OT: Wow, Rutgers kicked out of Big Ten (or is it a joke)?

[msf22b]

Rutgers Kicked Out of the Big Ten

 

[triaddukefan]

Yeah.... They kicked Rutgers out and invited UCONN to take their place

 

[uconnfan68]

Rutgers Kicked Out of the Big Ten

The key word is "satire". Be careful with it.

 

[intlzncster]

The key word is "satire". Be careful with it.

I see they have to put it right there in the title these days.

 

[Adios]

What is really funny is that now the Big Ten might need UConn to save face in the northeast casual viewer market.

 

[malevocalist#]

Wow

 

[stamfordhusky]

Even with the word "satire" right in the title, it appears some are somehow taking it seriously.

 

[msf22b]

oops

 

[HGN]

The Commissioner of The Big 10 really blasted Rutgers. Kicked Rutgers out effective Immediately. Apparently he , and others of the Conference , were put off by the ineptness of the football team. The story I read 'Cancelled' all remaining football games by Big 10 teams with Rutgers. Giving those teams a Bye.

Question now is what does Rutgers do for a conference?

 

[HoopsFan21]

They can always rejoin the AAC.

 

[VAMike23]

 

[Charliebball]

Gee.................if you just ignore the football and men's basketball teams, Rutgers is actually very competitive in the Big Ten

 

[pinotbear]

I see they have to put it right there in the title these days.

 

[Vowelguy]

What happened to that rating system for threads? Too bad you can't vote for negative stars.

 

[Vowelguy]

I see they have to put it right there in the title these days.

And even then it still doesn't work.

 

[BigBird]

Satire? Yes. But more truth than fiction in overall gist. The addition of Rutgers still baffles me. They bring less than nothing to the table. I do know that the leadership at Illinois wanted something like "another Northwestern." They wanted a team they thought they could beat in most sports who also had enough academic cachè to be useful.

 

[Vowelguy]

They bring less than nothing to the table.

Sure if a market with 20 million residents, a chance for all schools to connect with their large NY alumni bases, and access to strong HS football recruits is less than nothing.

 

[BigBird]

Sure if a market with 20 million residents, a chance for all schools to connect with their large NY alumni bases, and access to strong HS football recruits is less than nothing.

You'd be right if you could show that Rutgers actually delivered all that. They have been a weak (or worse) PR move, and it's hard to make the case that Ohio State beating the Fighting Ruts by 80 or so was more of a TV draw than OSU beating anyone else by fewer points. So, we disagree.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

You'd be right if you could show that Rutgers actually delivered all that. They have been a weak (or worse) PR move, and it's hard to make the case that Ohio State beating the Fighting Ruts by 80 or so was more of a TV draw than OSU beating anyone else by fewer points. So, we disagree.

I can't argue that UConn couldn't have delivered the same thing (I don't actually know), but Rutgers did deliver the indicated:

- Since Rutgers is designated as part of the NY media market, the Big Ten Network was able to increase the amount it receives for broadcast rights, not because that many Rutgers fans are now watching (it isn't based on how many "actually" watch) but because the network has a school in the market.
- Indeed, reports I read indicated that over 1/4 of the fans at the Michigan game were (gasp!) Michigan fans, not Rutgers fans. In fact, the opportunity for their NY fan bases to see their teams games was always a factor, if not a driving factor.
- NJ actually has a strong history of good recruits, many of whom (in the Joe Pa days) went to Penn State. They rarely went to Rutgers. But having a school in the NY metropolitan area isn't bad for the conference, recruiting wise.

As to Rutgers itself, they did hire a quality football coach - a coordinator from tOSU - so the issue is what he can build going forward. One of the many knocks on Kyle Flood was that he couldn't recruit, and Rutgers is now paying that price. Rutgers is investing in the infrastructure, training facilities, etc. that other schools have had for years, so . . .

In MBB, the coach they hired is "supposedly" decent, while that remains to be seen at least they had the guts to fire the relatively awful home-grown Eddie Jordan.

In other sports, Rutgers is not really a power-house in many, but has made great strides in wrestling (which RU pre-invested in during the B1G planning), some track and field, made the Women's Soccer Final Four last year, etc.

