Big Ten Expansion - Phase II

College Search & Selection
41

<p>I hear “the tree” has an imposing marching band. Maybe Don McLean had them in mind when he wrote that song all those years ago! hehe!</p>

42

<p>I read somewhere that youtube is not allowed here?? I see many youtube videos in the CampusVibe section of CC?! If so, just remove the link, I don’t mind. :0</p>

<p>Bear vs Tree
<a href=“Bear vs. Tree - YouTube”>Bear vs. Tree - YouTube;

<p>The verdict: Bear Wins!!!</p>

43

<p>I’m sure that Alexandre was joking about the Stanford band, an organization whose antics have ranged over the years from the mildly wierd to the truly disgusting. The behavior of the band at the Coliseum in 2003 during the USC game led me to write a letter to one of their Associate Provosts to complain about the Nazi goose steps the Standford band was using to mock the USC band. I was assured that the band had other problems. They were in serious trouble for their behavior on the buses on the way back to Palo Alto.</p>

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<p>^^^Inferior bands have to do something to make up for lack of quality and depth.</p>

45

<p>I am not certain why a thread dedicated to the greatness of the Big 10 had to veer in an indictment of a student-run band. IMHO, if one wants to debate the lack of merit of that organization, he or she might try to bring facts over innuendos. </p>

<p>Contrary to the many schools that allow egregious behavior by about everyone involved with their sports’ program, Stanford DID take action against the band in 2006 and imposed a indefinite ban, which was later removed after disciplinary steps were imposed. </p>

<p>Fwiw, Stanford’s band is not a favorite among all students or alumni. Some would prefer a more conventional band. This said, the band is not unique in its approach, and one could look at the famous scramble bands of the Ivy League for parallels.</p>

<p>In the end, Stanford migth very well have the worst band in the world, but the school easily has the best sports’ program in the entire nation --and by a huge margin. An accomplishment that is even more remarkable considering the school is usually cited in the same group of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. </p>

<p>Would any of you not switch your “superior” band for the academic and athletic recognition that Stanford has enjoyed for a long time? </p>

<p>Really!</p>

46

<p>^ Awww…did some posters on here rustle your 'furd Tree leaves?</p>

47

<p>Big Ten media days: How Nebraska fits into league’s future</p>

<p>Published: Wednesday, August 04, 2010, 1:45 PM
DAVID JONES, The Patriot-News </p>

<p>Share CHICAGO – It may puzzle anyone who’s closely followed the Big Ten expansion narrative why the conference would make a priority of Nebraska as a new member. Wasn’t a prime objective to feed a large cable market to the Big Ten Network? Doesn’t the only sizable city in Nebraska – Omaha – rate as merely the nation’s 76th-ranked designated market area?</p>

<p>Well, yeah, that’s all true. But Nebraska is a whopper of an anomaly to the model.</p>

<p>True, the state doesn’t have a big market in it and not much of a concentration of cable households, either. But Nebraska’s brand is so pervasive all over the country and especially throughout the Great Plains that it more than pulls its weight for viewership. It just does it in an old-school way.</p>

<p>Mark Silverman, the BTN president, put it this way when addressing just such a question here on Monday:</p>

<p>“I think adding a program of the scale and quality of a Nebraska does more to us than I think anyone can really put into a specific size of a specific market.”</p>

<p>What he meant was, Nebraska fans are all over. And they are fervent. They actually dominate a massive if somewhat sparsely populated region that stretches from Idaho through Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado in the intermountain West, across the Dakotas and western Minnesota and down through large chunks of Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.</p>

<p>That’s because, for a long time, most of those states had no football program anywhere near as popular as the Cornhuskers. Some still don’t. Add up all those fans and you have some serious numbers of TV viewers. You don’t corral them in one pen. And the cable rights fees for all those places don’t amount to great profits for the BTN.</p>

<p>But the game-to-game national ratings for Nebraska games rack up big numbers – routinely in the 3.0-to-4.5 range. In nine nationally televised games last season, Nebraska averaged a 3.57 rating. For comparison’s sake, those figures are pretty similar to typical Penn State ratings. The Nebraska average is more than triple that of Rutgers’ national average last season (1.51).</p>

