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OT: You can't spell "SEC" without "Texas"


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43 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

"You are the new commissioner of the Big Ten. You're looking to expand your conference. You care about expanding to an adjacent footprint. You care about money and market size. And you want to bring in teams that have football teams. Which teams do you go after?"

 

Is "none of the above" an acceptable answer?

Edited by 49r
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It's conceivable it would help us in football recruiting and the conference in revenue if we could grab a Texas school but boy that would be the B1G selling out on their unwritten rule that schools should be in the AAU.  Kansas and Iowa St are the logical choices; Is Kansas willing/able to leave Kansas St? Jim Delaney probably has Georgia Tech halfway in the boat already; after seeing how Kevin Warren ran things last year it's doubtful the conference does anything.

 

If I'm the Big 12 right now I'm eyeballing Houston and then making SMU and Tulsa fight it out to get you back to 10. Heck, eyeball a couple of MWC teams while you're telling everyone how great things will be without Texas.  Otherwise, time to dust off that Big 8 logo.

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On 7/22/2021 at 6:46 AM, REDitus said:

 

I appreciate your sarcasm.   I remember Tom saying  this is a decision where you have to envision what things will be like 30 years down the road.  They thought this would happen again.   They made a good call. 

 

Isn't it amazing that every time the big12 gets together these rumors start up about conference realignment?   Half the time they drum up rumors that Nebraska wants to be back in the big 12.  I am so glad we are out of that mess.        This years rumor may be in part a ploy from OU and Texas to get a better tv time slots?    Sounds like OU is tired of early games.   (I like early games, but then I am old)   I'd hate being in the Pac10.     Of course that type of rumor may backfire and have a Nebraska effect where other schools start looking around.  Not sure how that would work out though.  Also, the other 8 may now end up ganging up on the big 2.   I could see that happening.  

 

Also wonder how NIL is playing into this.     Oh and how I hate that the LHN is being added to some packages. This is why I want a la carte. 

 

I wish the Nebraska/Northwestern game was early.  I had tix to see Skid Row and Dokken (yeah I'm old too) at Stir Cove last weekend.  They rescheduled for the night of the football game.  Had the game been early, I could have done both.  

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If the B1G wants to expand, I don't think Warren will even need to consider non-P5 schools.  Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Kansas, and Iowa State all seem like schools that should have some mutual interest with the B1G.  It would be worth the phone call if you're Kevin Warren. 

 

Kentucky in particular intrigues me; they are an anomaly in the SEC, a basketball school that goes through the motions during football season.  And Lexington is only 3 hours away from Indianapolis so they actually fit the B1G footprint well.  Will the SEC adding two more football-oriented schools be enough to make UK feel like their best fit is elsewhere?  

 

Vanderbilt, Virginia, and VaTech are all pretty highly respected schools from the academic side.  May be a better cultural fit in the B1G than in their current homes.

 

Louisville has shown it is always willing to switch conferences if offered the right deal.

 

Kansas and ISU would be willing to listen for obvious reasons.

 

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1 minute ago, aphilso1 said:

If the B1G wants to expand, I don't think Warren will even need to consider non-P5 schools.  Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Kansas, and Iowa State all seem like schools that should have some mutual interest with the B1G.  It would be worth the phone call if you're Kevin Warren. 

 

Kentucky in particular intrigues me; they are an anomaly in the SEC, a basketball school that goes through the motions during football season.  And Lexington is only 3 hours away from Indianapolis so they actually fit the B1G footprint well.  Will the SEC adding two more football-oriented schools be enough to make UK feel like their best fit is elsewhere?  

 

Vanderbilt, Virginia, and VaTech are all pretty highly respected schools from the academic side.  May be a better cultural fit in the B1G than in their current homes.

 

Louisville has shown it is always willing to switch conferences if offered the right deal.

 

Kansas and ISU would be willing to listen for obvious reasons.

 

Granted our overall history with them isn't the greatest...but I'd love to see Nebraska and Kansas meet on the field/court every year again.  Probably the school I miss the most from the Big 8 days.  However, if we can't get them...try Hawaii. I mean if West Virginia

can be in the Big 8, Hawaii can be in the Big 10.  Get them before they join the ACC or the SEC. 

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19 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Could we poach KU? And maybe ISU?

 

Undoubtedly.  Both of them would crawl over broken glass across Iowa and Illinois to the Big Ten HQ for a spot in the league.  Problem is for the Big Ten it would be expanding the league simply for expansion's sake and IMO would be a really bad look for us.

 

SEC gets OU and Texas and we end up with scraps left over from the league they abandoned?  Not great Bob.

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26 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

Otherwise, time to dust off that Big 8 logo.

 

My feeling is that this may have a decent chance of happening.  The money they'll get from exit fees could sustain them for a few years.  Why make any hasty moves anyway?

