Big Ten Expansion Plans Missing Something
by Beergut on Jun 13, 2010 7:14 AM CDT
Email
PrintWhen Jim Delany first mentioned that the Big Ten was researching the possibilities of expansion, there were media pundits who claimed he was the most powerful man in college sports, who said he was a visionary, some who even said he was a genius for leveraging the success of the conference's television network into making the Big Ten a desirable conference to belong to. With the addition of Nebraska to the Big Ten, many pundits have been speaking of the wisdom of this addition, how Nebraska's football tradition fits in well with the rest of the conference, how Nebraska is a good fit for the culture of the Big Ten. While being a football powerhouse and fitting the culture of the conference you are joining is nice, there is something missing from the Big Ten's expansion plans: television sets.
We've been told for the last few weeks now that the only thing that matters in conference expansion is television markets, because television markets mean money. If the Big Ten had added independent Notre Dame to their conference, I would be applauding their move, because Notre Dame has a national television presence; their football team has struggled on the field recently, but that hasn't stopped NBC from televising their games, and making them very wealthy in the process. Notre Dame is a program that draws attention from all television markets, because people either love or hate Notre Dame, and for that reason people will watch them just to root for or against the Irish. Nebraska, while they have a rich football tradition, doesn't have that kind of national television appeal. Nebraska will bring the Big Ten all the eyes Omaha television market (#76 in the US) and the Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney market (#105). To put that in perspective, the Las Vegas market (#42) has almost as many television sets as those two markets combined, yet I don't see anyone breaking down the door to invite UNLV to their conference.
Winning at conference expansion is fairly simple: You want to get a major school from Florida, California, or Texas if you can. The Pac-10's decision to pursue texas in their bid for expansion makes sense, because it will combine the California television markets they already have a presence in with the Texas television markets. The SEC is pursuing A&M because they want access to the Texas television markets, which they can combine with their access to the Florida television markets. You also want to add a school from one of those three states so you can leverage the exposure of conference schools in that state for recruiting. Texas, Florida, and California are the best states in the nation for football recruiting; in contrast, Nebraska has produced one 5-star recruit since recruiting ratings have been invented, the player who has the unenviable task of replacing Ndamukong Suhon Nebraska's defense, DT Baker Steinkuhler. The addition of Nebraska did nothing to help other Big 10 schools in recruiting, and it did nothing to add television sets to the conference.
The Big Ten would have been better off going outside its contiguous borders, going to the Big East, and asking South Florida to join. South Florida is located in Tampa Bay (#14 television market), so they would give the Big Ten more television sets, and give them access to recruiting in Florida. This means Big Ten schools could bring in some players who actually run a little faster than paraplegic buffaloes, so they wouldn't be embarassed so badly when they play in future BCS title games. More importantly, South Florida would accept an invitation to join the Big Ten, so they wouldn't go through the humiliation of being rejected by Notre Dame yet again.
There are media pundits out there who may still think Jim Delany is a genius, but the man who started the current conference expansion armageddon we're undergoing failed to add a school who would bring major television markets or recruiting grounds to the Big Ten; instead he added a school in flyover country in a state with fewer five-star recruits than some Texas high schools. No offense meant to the good people over at Corn Nation, who I am sure are ecstatic about joining the Big Ten, but Delany's genius plan missed the boat during this round of conference expansion.
28 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
True, but NU fits Geographically which is just as important IMO. It is one of the reasons I think the Pac 16 is such a poor idea.
by miketag on Jun 13, 2010 7:52 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
South Florida, a glorified commuter school, in the Big Ten?
With all due respect to A&M folk (congrats on the outdoor track repeat, BTW), are you nuts? USF has no fit as a Big Ten institution; it’s not an AAU member and is not yet a top-flight university (though it’s making strides), with relatively little research.
The Big Ten wants peer members that mesh. Nebraska does this, in both academics and athletics. Moreover, it has outstanding fan support from a disapora of Nebraskans who still avidly follow Huskers’ teams. And it’s making a concerted effort to boost its research, building a large research park on the old fairgrounds near the Devaney Center.
