at MSU that would love to be in a pod centered around Chicago. MSU gets the majority of its students from the state of Michigan, but the next biggest area is Chicago. Would MSU like to be in a pod away from UofM? Some would, but if it is feasible, I don’t know.

Mixing up the pods would help, but keeping the original 10 together in two 5 team pods would be very important, at least to fans.

If you separate traditional rivals, you'd have to make them a guaranteed crossover game.

 

[Bobol]

....... Breaking up Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State would be a killer...but in a pod, that pod may be overly strong........

As it is, the Big Ten East football with The Ohio State, Mich, Mich State and Penn State is a killer with it making it difficult for any of the 4 to escape conference play without a loss.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

20 is doable with pods, but 24 wouldn’t be, in my opinion. Combining 2 of the 4 pods into a division of 12 would require 11 conference games and that just doesn’t work with the Big10 schools. 20 would work (9 conference games) and I could see it happening, but who would the 6 schools be? In your scenario, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and UConn would be 4 of them, but the other 2 would be very difficult.

I Agree that the B1G's goal is to get to 20 with football broken down into 4 pods of 5. The confernece will likley take the best from which ever conference folds first - the ACC ot XII.

Their idea situation is that the XII folds and ACC becomes unstable. That allows the B1G to go from 14 to 20 schools with - 1) Texas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Kansas, and 4) Virginia. That leaves the following to schools fight it out for the last 2 slots (not in any order) - 1) UConn, 2) ND, 3) UNC, 4) Duke, 5) G-Tech, 6) Florida St. My guess would be that the Tobacco Road says no to the 'Great Northern Conference' and takes ND (who decides that independence is history and the B1G is as 'national' as one can get and UConn to lock-up the Northeast and Midwest 'Yankeedom.' So, the 4 B1G Pods look like this:

• East: 1) Connecticut, 2) Rutgers, 3) Penn State, 4) Maryland, 5) Notre Dame
• Central: 6) Virginia, 7) Ohio St, 8) Michigan, 9) Michigan St, 10) Indiana
• South: 11) Texas, 12) Oklahoma, 13) Kansas, 14) Nebraska, 15) Iowa
• North: 16) Minnesota, 17) Wisconsin, 18) Northwestern, 19) Illinois, 20) Purdue

In this arrangement, ND insistend on being in the 'eastern' pod while Nebraksa pushed to be attached to Texas for recruting reasons. Protected cross-over rivals are put in place between UVA and Maryland, Indiana and Purdue, etc.

 

[buddy]

I Agree that the B1G's goal is to get to 20 with football broken down into 4 pods of 5. The confernece will likley take the best from which ever conference folds first - the ACC ot XII.

Their idea situation is that the XII folds and ACC becomes unstable. That allows the B1G to go from 14 to 20 schools with - 1) Texas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Kansas, and 4) Virginia. That leaves the following to schools fight it out for the last 2 slots (not in any order) - 1) UConn, 2) ND, 3) UNC, 4) Duke, 5) G-Tech, 6) Florida St. My guess would be that the Tobacco Road says no to the 'Great Northern Conference' and takes ND (who decides that independence is history and the B1G is as 'national' as one can get and UConn to lock-up the Northeast and Midwest 'Yankeedom.' So, the 4 B1G Pods look like this:

• East: 1) Connecticut, 2) Rutgers, 3) Penn State, 4) Maryland, 5) Notre Dame
• Central: 6) Virginia, 7) Ohio St, 8) Michigan, 9) Michigan St, 10) Indiana
• South: 11) Texas, 12) Oklahoma, 13) Kansas, 14) Nebraska, 15) Iowa
• North: 16) Minnesota, 17) Wisconsin, 18) Northwestern, 19) Illinois, 20) Purdue

In this arrangement, ND insistend on being in the 'eastern' pod while Nebraksa pushed to be attached to Texas for recruting reasons. Protected cross-over rivals are put in place between UVA and Maryland, Indiana and Purdue, etc.

