Missouri still a possibility for the B1G?

[pj]

After reading the recent story on Missouri travel costs (Missouri spent $7.1 mn on all sports travel using buses to get to SEC destinations, will soon spend more by adding charters to help athletes who have been missing class time to travel due to SEC schools being inconveniently located, http://www.stltoday.com/sports/coll...cle_b26d13a4-a0ed-53de-a09d-0aa492d6103b.html), I have to think Missouri will seriously consider overtures from the B1G.

Currently, the SEC payout is $20.7 mn and travel costs are $7.1 mn. In a western division of the B1G, travel costs would be lower and payout higher. They would have rivalries with Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and great cultural fit with all the Midwest schools. They would be with a better set of schools academically. They would be more competitive in football.

The Pac network has been disappointing revenue wise and it's possible the SEC network might also disappoint. If the B1G succeeds in getting a good offer on its new TV contract and the SEC network doesn't take off, Missouri could have much to gain by moving.

If the B12 is secure, then UConn would be the most plausible partner for Missouri. I could see this being a revenue-accretive add for the B1G. If we can be AAU in two years, we might be ready in the nick of time for the B1G to thoroughly evaluate this option.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

In an ideal world for UConn, the answer is yes. Biggest hurdle if there is mutual interest would be any bad blood between Missouri and the B1G after the last round of expansion where the B1G basically told Missouri to go screw.
Missouri would strengthen B1G’s market presences in St. Louis and give it an anchor in Kansas City. While not as sexy as DC, the Carolinas, and Florida, with the ACC GOR in place, this maybe the best the B1G can do to get to 16 now and address the Southeast later on. Missouri would get to lower travel costs, align itself with its more natural ‘Midwest’ roots, and renew rivalries with Illinois and Nebraska.
The SEC would go along, especially if they can land Louisville as a replacement for Missouri before the ACC GOR kicks-in. Louisville would immediately elevate SEC basketball and 2 basketball Louisville v. Kentucky games a year would bring in decent $$. Louisville also culturally fits better in the SEC/South than the ACC/East and adds a credible football team (ask Florida).
The ACC would then ask the XII to release West Virginia from purgatory as Texas will not let the XII expand East. All WV has to do is to realize that it will cost less money to sue to XII over GOR than it would be to keep sending it’s sports teams 800 miles away each game. Everyone with a vested interest in protecting GOR, will pressure the XII to arrive an a mutually beneficial arrangement and replace WV with some combination of S Florida, Central Florida, NYU, UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego State.
That leaves UConn as a natural partner with Missouri to join the B1G.

 

[Pudge]

You are really reaching.

 

[pj]

You are really reaching.

What else is there to do in CR talk? This seems the most plausible scenario for UConn to move up in the near future.

 

[Adios]

The SEC is not taking Louisville. Mizzou shouldn't have publicly begged.

 

[Rumrunner]

And to think I thought he was commenting on the "Louisville to the SEC" opinion/statement.

What else is there to do in CR talk? This seems the most plausible scenario for UConn to move up in the near future.

You are really reaching.

 

[B1GALUM]

What else is there to do in CR talk? This seems the most plausible scenario for UConn to move up in the near future.

It is a plausible scenario. Since CR is so much about speculation anyway, a few thoughts.
1. There is no GOR binding Missouri to the SEC.
2. The B1G passed on Missouri but, if Gee is to be believed, there is possible regret about this decision and addition is still a speculative option.
http://college-football.si.com/2013/05/31/ohio-state-gordon-gee-controversial-comments/
“I think the Big Ten needs to be predatory and positive rather than waiting for other people to take away from them. Very candidly, I think we made a mistake. Because thought about adding Missouri and Kansas at the time. There was not a great deal of enthusiasm about that. I think we should have done that at the time. So we would have had Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and then moved into that other area. I think, by the way, that that can still happen.”
3. I agree that Louisville to the SEC is not an option given a probable University of Kentucky "block" of their admission to the SEC.
4. A scenario in which West Virginia is "released" by the Big 12 and goes to the SEC to replace Missouri in the eastern division followed by the Big 12 picking up a new #10 team such as BYU is another speculative option.

 

[pj]

And to think I thought he was commenting on the "Louisville to the SEC" opinion/statement.

That would make sense.

If the SEC didn't want Florida State because it wants only one school per state, no way they are taking a second Kentucky school. I could see West Virginia; I could see them working out an ESPN-brokered deal for an ACC school (Va Tech? Fla State?) with the ACC replacing the loss with Cincy, that way ESPN encroaches on the B1G's Ohio football recruiting grounds.

 

[B1GALUM]

That would make sense.

If the SEC didn't want Florida State because it wants only one school per state, no way they are taking a second Kentucky school. I could see West Virginia; I could see them working out an ESPN-brokered deal for an ACC school (Va Tech? Fla State?) with the ACC replacing the loss with Cincy, that way ESPN encroaches on the B1G's Ohio football recruiting grounds.

