Non-Key Tweets

[Kolumbo]

Lighten up .
This is CR board were every speculatative bit of info is treated like an oasis , to this caravan of thirsty fans. We create imaginary houses and then proceed to argue over decoration decisions for each room of this non existent house.
Why ,because imaginary scenarios help us to deal with a harsher reality.
How could you possibly take any board seriously where the star is a West Virginia
Tweeter or is it Tweeker, working out of his mother's basement.
If not for this intended our unintended diversion we would all be driven to insanity.
Okay some of us have already made the trip.

I hear ya. My thirst for a glimmer of hope is unmatched. I just wish there were some real discussions taking place, however brief, which we could seriously follow. Anything with substance. Bueller? Anyone?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

For the love of God, can we stop it with all this partial membership nonsense? It's bad enough we are in a lousy conference, and that the lousy conference isn't even regional. UCONN is not getting invited to any P5 conference on partial membership terms.

Alcoholism, conference realignment, and being a UConn fan is a lethal combination...

 

[pj]

For the love of God, can we stop it with all this partial membership nonsense? It's bad enough we are in a lousy conference, and that the lousy conference isn't even regional. UCONN is not getting invited to any P5 conference on partial membership terms.

You are overlooking the sensible nature of this idea. The only schools that the B1G would pair with UConn are in the ACC or B12 and locked up by GoR for ten more years. Yet, UConn brings huge markets in New England and New York and is worth a lot of money to the B1G - we would be non-dilutive (revenue neutral) even at the large payouts being discussed and would be of great strategic value locking up the northeast corridor.

However, you can't have 15 football schools while playing a 9-game schedule, and the B1G will not want to be forced to a 10-game schedule in order to make a marginal add. A Notre Dame like football deal solves the football scheduling issue. It also allows the B1G to set conditions to full membership, such as upgrading the football stadium or building an on-campus stadium or gaining AAU status, while improving UConn's situation.

 

[TruDomGopher]

Is it really sensible? I hear what you're saying, but the Big Ten has always been an "an all for one and one for all" conference. I can see very limited partial membership situations--Johns Hopkins for lacrosse because they blend in nicely for research and only have the one D1 sport, lacrosse, and with the tight ties to the Pac12, I can see the B1G helping Pac12 schools launch hockey.

But--BUT--if the B1G starts adding and offering by particular sports for TV purposes only, they become Texas on steroids and have totally left intercollegiate athletics and academics for purely running a television business. That's not the Big Ten I've know for my 50+ years on the planet and it's a completely different philosophy than the one that kept the B1G the most stable conference in history.

UConn is a fast-rising flagship school with (arguably) the best basketball brand in America. There are only two ways this ends: you either get into the B1G relatively soon, or you end up waiting out the GORs and get pulled as backfill into another power conference, probably the ACC. Either way, full membership, all sports. Period.

 

[pj]

Is it really sensible? I hear what you're saying, but the Big Ten has always been an "an all for one and one for all" conference. I can see very limited partial membership situations--Johns Hopkins for lacrosse because they blend in nicely for research and only have the one D1 sport, lacrosse, and with the tight ties to the Pac12, I can see the B1G helping Pac12 schools launch hockey.

But--BUT--if the B1G starts adding and offering by particular sports for TV purposes only, they become Texas on steroids and have totally left intercollegiate athletics and academics for purely running a television business. That's not the Big Ten I've know for my 50+ years on the planet and it's a completely different philosophy than the one that kept the B1G the most stable conference in history.

UConn is a fast-rising flagship school with (arguably) the best basketball brand in America. There are only two ways this ends: you either get into the B1G relatively soon, or you end up waiting out the GORs and get pulled as backfill into another power conference, probably the ACC. Either way, full membership, all sports. Period.

I see it more like the partial payouts Nebraska and Rutgers got during a phase-in period. UConn would be getting a full invite, it just would have a phase-in period while it waits for the inevitable #16 as a partner.

