You will come to find out that their fans are unbearable. I think most of the ACC is happy about the move in that respect. Have fun with them!
Good post.
I personally dont understand this except for the money. And since the big 10 is now adding more mmbers, as a pitt fan, i’m now more pissed than ever that Pitt wasnt invited.
Maybe Pitt didnt want to go to the Big 10 because of Basketball. But Pitt fits into the Big 10 better than the ACC. Maryland and Rutgers? Ugh. Maryland has always been ACC, and i have a feeling they will go becaise of the money being put up. Rutgers would be razy to stay in the Big East, as it looks like it is on the verge of implosion. There is not much left, and when you are adding schools from the west coast, it just becomes sillly.
I say let Pitt and MD swap. Even though PSU makes me sick, the death of JoePa and the long standing rivalry between Pitt and Penn State would make that football game an instant classic. That game was as big for is as Ohio State and Michigsn, and i think it wouod be agsin with very little trouble.
Oh well. I guess it doesnt really matter what i want. I can live with the ACC. Its much better than the big east in terms of stability.
So, Pitt is now the Westernmost school in the ACC… And Rutgers will soon be the Easternmost school in the Big10. Strange. Nothing against MD and Rutgers, but I imagine most Big 10 purists will hate the additions. Both schools are not exactly powerhouses. And i know I’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again., i dont believe Rutgers gives the Big 10 a footprint in NYC. Maybe on paper, but NYC Is not a college town. I will say the same thing for DC and the UMd. Maybe I’m wrong, but unless the cable companies are being forced to charge more for the Big 10 network, i dont think significant numbers of eyes are goimg to watch the Big 10 network or become fans,
And now that MD is out, what school isngoi g to take its plae in the ACC? ND? UConn? How about Memphis?
What a mess. When Does it all end?
Indeed, B1G purists do hate the move. They didn’t like the Rutgers talk when it started over a year ago. This is the best thing that ever could have happened to Rutgers. The ACC didn’t want/need them. The Big East is dying. The B1G swoops in and saves their tails and brings a truck load of money, too.
I heard on the radio yesterday that Maryland’s athletic program lost about $500k over the last couple years. The B1G brings over $20mil to each school, so the move makes sense for htem, too.
The rumors I’ve heard regarding the ACC replacing MD have included Louisville and Cincinnati.
Boise St. and San Diego St. are already trying to back out of the Big East, too. They want to go back to the MWC. The move to the Big East was a desperate one for those schools.
What’s down the road? Probably 4 superconferences where if you’re not in, you’re nobody. We almost have that now.
There’s a speculative article on ESPN.com about BYU, SDSU, and Boise State possibly going back to the Mountain West Conference. All you can do anymore is laugh at all this.
Edit: Nevermind - missed Barkis’ post.
Also hearing rumors of Fox Sports (which carries B1G) buyin YES, which would bring in quite a bit of revenue as YES is already in the basic cable package.
Please. This is supposed to phase a conference that already has Michigan, Penn State and THE Ohio State University fans? 
I can see Maryland for the B-ball side of things and middle-of-the-pack football.
If the B1G was going to bring in a Big East team I would think Louisville or Pitt (hell, even Cincy)would make much more sense than Rutgers. Beyond a minimal gain in the NY market for TV and recruiting, maybe, I just don’t see the plus there in any sport.
Re the ACC’s next move, Boston College already blackballed UConn the last time, or they’d have been in along with Pitt and 'Cuse. UMass is in the same boat. Nothing’s changed; BC still wants to be *the *big-time sports school in New England.
The ACC’s ideal addition(s) would bring in large media markets but with weaker basketball programs, so their traditional powers can still dominate. Notre Dame is that, but Louisville and Cincinnati and WVU are not. The USF rumor makes sense, though, as it may also help hold onto FSU.
Unfortunately, conference expansions today have little or nothing to do with convenient geography or competitiveness. It’s all about getting your product into new markets. Cincinnati, Pitt and even Louisville wouldn’t bring much, if any, new revenue from putting the BTN on cable boxes. Those areas might already have it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the B1G’s next move is to go after Boston College and/or Florida State.
I don’t believe that either Louisville or Cincy fit in with the academic profile of B1G members, while Rutgers most certainly does (AAU member, top 5 annually in APR, and a land grant Uni.). Rutgers will compete right away in a few (non revenue) sports - baseball, wrestling, men’s soccer, women’s hoops, crew. Their football program has tremendous upside, and this move will solidify their presence in establishing them as a top 25 program (which right now I would put at somewhere in the mid 30’s).
Hey, just because the rest of the country hasn’t yet figured out that the proper way to celebrate (or graciously lose, or party, or just have a normal Thursday night) is to light shit on fire and overturn police cars isn’t OUR fault!
Have you checked a globe lately?
Does it make you feel better that Atlanta (84.8 deg W), Tallahassee (84.3 deg W), and , Clemson (82.8) and even Blacksburg (80.4 deg W) and Winston-Salem (80.2 deg W) and is further West than Pittsburgh (80 deg W).
Heck even Miami, Fl at 80 deg is about the same longitude as Pittsburgh.
edit: Admittedly, they might be the furthest from the Atlantic Coast.
The ACC is in big trouble. Maryland’s football program will now be bringing in more revenue than Florida State. Yes, the same Maryland that has been making cuts to their athletic program. And it’s all thanks to the BTN.
All the television stuff aside, don’t forget that the playoff format that was just agreed to added two major bowl games while managing to cut out the Big East and relegating them to the Little Sisters of the Poor group. If that Big Ten-Pac 12 scheduling partnership hadn’t fallen through, I imagine the Big Ten would have been content to stay at 12 teams. Remember, they could have added Missouri and one other team at the time (Pitt, maybe?), who would have been stronger athletically and in terms of fan support than Maryland and Rutgers, but chose to stand pat. So the “major” conferences are going to do whatever they have to in order to maintain their position on top of the food chain, because they don’t want to risk getting left out in the cold like the Big East (whose days appear to be numbered).
I think the odds of ND football finally joining a conference have increased greatly. They may have secured preferential treatment as a “major” for the upcoming playoff format, but that’s no guarantee that they’ll continue to receive that status for the next deal.
I heard someone speculating that the ultimate shake-out is going to be four 16-team conferences. Any guesses as to what that would look like?
The best comment I saw yesterday was on Deadspin. It was something about being excited to watch the 2018 Rose Bowl presented by AT&T-Verizon between Rutgers and Utah. Tradition survives in the Grandaddy of Them All!
If it happens, I think the Big 12 is cannibalized, this is what I would like to see: (not a prediction)
B1G adds UMd, Rutgers, Kansas, Kansas St.
SEC adds OkU and OkSU
ACC adds UConn, WVa, Notre Dame
PAC12 adds UT, TCU, TTU, Baylor
Biggest Losers: Iowa St, Louisville or Cincinnati
I just do not see B1G adding Cincy or Louisville as I think they are commuter universities and I think that is what hurt Pitt.
Big Ten wouldn’t add Kansas St.
ND, Kansas, and UNC would be the most likely candidates, maybe Georgia Tech.
What does the NCAA have to say about all this.
Or do they?
News Corp acquires 49% of YES.
As Stink Fish Pot can attest, I’ve been saying that Rutgers was an attractive candidate for the B1G since prior to the Nebraska invitation because of something exactly like this. YES is currently in 9 million homes; they will air B1G games in the NY metro region.
I’ve wondered the same thing! I thought the NCAA prez had, or should have, “best interest” powers.
The NCAA has no jurisdiction over conferences.