<p>So, why would the Big Ten bother with Rutgers? For two reasons: 1. The massive size of the New York City metro market and possible cable rights fees should the area’s major carrier (Cablevision) be brought on board on the basic tier. 2. A spec bet that Rutgers’ ratings could be significantly bumped up with big-name Big Ten competition running through north Jersey on a regular basis.</p>

<p>None of that is any slam dunk. Neither is Rutgers’ addition as a Big Ten member. BTN personnel I spoke to on Tuesday opined as much.</p>

<p>Conversely, Nebraska was a sure thing.</p>

<p>“Nebraska is as big ticket a football market nationally as there is,” summed Silverman. “And being able to show Nebraska football games on our network is going to greatly increase the relevance of the network and the distribution of the network nationally over time – like few other schools would, in my opinion.</p>

<p>“It’s a much bigger additive element to the network than just adding a city that may have a couple hundred thousand more viewers.”</p>

<p>Source: [Big</a> Ten media days: How Nebraska fits into league’s future | PennLive.com](<a href=“http://blog.pennlive.com/davidjones/2010/08/big_ten_media_days_how_nebrask.html]Big”>Big Ten media days: How Nebraska fits into league's future - pennlive.com)</p>

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<p>Future of Big East Is in Hands of Others</p>

<p>By PETE THAMEL
Published: August 3, 2010</p>

<p>NEWPORT, R.I. — For Big East Commissioner John Marinatto, the conference’s off-season of uncertainty may best be described by the dirty looks he received in church. </p>

<p>Big East Commissioner John Marinatto told coaches at media day to not address speculation about Big Ten expansion. </p>

<p>Marinatto is a faithful parishioner at the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass at St. Pius V in Providence, R.I. As the chaos of conference realignment unfolded, he admitted to checking his text messages during Mass. </p>

<p>“People look at me funny,” Marinatto said with a sheepish smile. </p>

<p>After solidifying itself in the wake of the departures of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East now finds itself facing a new challenge — surviving conference expansion. The intentions of Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany will leave the Big East vulnerable until the Big Ten decides whether to continue to expand. </p>

<p>“We’ve proved to people that we can play,” Marinatto said. “We’ve earned our automatic berth in the B.C.S. But all of a sudden, we’re working under another cloud.” </p>

<p>At the Big East’s annual media day Marinatto asked the coaches not to address speculation about Big Ten expansion, which could include Rutgers and to a lesser extent universities like Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Connecticut. </p>

<p>West Virginia Coach Bill Stewart had a page opened up on his table that was labeled “General Talking Points.” He had highlighted — some in yellow — the final 2009 Bowl Championship Series rankings of Cincinnati (3), West Virginia (16) and Pittsburgh (17) and the fact that the league has an automatic B.C.S. bid until 2013. </p>

<p>Stewart helped contribute to the Big East’s awkward off-season in March when he told a television station that it appeared inevitable that the Mountaineers would be headed to a different conference. On Tuesday, he kept to the script. </p>

<p>“Did y’all hear that?” he said in reference to the commissioner’s request that coaches not speculate on the future of the Big East. </p>

<p>News media members picked Pittsburgh to win the title, and the league has six solid teams, with only Syracuse and Louisville still rebuilding after disastrous tenures of previous coaching staffs. </p>

<p>The hope among Big East officials is that they can maintain their stability until September 2012. That is when the window opens for the conference to negotiate its next television contract with ESPN. </p>

<p>The Big East’s football television package is so undervalued that it is the only league in the country that generates more revenue from basketball than football. Part of that has to do with it being a 16-team league in basketball and only 8 in football. </p>

<p>Still, no other league’s basketball contract revenue is close to its football package. </p>

<p>The Big East has four years remaining on its football TV contract and three in basketball. The league could perhaps triple the $39 million it makes annually in television revenue because of its improved football teams, elite basketball programs and more competition in the TV marketplace. </p>

<p>Marinatto declined to speculate on future television contract figures. He has taken on the mantra of the former N.F.L. commissioner Paul Tagliabue, a consultant to the Big East, of “underpromise and overdeliver.” Marinatto has repeated during the off-season that the Big East is “stronger today than at any point in our history.” </p>