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7 minutes ago, Nighthawk said:

Granted our overall history with them isn't the greatest...but I'd love to see Nebraska and Kansas meet on the field/court every year again.

 

Interestingly enough, both Football and Men's Basketball games with Kansas would be a lot more competitive now than they were back in the Big 8/Big 12 days.  For better or worse.

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1 minute ago, Norm Peterson said:

I see your point @49r but I think those would be better pickups than Maryland and Rutgers, at least as far as the quality of athletic programs.

Sadly KU's football team is about as good as Creighton's football team. Not sure how their baseball team is.  That being said...at least the Huskers would have one more win every year in Football.

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1 hour ago, HuskerFever said:

 

I'm answering the question you didn't ask, since I thought it might be a fun exercise...

 

If history predicts the future, which usually is the case for the Big Ten, then they would look to expand to schools that touch their current footprint. They would also be driven by market size. So here's where we stand.

 

"You are the new commissioner of the Big Ten. You're looking to expand your conference. You care about expanding to an adjacent footprint. You care about money and market size. And you want to bring in teams that have football teams. Which teams do you go after?"

 

North Dakota

(FCS) North Dakota

(FCS) North Dakota State

 

South Dakota

(FCS) South Dakota

(FCS) South Dakota State

 

Wyoming

(FBS) Wyoming

 

Colorado

(FBS) Air Force

(FBS) Colorado

(FBS) Colorado State

(FCS) Northern Colorado

(N/A) Denver

 

Kansas

(FBS) Kansas

(FBS) Kansas State

(N/A) Wichita State

 

Missouri

(FBS) Missouri

(FCS) Missouri State

(FCS) Southeast Missouri State

(N/A) Saint Louis

(N/A) UMKC

 

Kentucky

(FBS) Kentucky

(FBS) Louisville

(FBS) Western Kentucky

(FCS) Eastern Kentucky

(FCS) Morehead State

(FCS) Murray State
(N/A) Northern Kentucky

 

West Virginia

(FBS) Marshall

(FBS) West Virginia

 

Virginia

(FBS) Liberty

(FBS) Old Dominion

(FBS) Virginia

(FBS) Virginia Tech

(FCS) Hampton

(FCS) James Madison

(FCS) Norfolk State

(FCS) Richmond

(FCS) VMI

(FCS) William & Mary

(N/A) George Mason

(N/A) Longwood

(N/A) Radford

(N/A) VCU

 

Delaware

(FCS) Delaware

(FCS) Delaware State

 

New York

(FBS) Army

(FBS) Buffalo

(FBS) Syracuse

(FCS) Albany

(FCS) Colgate

(FCS) Columbia

(FCS) Cornell

(FCS) Fordham

(FCS) Long Island

(FCS) Marist

(FCS) Stony Brook

(FCS) Wagner

(N/A) Binghamton

(N/A) Canisius

(N/A) Hofstra

(N/A) Iona

(N/A) Manhattan

(N/A) Niagara

(N/A) St. Bonaventure

(N/A) St. Francis

(N/A) St. John's

(N/A) Siena

 

Here's how it looks if we open it up to existing Big Ten markets:

 

Nebraska

(FBS) Nebraska

(N/A) Creighton

(N/A) Nebraska-Omaha

 

Minnesota

(FCS) St. Thomas

(FBS) Minnesota

 

Iowa

(FBS) Iowa State

(FBS) Northern Iowa

(FCS) Drake

(FBS) Iowa

 

Wisconsin

(FBS) Wisconsin

(N/A) Green Bay

(N/A) Marquette

(N/A) Milwaukee

 

Illinois

(FBS) Northern Illinois

(FCS) Eastern Illinois

(FCS) Illinois State

(FCS) Southern Illinois

(FCS) Western Illinois

(FBS) Illinois

(FBS) Northwestern

(N/A) Bradley

(N/A) Chicago State

(N/A) DePaul

(N/A) Illinois at Chicago

(N/A) Loyola-Chicago

(N/A) SIU-Edwardsville

 

Indiana

(FBS) Ball State

(FBS) Notre Dame

(FCS) Butler

(FCS) Indiana State

(FCS) Valparaiso

(FBS) Indiana

(FBS) Purdue

(N/A) Evansville

(N/A) IUPUI

(N/A) Purdue-Fort Wayne

 

Michigan

(FBS) Central Michigan

(FBS) Eastern Michigan

(FBS) Western Michigan

(FBS) Michigan

(FBS) Michigan State

(N/A) Detroit Mercy

(N/A) Oakland

 

Ohio

(FBS) Akron

(FBS) Bowling Green

(FBS) Cincinnati

(FBS) Kent State

(FBS) Miami Ohio

(FBS) Ohio

(FBS) Toledo

(FCS) Dayton

(FCS) Youngstown State

(FBS) Ohio State

(N/A) Cleveland State

(N/A) Wright State

(N/A) Xavier

 

