College Football '10 - Conference switching chaos!!

[DanS]

What would Nebraska offer? Let's be serious here. Pitt offers a mid-tier football program and a top-tier basketball program. All with demographics that are a little better than average for the Big 10.

[Drake Tungsten]

Here's what I see as the Big Ten's best options, for three different scenarios.

12-team scenario

1. Texas
2. Nebraska
3. Notre Dame

14-team scenario

1. Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma
2. Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas

16-team scenario

1. Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas

As a fan, I like the 14 and 16-team scenarios better, but I don't really think they're going to happen. I think the Big Ten takes one of the three teams in the 12-team scenario or doesn't expand at all.

[Drake Tungsten]

What would Nebraska offer? Let's be serious here.

I've already told you; Nebraska is the nearest substitute to Notre Dame that the Big Ten can get. Neither school offers benefits on par with Texas, but they're not that different from each other.

Pitt offers a mid-tier football program and a top-tier basketball program.

And zero new television markets. Nebraska get the Big Ten network into a new state (something Notre Dame doesn't offer) and it offers a huge nationwide fanbase and national respect that will get more Big Ten games into prime time slots and will increase the rate advertisers will pay. Do you think advertisers care more about Nebraska/Ohio State or Pitt/Ohio State?

[Guynemer]

One day later, I'm still completely turned-on by the idea of Nebraska-Penn State, Michigan-Oklahoma and Ohio State-Texas all happening on the same day.

Likewise.

Alternatively, it could be the porn I recorded off of HBO last night that I'm watching right now.

Definitely one or the other.

[Drake Tungsten]

My raging boner started to subside around noon, but the thought of tonight's Lost episode has my flag flying at full mast once again.

[Guynemer]

Pitt offers a mid-tier football program and a top-tier basketball program.

And zero new television markets. Nebraska get the Big Ten network into a new state (something Notre Dame doesn't offer) and it offers a huge nationwide fanbase and national respect that will get more Big Ten games into prime time slots and will increase the rate advertisers will pay. Do you think advertisers care more about Nebraska/Ohio State or Pitt/Ohio State?

While that is true, you also must consider the increased travel costs for all the other sports. Negligible for Pitt, with four schools in close proximity (<5hr drive); considerable for Nebraska, with none in close proximity.

We've already discussed the academic concerns of the Big Ten, so I won't rehash them here.


If you're looking strictly at football and football revenue, then Nebraska (or Texas) is the choice. If you're looking big picture, it's a push.

[Drake Tungsten]

While that is true, you also must consider the increased travel costs for all the other sports.

I really don't think distance matters much anymore in a world of easy and relatively cheap air travel. I certainly don't think it's going to be a major issue when the Big Ten decides which school they want to invite.

We've already discussed the academic concerns of the Big Ten, so I won't rehash them here.

I still think that AAU-membership is a sufficient qualification to pass any academic litmus test the Big Ten might have and think people are assigning far too much weight to the US News undergraduate rankings. University presidents really don't give a **** about undergrads; they're far more interested in their university's research and graduate programs.

If you're looking strictly at football and football revenue, then Nebraska (or Texas) is the choice.

I'm confident this will be the dominant factor determining the Big Ten's decision.

[Drake Tungsten]

Here's a really interesting analysis of Big Ten expansion from the assumed perspective of UT President Bill Powers. The focus on research funding and politics rather than athletic department revenue is something I hadn't seen before and strikes me as a more insightful way of looking at Big Ten expansion from the perspective of a university president than the other analyses I've seen...

http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2010/02/15/being-bill-powers/

The recommendation? The Big Ten becomes a 16-team athletic/research super conference by adding Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. Not too far off from what I'd like to see...

[Drake Tungsten]

For those who are interested, here are the rankings of the current Big Ten schools and potential Big Ten expansion targets based on 2007 R&D expenditures. Potential expansion targets are in bold.

3. University of Wisconsin - Madison $841 million
5. University of Michigan - all campuses $809 million
9. The Ohio State University - all campuses $720 million
11. Penn State University - all campuses $652 million
14. University of Minnesota - all campuses $624 million
19. University of Pittsburgh - all campuses $559 million
22. Texas A&M University $544 million
24. University of Colorado - all campuses $528 million
28. University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign $474 million
32. University of Texas - Austin $447 million
33. Northwestern University $442 million
35. Purdue University - all campuses $415 million
38. University of Cincinnati - all campuses $376 million
43. University of Iowa $363 million
44. Michigan State University $361 million
51. University of Nebraska - all campuses $336 million
55. University of Chicago $322 million
57. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - all campuses $312 million
61. Indiana University - all campuses $295 million
76. University of Missouri - Columbia $229 million
77. University of Connecticut - all campuses $225 million
79. Iowa State University $217 million
84. University of Kansas - all campuses $202 million
97. University of Oklahoma - all campuses $177 million

Out of top-100: Louisville (104), West Virginia (112), Kansas State (118), Oklahoma State (129), Notre Dame (142), Syracuse (189)

I was surprised by quite a bit of this. Who would've thought that Nebraska gets more research money than the University of Chicago or that A&M is a more important research school than Texas?

[Drake Tungsten]

1. The Johns Hopkins University $1.6 billion
21. Columbia University in the City of New York $546 million

KH beats me again...

edit: The silver lining...

30. Harvard University $451 million
31. Yale University $449 million
92. Princeton University $188 million

Apparently Princeton is the Notre Dame of the Ivy League...

[Drake Tungsten]

After digesting this new information, I'm wondering why the Big Ten would even want Notre Dame. Texas and Nebraska offer far more to the Big Ten both as athletic programs and academic institutions.

[ColdWizard]

Heard on the radio that if the Big 10/Pac 10 expand, the SEC is going to go after Clemson, Florida St., and Miami.

[Drake Tungsten]

Sounds like BS. Why would the SEC go after three teams when they need two or four to have an even number of team post-expansion? And why would they want to expand within their current geographic footprint? FSU and Miami might be worth something even though Florida already claims most of their state, but what exactly does Clemson give the SEC that South Carolina doesn't already?

[SlowwHand]

Why does he sound any more like bull**** that your continual moving of Texas to the Big 10?

[Guynemer]

In the end, I doubt we'll see much of anything when it comes down to it, but it is fun to speculate.