<p>The question is whether the Big East can make it unscathed to September 2012, which would mean optimum value for its next contract. With more viable bidders like Fox and Comcast to compete with ESPN, the league could cash in. </p>

<p>“The job that we do with our television contracts moving forward may be ultimately the most important thing we tackle in the next 10 years,” Marinatto said. </p>

<p>Marinatto, a quirky character who still gets bottled milk delivered to his home, said there has not been one day this summer that he has not gone to the office. He also said that the uncertainty around the league has prevented him from taking his beloved forest green 1976 Cadillac El Dorado convertible out for a summer drive. </p>

<p>Marinatto drew a bigger crowd than any coach or player at Big East media day, and he left the scrum of about 20 reporters with his forehead glazed and shirt pockmarked in sweat. It is a sign that things will be tenuous in the Big East until Delany and the Big Ten make their decision. </p>

<p>The Big East has a 16-6 bowl record the past four years, and while it has lost its past two B.C.S. bowls, the rumblings that the Big East does not belong among the six B.C.S. conferences have mostly subsided. </p>

<p>“Five years ago, if you were to tell people what we’ve become today, I think most people wouldn’t believe you,” said the Big East associate commissioner Nick Carparelli Jr. </p>

<p>But parishioners at St. Pius V should expect that Marinatto will keep checking his iPhone for updates. Ultimately, the league is still waiting to see if its future will be compromised. </p>

<p>Source: <a href=“Conference Realignments a Worry to Big East - The New York Times”>Conference Realignments a Worry to Big East - The New York Times;

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<p>Big Ten eyes Indianapolis for title game site</p>

<p>August 5, 2010 5:43 PM
By Teddy Greenstein</p>

<p>The Big Ten has selected a familiar city and comfortable temperature to host its inaugural conference title game. </p>

<p>The league announced Thursday that it wants to play the 2011 Big Ten Championship Game at the domed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, also home of the league’s annual men’s basketball tournament and the 2012 Super Bowl. </p>

<p>The selection did not come as a surprise, but the timing of the announcement did. </p>

<p>On Monday, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany indicated that the league’s first step would be to determine divisions, a process he said would take 30-45 days. </p>

<p>“I expect when that’s done, a championship venue will be identified (and) a television network that televises the championship game (ABC/ESPN, in all likelihood) will be identified,” Delany said. </p>

<p>He later said that he and conference athletic directors “haven’t given a lot of thought” to two title game issues: Is a dome preferable to the great outdoors, and is there wisdom to rotating the venues? </p>

<p>Delany did say that the Big Ten could simply pick a site for 2011 and then do its due diligence to find a venue for 2012 and beyond. And that’s the strategy the Big Ten announced Thursday. </p>

<p>“We felt at this time it was important to identify a site for the first championship game and then spend more time with other cities and venues with respect to both our basketball tournaments and the football championship games in the future,” Delany said in a statement. </p>

<p>Officials at Chicago’s Soldier Field have expressed interest in hosting the game. Other known possibilities are Detroit (Ford Field), Minneapolis (the Metrodome), Cleveland (Cleveland Browns Stadium) and Green Bay (Lambeau Field). </p>

<p>Former Southeastern Conference commissioner Roy Kramer, who helped created the SEC title game and has advised Delany, told the Tribune last month that he recommends choosing an indoor venue and not rotating cities. </p>

<p>Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald thinks that Soldier Field would be perfect. </p>

<p>“I want to play it here,” he said Tuesday. “What a great weekend that would be in Chicago: the Big Ten championship game on a Saturday and the Bears playing for a playoff spot on a Sunday. It’s the ideal place, it’s outdoors and we’d support it. It would be rocking.”</p>

<p>Source: [Big</a> Ten eyes Indianapolis for title game site - Chicago Breaking Sports](<a href=“Chicago Sports News, Schedules & Scores - Chicago Tribune”>Chicago Sports News, Schedules & Scores - Chicago Tribune)</p>

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<p>^^^Not a good idea to play a championship game outdoors in the beginning of December. I say Detroit should get the game.</p>

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<p>I think Indianapolis is a great venue. The city is well equipped to handle large numbers and the weather is a little milder than Detroit or Chicago.</p>

