Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="TruDomGopher, post: 1292907, member: 4159"] There's a subject that I want to add to the mix--how to weight things in realignment. Frank the Tank (blogger, not bb player) did some interesting posts on how he weights things, but I realize I approach things somewhat differently and why I place more emphasis on some factors. Research funding flows through power centers and the primary power centers are NY and DC/Northern Va and a primary focus is keeping that money flowing to B1G schools. The B1G wants to become water cooler conversation in the power centers and that limits the candidate pool. In realignment talk, the phrase "athletics is the front porch of the university" pops up a lot. What does it mean? I think it means this: UVa is the #1 B1G target. Simple geography, as in, "Hey, Michigan's playing Saturday. Would the appropriations committee care to join us at the game?" (UVa is 3x more valuable than VT on geography alone.) NYC is different nut: w/o the clarity of a NY flagship, the trifecta of Rutgers/UConn/Syracuse is how the B1G would have to approach the market. Eliminate the weakest candidate but the B1G needs the other two. In other words: the B1G is a massive lobbying organization focused on power centers. I tend to discount a lot of B1G rumors on the assumption the B1G will stay focused by the research money and geography. My list of candidates is actually pretty short: UConn and UVa or VTech. Which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: Any news on road improvements to UConn's campus? [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach