I don’t see how any Big Ten fan can be anti-Big Ten network. First, it’s made all the schools rich(er). No other conference makes the kind of money the Big Ten does, and only the SEC is even in the same ballpark. Second, as a fan, I can now see more Big Ten content than ever before–every football game is televised, nearly every basketball game is televised, plus a ton of non-revenue sports are on, if that’s your thing.
Plus, the original programming (especially The Journey, which should honestly win an award–it was the best original sports programming I’ve seen since Hard Knocks) is unparalleled.
Yes, it took a while for the cable operators to fall in line (and yes, I did switch providers to get it originally), but now that it’s all shaken out, it’s a huge, huge win for fans and the schools alike. Jim Delany is a genius.
Well if the volume of news reports is an indication NU going to the Big 10 is a done deal. Of course, knowing the way the Internets work, they may all be reporting the same false rumor.
This might be true if you are an OSU/Michigan/Penn State fan. But as a Northwestern alumnus living in the South, the Big Ten network has been a godsend. Now I never have to miss an NU-Indiana game (for example), which would never be shown on the national networks.
Sorry, man. This is probably gonna suck for your team. Suspect there’s a bunch of Boise State and Utah fans that aren’t gonna be happy about it either. Four Super Conferences, assuming it goes that far, is going to pretty much kill any shot at a National Title for schools that aren’t in the “Big Four”.
All those college presidents at schools like KU, KSU, etc. who were against a true playoff ended up screwing themselves. Those “little” schools should have banded together to force the big schools to play fair, rather than just expecting their conference affilliations to endure in perpetuity.
But because a playoff couldn’t get done, conferences are seeing the next best way to make money is to form superconferences, make big money on television and to hell with all the other schools.
In an ideal world that would be true, but KSU always knew that Texas was the big dog on the conference. We HAD to defer to them and just hope they would let us play along. Our time just ran out. There was nothing the little schools could have done.
The Illinois side is in the Big 10 Network footprint. However, the Missouri side of the St. Louis TV market has about 10X the population of the Illinois side.
Here’s another interesting scenario. What if Nebraska jumps, and for whatever reason, the Big 10 decides to pause at that point? They’d have 12 teams and be able to split the conference and schedule a playoff game. Meanwhile the Big 12 would become the Big 11, the Big 12 North would lose its most consistent football powerhouse. In addition Colorado would lose its one genuine intra-conference rivalry and probably get off the fence about jumping to the Pac 10, with or without the Texas schools.
I am just curious how the former Big 8 Conference (Neb, ISU, Mizzou, KSU, KU, Colo, OkSt, OU) let an interloper (Texas) wield so much power in their conference.
They had to, the Big 8 was on very thin ice as was the SWAC. It was a marriage of convenience to save both leagues. In the beginning of the conference it was Nebraska and Texas (the big boys from the North and South) that drove the non equal revenue sharing that is basically tearing this conference apart.
1.) Are these invites irrevocable (within a reasonable timeframe obviously)? Say, can the PAC-10 back out of the Colorado invite should things fall apart on the Texas end?
2.) When would these changes reasonably happen? My guess is the 2011 season but I’ve heard that Big XII rules require 2 years notice. Then again there wouldn’t BE a Big XII anymore. Either way there would be some serious schedule shuffling going on.
I’m a Pac-10 homer. Love the scenario keeping the original PAC-8 together. I just hope we get to continue our round-robin scheduling. The Apple Cup has been played every year since 1945 (missed only 9 years since 1900). The Civil War started in 1894. There will be some seriously pissed of fans if teams have to forgo these rivalries under a rotation. I think OU/TX & TX/A&M will probably not disagree here, even further making round-robin play a necessity.
No idea how we could get that to work though. 7/2/3 (intra-division, inter-division, non-conference) though that would mean pretty infrequent meetings with our new Big XII friends, visiting a stadium only once every 8 years. Does any conference only schedule 2 non-conference? 7/3/2?
Not that I’m putting the cart before the horse or anything.
I’m not sure how it works in the SEC, but I’m pretty sure a divisional setup would involve round-robining the division. And if it didn’t, I’m sure it would involve locking in 2 or 3 rivals each and every year.
I’m excited about all of this, and really hope ND makes into the Big 10. (If Missouri can get their act together and join, then ND would be a lock, right?) I just really feel bad for both Kansas schools and Iowa State. Growing up I never really like K-State, but I do have a soft spot for KU and ISU. (Colorado can suck it…)