Cincy to the ACC, encroaching on "B1G territory" would also be a Swofford poke at Delany for the move of Maryland to the B1G.

 

[frankthetank]

Two things:

(1) The Big Ten has passed on Missouri over and over and over and over and over again. I can't tell you how many times the Big Ten rejected Mizzou even when that school was openly hiking up its skirt to get Jim Delany's attention. Regardless of Gee's personal opinion, the league simply doesn't want them. That's not my personal choice (as I think they're serviceable in a potential 16-school Big Ten), but their actions have continuously shown that they want nothing to do with Mizzou. UConn has a better chance of getting an ACC invite at this point than Mizzou getting an invite from the Big Ten.

(2) I'm as big of a Big Ten guy as anyone, but even I'm not enough of a homer to believe that anyone is going to leave the SEC. That league is as ironclad as the Big Ten itself and ESPN will be paying that league a mint with the new SEC Network. The Big Ten will probably still make more than the SEC in terms of media revenue at the end of the day, but it's nowhere near the advantage compared to the ACC and Big 12. From a contractual perspective, the SEC may end up with a grant of rights prior to the launch of the SEC Network, anyway.

 

[frankthetank]

Cincy to the ACC, encroaching on "B1G territory" would also be a Swofford poke at Delany for the move of Maryland to the B1G.

I like Cincinnati on a lot of levels (as I think they'd be a good fit in the Big 12), but Pitt is honestly a larger "poke" from the ACC in Big Ten territory than Cincy could ever be (and that poke pales in comparison to the Big Ten punching the ACC in the nose when it snatched Maryland). Ohio State is right alongside Texas in terms of being a college sports monolith that combines massive revenue, a huge big-spending alumni base, and having a ton of non-alumni T-shirt fans on top of them.

 

[B1GALUM]

Two things:

(1) The Big Ten has passed on Missouri over and over and over and over and over again. I can't tell you how many times the Big Ten rejected Mizzou even when that school was openly hiking up its skirt to get Jim Delany's attention. Regardless of Gee's personal opinion, the league simply doesn't want them. That's not my personal choice (as I think they're serviceable in a potential 16-school Big Ten), but their actions have continuously shown that they want nothing to do with Mizzou. UConn has a better chance of getting an ACC invite at this point than Mizzou getting an invite from the Big Ten.

(2) I'm as big of a Big Ten guy as anyone, but even I'm not enough of a homer to believe that anyone is going to leave the SEC. That league is as ironclad as the Big Ten itself and ESPN will be paying that league a mint with the new SEC Network. The Big Ten will probably still make more than the SEC in terms of media revenue at the end of the day, but it's nowhere near the advantage compared to the ACC and Big 12. From a contractual perspective, the SEC may end up with a grant of rights prior to the launch of the SEC Network, anyway.

Just having fun speculating about CR.
As PJ said: "What else is there to do in CR talk?".
Frank. I think you were the one who stated conference realignment talk is like "crack".

 

[DarthGrumpy]

As I said, in an ideal world, which means unlikely.
With respect to Missouri, I can only imagine the B1G’s interest in Mizzou would be due to the fact that expansion into the Southeast via poaching the ACC is off the table for the next 20 or so years and the B1G does indeed want to get to 16 schools in the near future. UConn is the most logical school to add; but, it needs a partner. As the SEC does not have a GOR in place right now and as cost and culturally, Mizzou may not fit in the SEC over the long-term, Mizzou could be an option.
The other key item here is that without an eastern travel partner, and I do not believe UConn is viable in this position, WV is in a tough spot in the XII. How long before the cost of travel and the impact of travel (in 2012, their football team started 5 and 0 and then lost 5 of their last 7 games and many point to travel as an issue) outweigh the extra money from the XII. How long before it becomes less costly to try and sue their way out of the XII GOR than it is to continue to absorb travel costs? With the GOR such a sensitive issue for many conferences, I can see pressure internally and externally for the XII to let WV go to avoid WV potentially beating the GOR in court.
As for Louisville to the SEC, the SEC does have 2 schools in many states (MS, TN, AL) and Kentucky is not Florida with respect to blocking a move that could be very beneficial to the SEC, especially as the SEC can easily afford to absorb a mid-level football program while picking-up a major basketball program.
As I said, this is specultative and makes sense on many levels; but, will likely never happen.
Speaking of Florida, any thoughts on what the NCAA may do with Florida is evidence comes forth that Hernandez’s earlier actions in Gainesville were buried by Florida? I doubt it; but there are parallel’s to Penn State here.

 

[Whale22]

My biggest takeaway from that article was the negativity of the Softball players/coaches about the travel. If I hear one more big time president mention it is "all about the student athletes," I'll throw up.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

My biggest takeaway from that article was the negativity of the Softball players/coaches about the travel. If I hear one more big time president mention it is "all about the student athletes," I'll throw up.