ACC has a GOR until 2036. Under the guidance of the beloved ESPN network, the ACC is more stable than any other conference. No one is leaving. I don't understand why people keep thinking this. ND cannot join any conference other than the ACC until 2036 without breaking the GOR. The fact is UConn is in the AAC for the foreseeable future and if the budget deficit continues, it may not even be in the AAC for long. Let's please get real here.

 

[XOVERX]

24 in pods of 6 would be "big", but can you really walk away from the states of CA, WA, and OR if they wanted to come? Tough to say "no", I should think, if you can snare the likes of Stanford, USC, WA, et al. But I doubt the "PAC scenario" arises.

Back to 20.

You add Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Then you finish off the NE Corridor with UConn.

That leaves two.

With the big guns of Texas and Oklahoma for football, and Kansas for basketball, you have the luxury of adding two schools for "other" reasons, so long as they are cultural fits.

The State of Texas, for example, would be much better saturated with a 24/7/365 B1G presence in Greater Houston, especially given the proximity of the SEC. How about Rice? Rice would sure make the Longhorns happy.

Want an additional tremendous recruiting ground? Plus, stick it in the eye of the SEC, lol? Tulane? Think of the party you get in Nawlins, lol. Fun. And fantastic high school footballers.

The ACC is locked down. I guess you could hang at 18 until 2036, then see what comes from the ACC, if anything. Long time off, though.

 

[CL82]

I Agree that the B1G's goal is to get to 20 with football broken down into 4 pods of 5. The confernece will likley take the best from which ever conference folds first - the ACC ot XII.

Their idea situation is that the XII folds and ACC becomes unstable. That allows the B1G to go from 14 to 20 schools with - 1) Texas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Kansas, and 4) Virginia. That leaves the following to schools fight it out for the last 2 slots (not in any order) - 1) UConn, 2) ND, 3) UNC, 4) Duke, 5) G-Tech, 6) Florida St. My guess would be that the Tobacco Road says no to the 'Great Northern Conference' and takes ND (who decides that independence is history and the B1G is as 'national' as one can get and UConn to lock-up the Northeast and Midwest 'Yankeedom.' So, the 4 B1G Pods look like this:

• East: 1) Connecticut, 2) Rutgers, 3) Penn State, 4) Maryland, 5) Notre Dame
• Central: 6) Virginia, 7) Ohio St, 8) Michigan, 9) Michigan St, 10) Indiana
• South: 11) Texas, 12) Oklahoma, 13) Kansas, 14) Nebraska, 15) Iowa
• North: 16) Minnesota, 17) Wisconsin, 18) Northwestern, 19) Illinois, 20) Purdue

In this arrangement, ND insistend on being in the 'eastern' pod while Nebraksa pushed to be attached to Texas for recruting reasons. Protected cross-over rivals are put in place between UVA and Maryland, Indiana and Purdue, etc.

Well I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat. Shouldn't UVA be in the East and ND in the Central?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Well I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat. Shouldn't UVA be in the East and ND in the Central?

Anyone of us would. The basic context is that if there is to be further conference realignment, its in UConn's best interest for the XII to fall apart instead of the ACC. The XII has 3 potential B1G targets in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas thus leaving more 'slots' that UConn can hopefully fill and, if UConn can't move to the B1G, it would still be attractive to the ACC. If the ACC was to fold, that's a lot of schools the BIG could be interested in ahead of UConn (UVA, UNC, Duke, G Tech, Florida St, Miami) and what's left, especially if the SEC and XII poach a few others, would leave a conference that is basically at the same level as the American.