I think in expansion, Delany is trying to collectively balance athletic prowess, academic strength and market size. That’s why I believe Rutgers and Maryland will be part of a 16-team expansion; while neither are football “brand names” (though both would be competitive in Big Ten football), both provide all-around athletic benefits and give the Big Ten additional exposure on the eastern seaboard (Rutgers gives you New Jersey, and indirectly New York City; Maryland gives you Washington and Baltimore). And both are solid academic institutions that would blend well with the CIC, the Big Ten research consortium. With Texas now almost certainly out of the Big Ten picture, it could then make a push for Notre Dame, allowing it to choose an AAU member (Syracuse? Pittsburgh? Virginia?) to round out the 16.
Where Big Ten expansion is concerned, you have to think like a university president, not like a college football fan or sportswriter.
that is my whole point, which you apparently missed
USF has no fit as a Big Ten institution
the addition of Nebraska to the Big Ten is such a poor choice, even going out and adding USF would been more logical
honestly
the key sentence here is “during the first round of expansion”. so basically, you’re calling the guy an idiot because the 1st of 3 or 4 steps didn’t get a top school, in a great three location.
Did you seriously compare South Florida to Nebraska? While football is prob the reason this all got started, the goal isn’t to lower the standards of the big ten by letting just anyone in.
And " faster than paraplegic buffaloes". Very professional to make fun of the disabled. Also, did you happen to catch the Ohio State/Oregon game?
Maybe you should just keep your opinions to yourself, rather than putting it out there and totally making an ass of yourself.
I'm quite sure
Very professional to make fun of the disabled
the Society of Disabled Bison will be calling me any day now to register their complaint.
Also, did you happen to catch the Ohio State/Oregon game?
Yes, I did. I also watched Ohio State-texas 2009, Ohio State-USC 2008 and ’09, and those BCS championship games against LSU and Florida. I stand by my statement about Big Ten “speed”.
Nebraska
Nebraska is a perfect 12th team. It gives the Big Ten the option to stay at 12. and still make plenty of money. 70-80 cents every month for almost every tv in Nebraska. that doesn’t even take into effect Nebraska’s national draw.
You are also forgetting the addition of a CCG. The Big Ten will become collectively financially stronger because of this addition.
Can the SEC say the same with A&M and ? (unless it is UT)
Will A&M and ? make ESPN and CBS pony up as much a 40 million a year in extra revenue? And that is to keep the leagues members even in shared distribution?
The SEC is not leveraged in terms of TV revenue as well as the Big Ten. They have a huge contract, but the addition of two teams has the potential to hurt per team revenue. Because they do not have a network.
Nebraska is a HR anyway you look at it. Academically, On the Field, and Monetarily. But will an A&M addition to the SEC be viewed the same, from the conference they join?
The SEC will be glad to raid Texas for recruits. But I’m not sure A&M will help the collective in terms of $.
To answer your question
“Can the SEC say the same with A&M?”
Absolutely. Opening the Texas market to the SEC is a HUGE potential financial boon. Texas is the second biggest state in the union and growing, while California is going the opposite way. A&M is an enormous school with a dedicated (irrationally so!) alumni base. The numbers/eyeballs are most certainly there. That’s simple math.
You are correct to say that SEC has a ways to go in terms of TV revenue, but when you have a superior product (as the SEC does), the cream will eventually rise to the top. The Big Ten finally adds a CCG? Way to go. That didn’t take long at all. :)
I agree that Nebraska makes a very logical choice for addition to the Big Ten, and USF most certainly does not. This was a somewhat bizarre post.
by AgAstraPerAspera on Jun 13, 2010 12:48 PM CDT up reply actions
US Census data 2000-2008
Texas grew 16.7% to 24.3M, 8% of the US population (up from 7.4%)
California grew 8.5% to 36.8M, 12.1% of the US population (up from 12.0%)
CA is not growing as fast as TX, but it is growing, despite many Californians moving to AZ (17.3% change as a % of the US population 2000-2008), NV (20.5%), ID (9%), WA (2.9%) and OR (+2.6%)
Other than that, I agree with your comment.
Gig ’em!
"So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."
Ahh Rats!