Agree. Major universities stopped caring about the ‘student; in ‘student athlete’ years ago. It’s a business.

All business want to maximize revenue generators, i.e. students on revenue generating sports teams, and minimize fixed costs, which is any expense generated by non-revenue teams, such as overhead (travel) and compliance fees (APR scores, Title IX [no disrespect intended to women athletes[, etc.)

 

[whaler11]

It's not like taking Missouri softball to Texas Tech or Michigan makes much more sense.

 

[hthusky74]

The only reason Missouri would leave the SEC is if they come to the realization that they can't compete with them in football, or if the SEC wants them out for some reason. Otherwise, they aren't going anywhere.

 

[B1GALUM]

The only reason Missouri would leave the SEC is if they come to the realization that they can't compete with them in football, or if the SEC wants them out for some reason. Otherwise, they aren't going anywhere.

Yes. The reality is that Missouri is not leaving the SEC and the B1G does not want them.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/spor...cle_fb2bce5c-9b5c-5253-9f20-31cdac8d36ae.html

Presumably, those worries are over. Schools don’t leave the SEC. Missouri is leaving behind a lot of history, though. For example, it has shared a conference with Kansas for more than 100 years and animosity with the Jayhawks for even longer than that. The Border War is ending at the behest of KU.
That’s the price Missouri is willing to pay for a secure future.
“It was not a sudden, knee-jerk decision,” Deaton said. “It was not an emotional decision. It was very much, and I have said this before, a case of the head overruling in some cases the heart. We loved the traditions of the Big 12. We love our colleagues in other universities and great friendships, and fans are comfortable traveling to various venues. We understand that.
“You give that up, because you’re looking 50 to 100 years down the road. You’ve got to make the kind of decisions that will lead to strong foundations for this university. We felt that allied with the Southeastern Conference.”

I think if the B1G were to expand in the future I could see it being an additional two from the east or additional two from the west. This would allow Purdue and Indiana to rejoin in the same division and prevent the need to account for the Indiana vs. Purdue game as a permanent crossover in the schedule.

 

[jdb50]

In an ideal world for UConn, the answer is yes. Biggest hurdle if there is mutual interest would be any bad blood between Missouri and the B1G after the last round of expansion where the B1G basically told Missouri to go screw.
Missouri would strengthen B1G’s market presences in St. Louis and give it an anchor in Kansas City. While not as sexy as DC, the Carolinas, and Florida, with the ACC GOR in place, this maybe the best the B1G can do to get to 16 now and address the Southeast later on. Missouri would get to lower travel costs, align itself with its more natural ‘Midwest’ roots, and renew rivalries with Illinois and Nebraska.
The SEC would go along, especially if they can land Louisville as a replacement for Missouri before the ACC GOR kicks-in. Louisville would immediately elevate SEC basketball and 2 basketball Louisville v. Kentucky games a year would bring in decent . Louisville also culturally fits better in the SEC/South than the ACC/East and adds a credible football team (ask Florida).
The ACC would then ask the XII to release West Virginia from purgatory as Texas will not let the XII expand East. All WV has to do is to realize that it will cost less money to sue to XII over GOR than it would be to keep sending it’s sports teams 800 miles away each game. Everyone with a vested interest in protecting GOR, will pressure the XII to arrive an a mutually beneficial arrangement and replace WV with some combination of S Florida, Central Florida, NYU, UNLV, New Mexico, and San Diego State.
That leaves UConn as a natural partner with Missouri to join the B1G.

While everyone else plays Stratego, Mr Conehead plays chess. Someday we will be able to close this forum down but it is fun to read and I'll miss it. UConn to the B1G is the most likely play IMHO.

 

[whaler11]

How long before people realize UConn is going to be in the AAC for a long time?

 

[uconnbill]

How long before people realize UConn is going to be in the AAC for a long time?

Maybe, but maybe not. Who knows what the conferences will decide over the next couple of years. Surely not you nor anyone else on this board. But it is interesting to think and talk about it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

How long before people realize UConn is going to be in the AAC for a long time?

I think you are the first person in the entire world to realize that. Thanks for your tremendous insight.

 

[whaler11]

I think you are the first person in the entire world to realize that. Thanks for your tremendous insight.

Yes Waylon, it was posted as an epiphany. Shouldn't you get back to shutting down the football program so UConn can play basketball with Seton Hall?

 

[whaler11]

Maybe, but maybe not. Who knows what the conferences will decide over the next couple of years. Surely not you nor anyone else on this board. But it is interesting to think and talk about it.

It's actually not maybe anymore.

The fevered delusions we read now are actually the opposite of interesting at this point.

 

[buddy]

How long before people realize UConn is going to be in the AAC for a long time?

It is just news that we cannot accept. We are still in the denial phase.