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Message: [QUOTE="dayooper, post: 4353246, member: 3859"] And this means what? All of these but 1 are owned by ESPN and, quite frankly, are rather small. Here are the size ranks of each. Birmingham - 40 New Orleans - 53 Richmond - 58 Louisville - 50 Greenville, Spartanburg, Asheville - 58 Knoxville - 59 Greensboro, High Pointe, Winston-Salem - 46 Charlotte - 24 Memphis - 48 Columbus - 32 I know these place are high ratings places, but the size of these markets are very small. Most don’t even rate in the top 25 with Columbus a Big10 town. I get the point of being a regional conference with rivalries that transcend sports. One of the reasons there’s so much rivalry between UM and OSU is there an intense rivalry between the states that existed before the 1st football game was ever played. The games played and incidences that occurred (the snow bowl, both UM and OSU running up the score, the 10 year war, OSU slowing down the UM players from entering Ohio Stadium in ‘06 by having the sheriffs and their police dogs go through every bag before they could enter the locker room). What’s the reason for playing big time athletics? Why spend all of that money? Why do so many schools go into the red for their athletic programs? Most would say to win championships, but why is that important? The reason I believe is the same reason many schools are building new dorms, academic buildings and facilities. It’s why many wealthy suburban public and private schools are building new buildings, refurbishing and refreshing older buildings. To attract new students/ families. I’m a teacher and coach here in Michigan. My principal says that new families don’t shop houses, they shop schools and purchase houses accordingly so their kids can attend that school. Being able to market their school to a nationwide audience is huge. A true nation wide audience. It’s why ND values their independence (at the administrative level). It’s why Rutgers, UMD, USC and, to a lesser extent, USC are now in the Big10. Marketing your schools to a wider audience. I’d be interested in seeing what Fox’s top 10 markets are. I’m sure NYC, DC, Chicago and Philly aren’t on the list, but I bet #11 Detroit and #17 Cleveland are. [/QUOTE]

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