ND views itself as a 'national' school first and a 'eastern' school second. Thus, ND would whine just enough to get its football team into the eastern 'pod.' Plus, from a football view point, putting ND, Michigan, Michigan, St, and Ohio St in the same pod would be epic; but problematic from a football playoff view. So, to make things even from a football view (for all other sports, I think a East/West split with 10 teams each would be easier):

• South: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa
• North: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan St, Illinois
• Central: Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio St, Virginia
• East: UConn, Rutgers, Penn St, Maryland, ND

Each team gets 11 games. 4 games would be against each team's pod rivals. Then, there would be 2 non-pod cross-over games that change annually. That would leave 4 open slots for non-conference games from which 1 game could be set-aside for a 'locked' non-pod conference rivalry, such as Michigan v. Michigan St, UVA v. Maryland, Minnesota v. Iowa, etc., that would not count towards the standings. The 11th game would be an 'open' conference game where the 4 pod leaders play each other in the conference semi-finals (call it Chicago and DC) and the other 16 teams are then paired-off, likley with the best teams playing each other to boost Bowl chances. High School conferences do this a lot. The 12th game would be the conference final, which to make its new members happy would be in Dallas, with an 'automatic' playoff bid at play.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

ACC has a GOR until 2036. Under the guidance of the beloved ESPN network, the ACC is more stable than any other conference. No one is leaving. I don't understand why people keep thinking this. ND cannot join any conference other than the ACC until 2036 without breaking the GOR. The fact is UConn is in the AAC for the foreseeable future and if the budget deficit continues, it may not even be in the AAC for long. Let's please get real here.

Note, that I did not include a time frame for a reason. Also, when it comes to legal contacts, 1) the 'big' player in any negiotaion always leaves some wiggle room and I find it hard to beleive that ND does not have loophole in its ACC agreement should other events take place (ditto for U Texas in the XII) and, of course, money can always trump a contract.

 

[buddy]

Note, that I did not include a time frame for a reason. Also, when it comes to legal contacts, 1) the 'big' player in any negiotaion always leaves some wiggle room and I find it hard to beleive that ND does not have loophole in its ACC agreement should other events take place (ditto for U Texas in the XII) and, of course, money can always trump a contract.

You forget that ESPN, which is essentially the bank, controls all of this They essentially have put all of their money of the table with the ACC. They will not allow the scenario you describe to occur. 2036 is a long, long,way away. UConn will not be able to sustain its athletic programs for more than a couple years, at most. Neither ND nor Virginia can leave the ACC. It will not be permitted.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

You forget that ESPN, which is essentially the bank, controls all of this They essentially have put all of their money of the table with the ACC. They will not allow the scenario you describe to occur. 2036 is a long, long,way away. UConn will not be able to sustain its athletic programs for more than a couple years, at most. Neither ND nor Virginia can leave the ACC. It will not be permitted.

That of course assumes that the ESPN we know and love is still around in 2036. At the rate that they are draining blood from Disney and the overall changing media dynamics, that is not a sure thing...

 

[djct1999]

You forget that ESPN, which is essentially the bank, controls all of this They essentially have put all of their money of the table with the ACC. They will not allow the scenario you describe to occur. 2036 is a long, long,way away. UConn will not be able to sustain its athletic programs for more than a couple years, at most. Neither ND nor Virginia can leave the ACC. It will not be permitted.

You sound threatened. Then again, I understand why you would.

 

[billybud]

You sound threatened. Then again, I understand why you would.

I think that Buddy's comment was quite reasonable based on what is known.

....The ACC's GOR is through 2036
....Notre Dame is bound through 2036 (football as well)
....ESPN is investing in the ACC

I doubt that any personal feel of "threat" had anything to do with his reasoned post based on known facts.

 

[baggerbob]

I think that Buddy's comment was quite reasonable based on what is known.

....The ACC's GOR is through 2036
....Notre Dame is bound through 2036 (football as well)
....ESPN is investing in the ACC

I doubt that any personal feel of "threat" had anything to do with his reasoned post based on known facts.

Notre Dame hates Michigan, just ask Terry D, there is no chance they ever join the Big 10.

 

[buddy]

You sound threatened. Then again, I understand why you would.

I am not threatened at all. I am just stating what I understand to be factual about the ACC GOR. Thank you billybud. You know my feelings about FSU and their past transgressions, but one cannot argue what has come to be for UConn nowadays.