You’re right. I think, though, that it still behooves the SEC to make strides into the Texas market.
by AgAstraPerAspera on Jun 14, 2010 12:08 AM CDT up reply actions
that was 2008, though
the market collapse in the housing industry hadn’t taken full effect at that time
regardless, it is still a good move for the SEC to move into Texas
I agree
Nebraska is a perfect fit for the B10. First off, Nebraska draws fans from not only Nebraska, but, The Dakotas, Wyoming, Missouri and parts of Colorado. I look forward to the pending Iowa vs Nebraska rivalry. Its a border war, and should help balance the west division in the long run.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
disagree
The SEC is not leveraged in terms of TV revenue as well as the Big Ten. They have a huge contract, but the addition of two teams has the potential to hurt per team revenue. Because they do not have a network.
The SEC has a television network; it is called ESPN.
Nebraska is a HR anyway you look at it. Academically, On the Field, and Monetarily.
We’ll see what you’re saying in 5 years; Nebraska doesn’t expand your recruiting area, but forces them to recruit Ohio and Wisconsin more. Nebraska doesn’t bring anything as far as television markets go, as I’ve already pointed out. Academically, Nebraska is the lowest ranked member of the Big 10 upon joining, so please don’t tell me this move was made for academic reasons, because that is just laughable.
But will an A&M addition to the SEC be viewed the same, from the conference they join?
No question. We bring them two top 10 television markets in Houston and Dallas, we bring them fertile recruiting grounds int he best state in the nation to recruit for football, AND we’re one of the top universities, academically, in the SEC upon joining. From a fit perspective, in all three areas, we make a lot more sense moving to the SEC than Nebraska does to the Big Ten.
mind blowing
South Florida joining the big 10 is perhaps the stupidest suggestion I have ever heard. No, Nebraska does not have a big population, but they fit the rest of the Big 10 culturally, geographically and are an AAU member. It makes no sense to start pulling teams (like with the pac 16) that are nowhere near each other together. You know the women’s golf team is going to have to travel too. They are also give the BIG 10 3 of the top 5 winning college football teams of all time. And if you look at the TV ratings, NU gets viewers nationally. There are plenty of people who will want to watch Ohio State v Nebraska. I have a feeling the Big 10 did their homework before issuing an invite.
"South" Florida
Being a Gator , Former resident of South Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and now Houston I will say that South Florida is most definitely not Southern. Also, One thing that I would also say is that USF is not an AAU university and Notre Dame isn’t either. To tell the truth, there are already a very great deal of Big Ten Area refugees now living down in the Sunshine State and other places in the South. A southern team does make sense and USF is on the rise. Also, as a Gator I also know that Florida State and Miami wouldn’t leave their conference to go to the Big Ten…why would they when they could hold out for a potential berth to the SEC.
Also, you’re not going to have a lot of AAU Members in the South. The South was an agrarian society for most of its history, hence the “A” in most A&M universities of which LSU is technically an A&M university. Truth be told, AAU membership was originally completely above the Mason Dixon Line and the schools down in the South that are AAU Members…well, they were either already Athletic Powers when they were elected to AAU or they have de-emphasized athletics with UNC and Duke as notible exceptions and historical losers in Football.
I'm somewhat perplexed by this post.
“Nebraska will bring the Big Ten all the eyes Omaha television market (#76 in the US) and the Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney market (#105).”
And every one of them, statewide actually, will tune in to the games. The eyes that won’t will be at the games themselves.
“South Florida is located in Tampa Bay (#14 television market), so they would give the Big Ten more television sets.”
Yeah, sets that won’t be tuned to USF football games. Ask the Devil Rays how they do with game attendance and television viewers early and even midway through the season. Simply put, Tampans (Tampa Bayites? Bayers? Baybies?) don’t care.
by AgAstraPerAspera on Jun 13, 2010 12:59 PM CDT reply actions
Not well thought out
Tampa viewers are all about football, they could care less about baseball as so comparison are useless.
Nebraska is a good get for the Big 10 – they bring a national cache that not many program do. That said, there aren’t going to be a lot of people in, say, Idaho or Washington state that immediately call up their cable provider because of this move. So, in the big sense of what expansion should be about, this move both wins and fails.