If a full invite were given without a #16, then something would have to be done to deal with the 15 school 9 game football scheduling issue. That would require 67.5 games to be played. Either the B1G would have to go to a 10 game schedule, or UConn would have to play an altered schedule (6, 8, or 10 B1G games). I think migrating the whole B1G to a 10-game schedule is infeasible on the time scale we're talking about. If UConn football is playing a number of games that is not the same as the other schools, you have to come up with special rules to decide UConn's eligibility for bowls and the conference championship. As a new invite, surely UConn would be disadvantaged relative to the existing B1G schools.

Personally, I'd love to play 10 football games in the B1G and have 1 win not count in the standings for bowl purposes; but I don't think B1G teams will want extra trips to Connecticut, so I think they go for a reduced football schedule of 6 or 8 games. If 8 games, UConn is treated as having an extra loss to judge eligibility for bowls and CCG. If 6 games, it's independent but with a formula for bowl eligibility.

I think the B1G sees UConn and the northeast as strategically important and won't want to wait ten years to begin building its brand in the northeast. Waiting has two major risks: UConn's brand decays leaving the B1G without a valuable prospect in the northeast; or UConn joins another conference and becoming inaccessible. So they will add UConn early, somehow. I also think it's likely they'll need to wait 10 years or close to it to add Va Tech or whoever #16 is, as they won't want major litigation and their TV partners will not want their other properties raided. So there will be no #16 for a while. They'll have to do some special deal for UConn football.

The wild card in this is AAU status. If that is really essential, then UConn is 10 years away, and the B1G will stay at 14 to give time for the GoRs to expire and UConn to prove itself in football and research. But, if they choose the waiting strategy, I believe UConn will still be a live candidate for the B1G. It won't be the case that our only chance for B1G membership is now, and if not added now we're doomed to backfill a depleted ACC.

 

[Kolumbo]

You are overlooking the sensible nature of this idea. The only schools that the B1G would pair with UConn are in the ACC or B12 and locked up by GoR for ten more years. Yet, UConn brings huge markets in New England and New York and is worth a lot of money to the B1G - we would be non-dilutive (revenue neutral) even at the large payouts being discussed and would be of great strategic value locking up the northeast corridor.

However, you can't have 15 football schools while playing a 9-game schedule, and the B1G will not want to be forced to a 10-game schedule in order to make a marginal add. A Notre Dame like football deal solves the football scheduling issue. It also allows the B1G to set conditions to full membership, such as upgrading the football stadium or building an on-campus stadium or gaining AAU status, while improving UConn's situation.

The thing of it is, these are just ramblings of blog posters. If you could quote just one AD or President in the B1G who is remotely thinking the same thing, then OK. But we really have no idea what they are strategizing. I love the terms, "locking up the northeast corridor" though. Sounds very commanding.

 

[TruDomGopher]

pj, understand what you're saying--but from my perspective it get's all so. . .Notre Dame. And too much of the Catholic school stuff has rub off on UConn already. Now I'm lighting candles everyday trying to get y'all out of purgatory. . .

 

[MattMang23]

pj, understand what you're saying--but from my perspective it get's all so. . .Notre Dame. And too much of the Catholic school stuff has rub off on UConn already. Now I'm lighting candles everyday trying to get y'all out of purgatory. . .

So much appreciated.

 

[pj]

pj, understand what you're saying--but from my perspective it get's all so. . .Notre Dame. And too much of the Catholic school stuff has rub off on UConn already. Now I'm lighting candles everyday trying to get y'all out of purgatory. . .

Notre Dame seeks a permanently advantaged position. UConn would have a temporarily disadvantaged position which we would eagerly accept because of its superiority to our present position. I think the temporary nature of it is the key. The B1G would still be a collection of equals, just with a transition period.

Thanks for your support!