52

<p>There was a pro Green Bay stadium element on the Badger sports boards. Nuttiest idea I have heard yet.</p>

53

<p>Football s*cks in Indiana, so I suppose it would be a neutral site.</p>

54

<p>Not much chance of IU or PU playing in the game anytime soon.</p>

55

<p>

</p>

<p>You mean college football, right? Because the Colts have a pretty impressive track record in recent years, and a darned good QB.</p>

<p>Hey, I know, maybe they could hold it at Notre Dame. Guaranteed neutral site every time, and probably close to the geographical center of the conference. Have the game there, make a zillion dollars on it, then make a big show of passing out the checks to the Big Ten member schools right there under the outstretched arms of Touchdown Jesus. Sweet!</p>

56

<p>Wisconsin AD Alvarez theorizes about Big Ten divisions</p>

<p>Eric Lacy / The Detroit News</p>

<p>Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez might have inside information about the Big Ten’s plans to create divisions. </p>

<p>The former Badgers football coach told the Chicago Tribune that Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa have all had enough success over the years to influence efforts to realign the conference before the Cornhuskers join next year. </p>

<p>“You have six teams that have separated themselves,” Alvarez told the Tribune. “You can’t have four in one division.” </p>

<p>If Alvarez’s theory comes to fruition, the Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein suspects the conference could have an east division constituted of the Buckeyes, Wolverines, Nittany Lions, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana. </p>

<p>Under this scenario, a west division would be constituted of Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois and Minnesota. </p>

<p>Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told reporters this week at the conference meetings in Chicago he would like to have divisions created by mid-September. </p>

<p>Alvarez told the Tribune conference officials and athletic directors have been analyzing “everything – overall record, conference record, opponents, opponents’ records, BCS ratings and Sagarin ratings” to determine “competitive fairness.” </p>

<p>“Geography plays some part of it, but it’s impossible to fit it all together (perfectly),” Alvarez said. “So there has to be some compromise.” </p>

<p>The conference announced Thursday that next year’s inaugural championship game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. </p>

<p>Several reports indicated this week the conference could change its format to a nine-game schedule starting next season. Conference teams haven’t played nine-game schedules since 1984. </p>

<p>From The Detroit News: [Wisconsin</a> AD Alvarez theorizes about Big Ten divisions | detnews.com | The Detroit News](<a href=“Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com”>Detroit Local News - Michigan News - Breaking News - detroitnews.com)</p>

<hr>

<p>"If Alvarez’s theory comes to fruition, the Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein suspects the conference could have an east division constituted of the Buckeyes, Wolverines, Nittany Lions, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana. </p>

<p>Under this scenario, a west division would be constituted of Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois and Minnesota." </p>

<p>West is a tad weaker than the East Division IMHO when you have conference’s top-3 teams in the same division!! ;p</p>

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<p>^^^Not a tad weaker, much weaker. Not even close.</p>

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<p>Bullcrap… UM is nothing and headed downhill. PSU likely to follow. Only real team with a future is OSU. Meanwhile UW, Iowa, NU are all Top 15 teams look it up.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Ah, Barrons, looking it up would mean to look up the records of the last 2 years. </p>

<p>When it comes to the Big Ten, don’t the fans like to look at the records of twenty or fifty years ago? Or when the rocks were still cooling down?</p>

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<p>Big Ten - East Vs Big Ten - West
(Academic Rankings)</p>

<p>Big Ten - East

  1. Michigan 27
  2. PSU 47
  3. tOSU 53
  4. Purdue 61
  5. MSU 71
  6. Indiana 71
    Ave 55</p>

<p>Big Ten - West

  1. Northwestern 12
  2. Wisconsin 39
  3. Illinois 39
  4. Minnesota 61
  5. Iowa 71
  6. Nebraska 96
    Ave 53</p>

<p>West ranks a tad higher than the East divison on ave.</p>

<p>Final Verdict: West > East </p>

<p>Source: [Athletic</a> Conference Breakdown 2010: Big Ten - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2010/03/15/athletic-conference-breakdown-2010-big-ten.html]Athletic”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2010/03/15/athletic-conference-breakdown-2010-big-ten.html)</p>