 

[buddy]

Notre Dame hates Michigan, just ask Terry D, there is no chance they ever join the Big 10.

Hate has nothing to do with it! Money has everything to do with it. Notre Dame is Notre Dame. They stand alone and need no football conference. Also, how can a Catholic school hate another school? They are all about love and treating a neighbor as they would like to be treated, just like BC did! I will once again state the ND is bound by the ACC GOR and will likely remain in the ACC for the foreseeable future.

 

[dayooper]

I Agree that the B1G's goal is to get to 20 with football broken down into 4 pods of 5. The confernece will likley take the best from which ever conference folds first - the ACC ot XII.

Their idea situation is that the XII folds and ACC becomes unstable. That allows the B1G to go from 14 to 20 schools with - 1) Texas, 2) Oklahoma, 3) Kansas, and 4) Virginia. That leaves the following to schools fight it out for the last 2 slots (not in any order) - 1) UConn, 2) ND, 3) UNC, 4) Duke, 5) G-Tech, 6) Florida St. My guess would be that the Tobacco Road says no to the 'Great Northern Conference' and takes ND (who decides that independence is history and the B1G is as 'national' as one can get and UConn to lock-up the Northeast and Midwest 'Yankeedom.' So, the 4 B1G Pods look like this:

• East: 1) Connecticut, 2) Rutgers, 3) Penn State, 4) Maryland, 5) Notre Dame
• Central: 6) Virginia, 7) Ohio St, 8) Michigan, 9) Michigan St, 10) Indiana
• South: 11) Texas, 12) Oklahoma, 13) Kansas, 14) Nebraska, 15) Iowa
• North: 16) Minnesota, 17) Wisconsin, 18) Northwestern, 19) Illinois, 20) Purdue

In this arrangement, ND insistend on being in the 'eastern' pod while Nebraksa pushed to be attached to Texas for recruting reasons. Protected cross-over rivals are put in place between UVA and Maryland, Indiana and Purdue, etc.

While this would be awesome, I don't think it's possible. Virginia likes being in league with UNC and Duke and I'm not sure they would want to follow Maryland into the Big10. Being in a pod with four midwestern teams would not be entice them to move either. The ACC schools wouldn’t have locked them in with a GoR until 2036 if they didn’t want to be together. I assume that the ACC and ND are off the table. Since the SEC isn’t going anywhere, that leaves the Big12 and PAC to look at.

What happens with the Big12, PAC and Big10 in 2024 will determine the path college sports takes. I can see a mega media deal with the Big10 and PAC with a couple of Big12 schools sprinkled in. If the PAC is worse off than we think, they don’t get their $500 million and fold, the Big12 and Big10 will take what they want and the rest will be left out.

If they do find an investor, those schools are locked in for many years and they won’t be adding anybody either.

 

[TerryD]

Notre Dame hates Michigan, just ask Terry D, there is no chance they ever join the Big 10.

ND folks do hate Michigan but there are a number of other reasons why ND will stay where they are, how they are, for the foreseeable future.

All "ND football to the Big Ten" scenarios are pure fantasy.

 

[Adios]

The Fighting Irish nickname is a byproduct of Fielding Yost being derisive of Notre Dame's football team.

Might be time for a name change!

 

[dayooper]

The Fighting Irish nickname is a byproduct of Fielding Yost being derisive of Notre Dame's football team.

Might be time for a name change!

Bo Schembechler wasn’t a big ND fan either. Michigan did teach ND how to play football. The forward pass was honed by Knute Rockne and a couple of teammates while working at Cedar Point, Ohio. Obviously, this was before there were roller coasters there. It was beach resort and they practiced restlessly in their off time on the beach of Lake Erie. The Hotel Breakers has a nice plaque commemorating the event, at least they did before the latest renovations.

No matter how much ND wants to be an Eastern school, it’s roots will always be Midwestern.