 

[TruDomGopher]

"I think the more educational we are, the more sustainable we are. . .When you monetize everything that can be monetized, it opens up the discussion about what you do as your primary purpose, of what you're about. So I think the more you go into that commercial area of exploitation, the more you're going to get these questions raised. . .the dialogue ought to be about education. It ought to be about opportunities. It ought to be about fairness. It ought to be less about, you know, return on investment and year over year and all that." Jim Delany, February 2015

Delany, of course, is just the spokesman for the 14 presidents/chancellors of the Big Ten, but there has been some real soul searching going on with the academic/athletic internal politics, the O Bannon suit, and what not. I know Kaler has remarked on this as well.

I can't pull the info off the top of my head, but somewhere back in time--and I think this may have had to do with the decision to bypass Missouri--one of the top dogs, if not Delany himself--said that the B1G had made the conscious decision that they would not be "conference busters" and would limit expansion invites to one only from a conference. Now that was some time ago, but I suspect they are going to continue with that philosophy.

Which begs a most interesting question: Would the Big Ten take two ACC teams? Could they say no if UVa and VT wanted to double team or nothing, or what if UVa and UNC both wanted in? Would they say "no" and then try to pair one with UConn?
I don't know the answer, but I do find the question interesting. I think there are some scenarios where the B1G would have trouble saying "no" too, even if the long term implications are bad. Kinda like me at the bar on Saturday night at closing time. . .

 

[CL82]

Alcoholism, conference realignment, and being a UConn fan is a lethal combination...

Lethal, but surprisingly common.

 

[TruDomGopher]

It's wet and rainy in the Pacific NW on Sunday afternoon and a long way from college football season, so I just have to speculate on conference realignment. I'll put this post in this thread simply because I think this thread has the most pictures of conspiracy kitty already posted in it.

At the risk of being labeled Fluguar and Dude's illegitimate love child, did anyone else find it odd that E. Gordon Gee went to WVU? Fan bases, especially OSU's, have long lobbied for WVU but the B1G always said the couch burners weren't B1G material academically or culturally. Now, in any pack of dogs, there's always the alpha dog--and in the B1G, that alpha dog was E. Gordon Gee. I always found it odd that he went to WVU at his age--it's almost like he was sent on a mission to get the school rehabbed for. . .? Seriously, it's like Ohio said, "We want WVU" and the rest of the B1G said, "Fine, alpha, but you go get them up to standards."

So, there it is, WVU and UConn to the B1G--and, of course, Boston U for all sports.

Enjoy.

 

[TruDomGopher]

Alcoholism, conference realignment, and being a UConn fan is a lethal combination...

This.

 

[Ldandy]

It's wet and rainy in the Pacific NW on Sunday afternoon and a long way from college football season, so I just have to speculate on conference realignment. I'll put this post in this thread simply because I think this thread has the most pictures of conspiracy kitty already posted in it.

At the risk of being labeled Fluguar and Dude's illegitimate love child, did anyone else find it odd that E. Gordon Gee went to WVU? Fan bases, especially OSU's, have long lobbied for WVU but the B1G always said the couch burners weren't B1G material academically or culturally. Now, in any pack of dogs, there's always the alpha dog--and in the B1G, that alpha dog was E. Gordon Gee. I always found it odd that he went to WVU at his age--it's almost like he was sent on a mission to get the school rehabbed for. . .? Seriously, it's like Ohio said, "We want WVU" and the rest of the B1G said, "Fine, alpha, but you go get them up to standards."

So, there it is, WVU and UConn to the B1G--and, of course, Boston U for all sports.

Enjoy.

As a Penn State Alum who grew up viewing WVU as a rival, I would love to see them join the B1G for all sports. I'm personally not as hung up on The AAU requirement that many affiliated with this conference seem to be. As long as they played by the same rules as the rest of the conference for recruiting and player eligibility who cares?

That said you and I both know that there is a better chance that The University of Phoenix would be offered membership before The Neers would even be brought up for discussion. Small economically disadvantaged state with no media markets to exploit. There is no chance their addition could ever pay for itself. None.