Pennsylvania

(FBS) Pittsburgh

(FBS) Temple

(FCS) Bucknell

(FCS) Duquesne

(FCS) Lafayette

(FCS) Lehigh

(FCS) Penn

(FCS) Robert Morris

(FCS) Saint Francis

(FCS) Villanova

(FBS) Penn State

(N/A) Drexel

(N/A) La Salle

(N/A) Saint Joseph's

 

Maryland

(FBS) Navy

(FCS) Towson

(FBS) Maryland

(N/A) Coppin State

(N/A) Loyola-Maryland

(N/A) Maryland Eastern Shore

(N/A) Mount St. Mary's

(N/A) UMBC

 

New Jersey

(FCS) Monmouth

(FCS) Princeton

(FBS) Rutgers

(N/A) Fairleigh Dickinson

(N/A) NJIT

(N/A) Rider

(N/A) Saint Peter's

(N/A) Seton Hall

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6 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I see your point @49r but I think those would be better pickups than Maryland and Rutgers, at least as far as the quality of athletic programs.

 

While this is true, it's still an incredibly low bar to clear.

 

Like I said above, for the Big Ten there is really no need to be hasty.  Kansas and Iowa State will be available to the Big Ten today, tomorrow and 30 years from now.  We can afford to be choosy.

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12 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

I see your point @49r but I think those would be better pickups than Maryland and Rutgers, at least as far as the quality of athletic programs.

 

Rutgers and Maryland were strictly for the media revenue and increasing the market size of the conference.

 

I'm not sure that's necessarily the best move going forward.

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29 minutes ago, aphilso1 said:

Kentucky in particular intrigues me; they are an anomaly in the SEC, a basketball school that goes through the motions during football season.  And Lexington is only 3 hours away from Indianapolis so they actually fit the B1G footprint well.  Will the SEC adding two more football-oriented schools be enough to make UK feel like their best fit is elsewhere?

 

I highly doubt Kentucky would entertain leaving the SEC. Like it or not, the SEC is putting a lot more investment into their basketball programs, coaches, and facilities. Even then, why move into a conference where you're going to have to compete harder for a conference title?

 

As for football, it's niche but growing. I know some Kentucky fans and they're paying more and more attention to it and other SEC schools who are starting to pay more attention to that opponent. That said, most SEC fans don't want Vanderbilt in their conference. So that's an option.

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16 minutes ago, jsthusker said:

In my opinion Notre Dame and Kentucky would be much better gets than Kansas and Iowa St.  

 

13 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

If I'm putting on my Big Ten glasses, here's the teams that initially pop out to me as options. Not necessarily "MUST" schools, but options (based on current market or adjacent market):

  • Kansas
  • Syracuse
  • Iowa State
  • Notre Dame
  • Cincinnati
  • Pittsburgh

 

There is a 0% chance that Notre Dame joins the B1G.  For one thing, they have a contract with the ACC through 2036 that mandates Notre Dame can ONLY join the ACC if they elect to join a conference.  I have heard Notre Dame's AD Swarbrick talk about it many times, and each time he has indicated it is a binding contract.  It does not seem to have a buy-out clause the way he has spoken about it.

 

Additionally, Notre Dame considers itself a national brand and, as such, would only join a conference that has a coastal footprint.  They have talked hypothetically before about ACC as a full-time member or Pac-12.  Absolutely no interest in the B1G.  But of course, ND values its independence and has no intention of joining any conference.  Especially since the new 12-team playoff format is something that Swarbrick is really happy about.

Edited by aphilso1
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2 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Thing is do you want the guy who screwed the pooch on football and baseball seasons to be in charge of anything as consequential as possible Big Ten expansion?

Under him, we'd probably get University of South Carolina of Banjo and Pig Squealing.  

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9 minutes ago, HuskerFever said:

 

I highly doubt Kentucky would entertain leaving the SEC. Like it or not, the SEC is putting a lot more investment into their basketball programs, coaches, and facilities. Even then, why move into a conference where you're going to have to compete harder for a conference title?

 

As for football, it's niche but growing. I know some Kentucky fans and they're paying more and more attention to it and other SEC schools who are starting to pay more attention to that opponent. That said, most SEC fans don't want Vanderbilt in their conference. So that's an option.

 

Not sure conference titles is all that important of a metric for UK, considering they have often been heads and shoulders above their conference peers.  And conference titles matter a lot less in basketball than football, since performance in the NCAA Tourney is the key litmus test.

 

I don't have any insider info on Kentucky.  Just seems like a school worth kicking the tires on.  Plus, if they are improving in football, then why not join a conference where they have a chance at a division title every once in a while?

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