In terms of USF, it is a giant research university. This notion that they bring that kind of credibility to the table is nutty. That said, the overall academic package that they bring isn’t that attractive.
Fair enough. However,
I don’t know that this necessarily means that these football-crazy fans will tune into USF games, particularly when so many are UF, FSU, or Miami fans/alumni. Like I said, strange post.
by AgAstraPerAspera on Jun 13, 2010 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree . . .
. . .that it would be a bizarre fit. But once USF starts winning, and they will at some point in the not too distant future, they are going to fill the stadium and command fan interest in that part of the state. Football is just crazy down here, everybody is nuts for it – as long as they win.
USF is a comer, they will win a lot of games over the next 20 years or so – some conference is going to get a powerful athletic program, but it’s not going to be the Big 10.
Bizarre Post
Thinking USF delivers the Tampa/St. Pete area market is as flawed as when the old 16 team expanded WAC believed San Jose St. and Houston would deliver the SF Bay Area and Houston TV markets respectively. The Tampa area TV market is overwhelmingly Florida and Florida State, and Miami may even have more TV appeal there than USF.
Why stop there Beergut? Your USF suggestion is no different than writing that if the Big 10 invited TCU they would “capture” the DFW market (just ignore that UT, A&M, and OU comprise the vast majority of the DFW TV market) and be able to recruit Texas better. Finally, you are quite naive to think all Nebraska brings TV wise to the Big 10 are the small Nebraska TV markets
by ou7timenatlchamps on Jun 13, 2010 2:16 PM CDT reply actions
I'd agree with much of what has been said
There are many teams that come from larger markets than Nebraska, but being in a larger market doesn’t mean you automatically get the lion’s share of that market.
There’s also a practicality to it all. South Florida fits in no way with the Big 10. Not sure you could come up with a worse school geographically to places like Wisconsin and Minnesota. And academically, it would get rejected on sight.
I do agree TV markets play a part in the deal. But Missouri got dissed and they have two decent sized ones (St. Louis and KC) at their disposal. No one is beating down their downs to join their conference. TV markets aren’t everything.
And i have my doubts how much one crappy school out of 11 gives the Big 10 access to Florida recruits. Simply because a guy might get to play in South Florida once every other year (schedule permitting)?
bingo
There is a fundemental misunderstand of what it means to “own a market”. People cannot simply “exist” in a native state, people have to watch, and considering that in 2009 the TV ratings between Missou and Neb, who played similar opponents with similar results:
Mizzou 2.0
Neb 3.57
Neb was a no brainer for the Big Ten.
Beergut, you are usually right on. In this case, not so much.
This wasn’t about the number of TVs in-state. It was about how much money the BigTen could get the next time they renegotiate their television contract. Mizzou, South Florida, Pitt, Rutgers, and Maryland essentially don’t “add” anything to the conference as far as money per television. Nebraska however, with it’s extremely large national fan base, can add up to another $.10 – $.15 per television. One must remember that there were only 2 schools that could’ve garnered them more money, Notre Dame and Texas.
All of this has been hashed out all over the internet for the past month…
[Osborne's] school has this ultimatum from Texas to either spit or get off the pot. Commit to the Big 12, Texas is saying, or we'll take this Pac-10 offer, rake in more cash and kiss the Big 12 goodbye. It's on you, Nebraska. Texas is good at this sort of thing -- it could blame Cadillac for those Toyota brake problems and get away with it. - Dennis Dodd
In reference to big ten bowl games...
How about Penn State beating LSU? How about that very intense national title Ohio State won against Miami? Wisconsin seems to do pretty well in their bowl games, Iowa has also done pretty well in recent years.
thats ohio st, theyve choked in big games in recent years, we get it.
cant judge an entire conference on one team.
Michigan hasn't done anything recently
which is a shame, b/c I like RichRod, and hope he succeeds there.
Who else from the Big Ten has played in the BCS championship game recently?
choke
Actually we can! In 2007 and 2008, Ohio State was the Champion of the Big Ten so we most definitely can judge your conference on them. In 2009 they were co-champions but then again, they lost to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl and Penn State Lost in the Rose Bowl.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on I Am The 12th Man
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