As for Gordon Gee being the alpha of The B1G. LOL. Dude was a straight up embarrassment at OSU, and I'm positive that they were tickled to see him move on. The idea that his Presidency at WVU could in any way be viewed as a clandestine effort on the part of The B1G to get The Neers up to snuff is even beyond The Dood.

 

[jostar1]

At the risk of being labeled Fluguar and Dude's illegitimate love child, did anyone else find it odd that E. Gordon Gee went to WVU?

He was the President of WVU back in the '80's according to Wikipedia:

After clerking for Justice Warren Burger, Gee accepted a position as professor and associate dean at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He became dean and professor at West Virginia University's law school in 1979, and president of the university two years later. As president of a university at age 37, he was one of the youngest chief executives in academia at the time.[9]

 

[TruDomGopher]

I didn't realize Gee had a history with WVU.

 

[The Funster]

"I think the more educational we are, the more sustainable we are. . .When you monetize everything that can be monetized, it opens up the discussion about what you do as your primary purpose, of what you're about. So I think the more you go into that commercial area of exploitation, the more you're going to get these questions raised. . .the dialogue ought to be about education. It ought to be about opportunities. It ought to be about fairness. It ought to be less about, you know, return on investment and year over year and all that." Jim Delany, February 2015

Delany, of course, is just the spokesman for the 14 presidents/chancellors of the Big Ten, but there has been some real soul searching going on with the academic/athletic internal politics, the O Bannon suit, and what not. I know Kaler has remarked on this as well.

I can't pull the info off the top of my head, but somewhere back in time--and I think this may have had to do with the decision to bypass Missouri--one of the top dogs, if not Delany himself--said that the B1G had made the conscious decision that they would not be "conference busters" and would limit expansion invites to one only from a conference. Now that was some time ago, but I suspect they are going to continue with that philosophy.

Which begs a most interesting question: Would the Big Ten take two ACC teams? Could they say no if UVa and VT wanted to double team or nothing, or what if UVa and UNC both wanted in? Would they say "no" and then try to pair one with UConn?
I don't know the answer, but I do find the question interesting. I think there are some scenarios where the B1G would have trouble saying "no" too, even if the long term implications are bad. Kinda like me at the bar on Saturday night at closing time. . .

Pretty sure it was Delany himself. It was after the ACC raided the BE the last time. Delany said he wouldn't want the demise of a conference to be a part of his legacy.

 

[TruDomGopher]

The key is Delany is a history major--he's using William Tecumseh Sherman's old maps for strategy. Feint northeast with a UConn/BU hockey affiliation, then march through the south capturing Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and finally Richmond--I mean UVa. Yankees win again and we have the Big20--the first superconference.

I have good sources on this--the water bottle handler at a Texas school.

 

[bobbyinaz]

If the B1G was going to give anyone a "Notre Dame" type deal they would've given it to Notre Dame.

The fact that they didn't even consider giving the Domers a partial membership should make it very clear that we are never getting a partial membership deal from them.

As far as the ASU hockey thing goes, it makes sense given the close relationship with the PAC12 to add ASU for hockey. That said there is no reason to go to 8 teams for hockey. There is no advantage to go to 2 divisions of 4 and the current hockey schools have plenty of scheduling options so Flugars claim that if they add ASU they have to go to 8 is about as crazy as all the other internet CR geniuses claiming they "know" what's

 

[djct1999]

If the B1G was going to give anyone a "Notre Dame" type deal they would've given it to Notre Dame.

The fact that they didn't even consider giving the Domers a partial membership should make it very clear that we are never getting a partial membership deal from them.

As far as the ASU hockey thing goes, it makes sense given the close relationship with the PAC12 to add ASU for hockey. That said there is no reason to go to 8 teams for hockey. There is no advantage to go to 2 divisions of 4 and the current hockey schools have plenty of scheduling options so Flugars claim that if they add ASU they have to go to 8 is about as crazy as all the other internet CR geniuses claiming they "know" what's

The reasons for giving UConn a partial deal vs Notre Dame are polar opposites.

