Interesting Take On The BIG's Approach

[SC Husky]

Received this from a contributor to the University of Cincinnati's boards. There is hope!

From a good source from one of the boards I go to;
I got to spend 3 hours last Thursday with a Big 10 AD and his wife at my table at an event my company sponsored...couple relevant points.
~The NCAA is in the most tumultuous time period he has ever seen (O'bannon lawsuit, Unionization efforts, 3 active lawsuits against the NCAA / power 5 conferences, etc)
~Last time the B1G added teams, it was done to add new markets on the East coast...look at statewide growth rates in existing B1G markets vs. NY and DC and the entire SEC, ACC and PAC 12 footprints. Had to grow the brand and the B1G has huge Alumni bases in NYC and DC.
~Jim Delany is a tireless worker and brought numerous teams to B1G ADs to vet before the vote went to the University Presidents...Maryland and Rutgers both added markets and had Academics that the University Presidents would approve (this AD advised his president to vote yes for both schools). Athletics can improve over time...
~2-4 schools had positive votes from B1G ADs to be added from a sports perspective / regional fit, but the vote NEVER made it to the conference presidents because of Academics.
~The B1G is not done with conference alignment in his humble opinion, just at resting point right now...is 16 or 18 the right number. Currently 8 conference games, going to 9 is a problem for schools like Ohio State and Michigan if they only get 4 conference games in a year because these schools have models built on 7 Home games.
~Tried 4 years ago to get a stipend for players and the NCAA schools voted it down...the AD made the point why should a Toledo vote NO cancel out a B1G schools vote for YES. Believes there will be a NEW division including the major power conference and the independents willing to meet the $$$ guidelines established for football and basketball. Basketball is a successful model that is not being looked at to change expect working with the NBA to raise the initial draft age to 20. Cited the Kansas freshman talking about his 1 year in college before he ever played a game...said that is hurting college basketball and the student athletes...they can go overseas or NBAD if they do not want 2 years of college.
Things will heat up again once some things start getting resolved

 

[CTGoonie]

I sure hope you are right with that last sentence. I actually had a conference realignment dream last night. I was in a church and saw something about Uconn and the B1G in the weekly pamphlet they hand out. I was about to take a pic and post it here before I woke up. I don't even go to church but maybe now I should.

 

[HuskyHawk]

New Member...many grains of salt. That being said, none of this rings false. Everything on that list is essentially as we would expect. Nor are there any grand promises of wine and roses for UConn. So I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

At this point, my petty annoyance with the ACC is also wearing thin. While UConn to the B1G would be incredibly cool, I still see the ACC as a more likely and logical landing place. If I'm honest, as great as it would be to see UConn vs. Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska on the football field, the ACC would be better for basketball. On top of that, since I live in MA, I think the combination of BC and UConn in the ACC would give me a much better chance to catch UConn games in local Boston area bars. UConn vs. FSU, Clemson, Miami and VT in football isn't exactly unappealing folks.

 

[SC Husky]

HuskyHawk.....I would also be fine with UCONN going to the ACC. The BIG or the ACC works well for me.

What I found interesting was that, "2-4 schools had positive votes from B1G ADs to be added from a sports perspective / regional fit, but the vote NEVER made it to the conference presidents because of Academics." I wonder what schools they were.

There are rumors on the Cincy boards that the BIG is interested in UVA & VT. No surprise there & nothing new to us. But is the BIG willing to challenge the Grant of Rights (GOR) that the ACC has in place.

 

[kyleslamb]

No idea where that came from, but in my personal opinion it is spot on based on my knowledge of circumstances. The evolution of the NCAA and how the legislative matters materialize is a huge reason why the Big Ten will take its time. Now that the third football subdivision looks like it will come to fruition soon, a lot of the obstacles are out of the way to go forward. Then is just a matter of settling the Maryland suit.

 

[noeynox]

I sure hope you are right with that last sentence. I actually had a conference realignment dream last night. I was in a church and saw something about Uconn and the B1G in the weekly pamphlet they hand out. I was about to take a pic and post it here before I woke up. I don't even go to church but maybe now I should.

Lmao At This Post Cause I Too Have Had Dreams Like That. What A Pathetic Loser I @M I Dream About This sheet.