There is, in the end, only one reason that the B1G might have been tempted to take UConn over Rutgers - better sports programs, virtually top to bottom. But assuming that also wasn't the driving factor, they chose Rutgers and that's just what it is.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I can't argue that UConn couldn't have delivered the same thing (I don't actually know), but Rutgers did deliver the indicated:

- Since Rutgers is designated as part of the NY media market, the Big Ten Network was able to increase the amount it receives for broadcast rights, not because that many Rutgers fans are now watching (it isn't based on how many "actually" watch) but because the network has a school in the market.
- Indeed, reports I read indicated that over 1/4 of the fans at the Michigan game were (gasp!) Michigan fans, not Rutgers fans. In fact, the opportunity for their NY fan bases to see their teams games was always a factor, if not a driving factor.
- NJ actually has a strong history of good recruits, many of whom (in the Joe Pa days) went to Penn State. They rarely went to Rutgers. But having a school in the NY metropolitan area isn't bad for the conference, recruiting wise.

As to Rutgers itself, they did hire a quality football coach - a coordinator from tOSU - so the issue is what he can build going forward. One of the many knocks on Kyle Flood was that he couldn't recruit, and Rutgers is now paying that price. Rutgers is investing in the infrastructure, training facilities, etc. that other schools have had for years, so . . .

In MBB, the coach they hired is "supposedly" decent, while that remains to be seen at least they had the guts to fire the relatively awful home-grown Eddie Jordan.

In other sports, Rutgers is not really a power-house in many, but has made great strides in wrestling (which RU pre-invested in during the B1G planning), some track and field, made the Women's Soccer Final Four last year, etc.

There is, in the end, only one reason that the B1G might have been tempted to take UConn over Rutgers - better sports programs, virtually top to bottom. But assuming that also wasn't the driving factor, they chose Rutgers and that's just what it is.

Ironically this seems like the least important factor when it comes to determining who is admitted into an athletic conference.

 

[BigBird]

Fair enough. Differences of opinion are good, as they lead to civil discourse and increased knowledge. I can think of an fresh exception, but never mind. ;-)

I really believe that if the B1g had it to do over, Rutgers would not have been annointed. This does not mean that UConn would have been chosen instead.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Fair enough. Differences of opinion are good, as they lead to civil discourse and increased knowledge. I can think of an fresh exception, but never mind. ;-)

I really believe that if the B1g had it to do over, Rutgers would not have been annointed. This does not mean that UConn would have been chosen instead.

Delaney wanted cable boxes, and cable boxes he got when taking in Rutgers and Maryland. Even if they had to do it over, I don't think they would have picked differently. It's no coincidence they went after the most densely populated corridor in the country in the first conference expansion since the launch of BTN. Another thing I was thinking about is do conferences consider the negative PR a school that runs fast and loose bring to the conference? The Rutgers athletic department, poor team performance aside, has been a dumpster fire in recent years. You also see it with Louisville, and I wonder if conferences care about such baggage, or even the potential for future baggage, before extending invitations.

 

[Vowelguy]

- Since Rutgers is designated as part of the NY media market, the Big Ten Network was able to increase the amount it receives for broadcast rights, not because that many Rutgers fans are now watching (it isn't based on how many "actually" watch) but because the network has a school in the market.
- Indeed, reports I read indicated that over 1/4 of the fans at the Michigan game were (gasp!) Michigan fans, not Rutgers fans. In fact, the opportunity for their NY fan bases to see their teams games was always a factor, if not a driving factor.
- NJ actually has a strong history of good recruits, many of whom (in the Joe Pa days) went to Penn State. They rarely went to Rutgers. But having a school in the NY metropolitan area isn't bad for the conference, recruiting wise.

Game set match, thank you KBA.

 

[CTtransplant]

The Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Michigan offered a promotion tied to the Michigan/Rutgers football game. They offered to reduce everyone's bill by 1% for every point Michigan beat Rutgers by. So if the won by 20, the bill would be reduced by 20%. They won by 78!

There was a undisclosed caveat that limited the reduction to 50%, which was not disclosed in the original promotion. Here is the story:

Ruth's Chris shot itself in the foot with a football promotion that was too good to be true

 

[msf22b]

Speaking of being kicked out...and not wanting to start another OT thread:

You might recall the Tennessee Senior lineman, who in last Saturday's football game against Texas A&M might have been dangerously injured (turned out, not so) and who after prolonged and careful treatment was carted off the field.

Well today, he was kicked off the team for unspecified rule violations...Those folks have their timing down really fine.

Vols dismiss Danny O'Brien, who was taken off field on stretcher