 

[Pat125]

If the B1G was going to give anyone a "Notre Dame" type deal they would've given it to Notre Dame.

The fact that they didn't even consider giving the Domers a partial membership should make it very clear that we are never getting a partial membership deal from them.

As far as the ASU hockey thing goes, it makes sense given the close relationship with the PAC12 to add ASU for hockey. That said there is no reason to go to 8 teams for hockey. There is no advantage to go to 2 divisions of 4 and the current hockey schools have plenty of scheduling options so Flugars claim that if they add ASU they have to go to 8 is about as crazy as all the other internet CR geniuses claiming they "know" what's

My guess is that the Big Ten would have offered ND a partial membership only as a temporary measure to allow ND to transition from football independence and honor any deals they had. But apparently ND was not ready to give up independence in football at that time. For what it's worth, I think Notre Dame is finally ready to abandon the last remnant of independence and is trying to get their alumni and others resistant to it used to it.

If the Big Ten wanted to add UConn, but did not want to wait until an appropriate 16th team was available, I could see, as a possibility, the Big Ten offer UConn a partial membership, with the understanding that UConn accept full membership when a 16th team has been invited. The difference here is that, unlike ND, UConn would accept a full membership. Obviously, I have no idea that this would happen, but see it as a plausible option if the Big Ten doesn't want to lose UConn to another conference while waiting for a suitable 16th team to become available.

I agree with you regarding hockey. If the Big Ten did add ASU or anyone else, I don't see the extra urgency to get an eighth team. I don't see why 7 is worse than 6. I i suppose the Big Ten would eventually want at least 8 teams, but can wait until their own membership or future membership can add teams.

 

[Kolumbo]

The B1G has a definite set of parameters. But of course, not every university can be a Michigan. Of the current B1G members, not all are: Flagship. Public. AAU. All-In. Good at football. Good at basketball. So there is a chance for anything.
ASU coming to Storrs. If ASU brings its hockey team, then something is up!

 

[SubbaBub]

My guess is that the Big Ten would have offered ND a partial membership only as a temporary measure to allow ND to transition from football independence and honor any deals they had. But apparently ND was not ready to give up independence in football at that time. For what it's worth, I think Notre Dame is finally ready to abandon the last remnant of independence and is trying to get their alumni and others resistant to it used to it.

If the Big Ten wanted to add UConn, but did not want to wait until an appropriate 16th team was available, I could see, as a possibility, the Big Ten offer UConn a partial membership, with the understanding that UConn accept full membership when a 16th team has been invited. The difference here is that, unlike ND, UConn would accept a full membership. Obviously, I have no idea that this would happen, but see it as a plausible option if the Big Ten doesn't want to lose UConn to another conference while waiting for a suitable 16th team to become available.

I agree with you regarding hockey. If the Big Ten did add ASU or anyone else, I don't see the extra urgency to get an eighth team. I don't see why 7 is worse than 6. I i suppose the Big Ten would eventually want at least 8 teams, but can wait until their own membership or future membership can add teams.

Hockey is primarily played on the weekends. Without an even number of teams one team will have a bye every week.

The BIG will not offer anyone the 15th slot while waiting on 16. That will send the nation into a frenzy waiting on the who, how, and why for 16.

If they go to 16, there will be an announcement of 15 and 16 with very little notice beforehand, if any.

All of these little plans are way off. It will happen one way at a time of the BiG's choosing, if it happens at all.

 

[Kolumbo]

A comical look, sad and true. Watch at least up to 3:30.

 

[SubbaBub]

And from the well that was completely expected department, BC and Wake are whining about cost of attendance scholarships, with BC as the lone dissenting vote.

Story in today's NY TIMES.