<p>UW for many reasons has 4 major endowments going. UW Foundation which is the $1.3 Billion. WARF (patent $$$) which is about $2 Billion, UW System about $300 Million of Madison’s money, and UW Medical Foundation about $300 Million. Total about $3.9 Billion. A couple smaller ones push the number to right around $ 4 Billion. WARF just gave $50 Million for a new research building and UW Med just built a new medical building for around $80 million which they donated to the UW. That way they avoid all the cumbersome state building rules and regs.</p>
<p>Thanks Alex & Barrons for the endowment update! :)</p>
<p>With the UT system (both Texas and A&M ~12 biillion) being added to the CIC consortium, the average endowment for CIC member would be approx. $3.1 billion. However, it is highly unlikely that the Big Ten athletic teams would remain at 13 (odd number). Therefore, either Pitt, Missouri or Rutgers will most likely be added as the 14th sports venue, and that should bring the average endowment down a little to ~$3.0 billion (With $1 ~ $2 billion added but divided by 15 in this case). Unless of course, we can lure Cornell (~4 billion endowment) instead, a semi-private institution with a public flagship feel away from the Ivy. With its good size student body and decent bball program, Cornell presents as the natural academic and athletic rival for either Northwestern or Michigan. Afterall, Cornell has long been known as the step-child who never really matches the exact pedigree of the Ivy League. Also, its current as well as many of school’s previous Presidents all hail from the Big Ten Alumni Association.</p>
<p>[The</a> Cornell Basketball Blog: Should Cornell Leave the Ivy League and Jump to the Big 10?](<a href=“http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2009/03/should-cornell-leave-ivy-league-and.html]The”>http://cornellbasketball.blogspot.com/2009/03/should-cornell-leave-ivy-league-and.html)</p>
<p>Cornell will not happen. Athletically, they are too far behind, and culturally, they are too different. There are only a handful of institutions that are plausible. Texas-Austin, Texas A&M, Pitt, Syracuse, Colorado. Notre Dame is unlikely because they aren’t a good fit and Cornell is even less likely, although it is a better fit. The fact is, Cornell belongs to a well established (and need we say, mega-prestigious conference). Notre Dame, on the other hand, should they miss the opprtunity of joining the Big 10 now, would be forced to remain independent (not likely in the long term) or join a less conference in the future.</p>
<p>Cal is having a tough off-season for football. Some really embarrassing stuff. I’d be pretty down if I had gone there.</p>
<p>First they are having to reduce stadium capacity by about 10k seats because enough fans don’t show up to fill up the stadium. This is unheard of at every other BCS school, other than small private Stanford.<br>
<a href=“http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14251144?nclick_check=1[/url]”>http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14251144?nclick_check=1</a></p>
<p>Now their defensive coordinator is jumping ship to be the DC at lowly Boise St. How sad is it that Boise St in the WAC, a less than decade old program, is a better job than Berkeley?
[Broncos</a> hire Cal defensive coordinator as ‘defensive assistant’ | KBOI CBS 2 - News, Weather and Sports Boise, Idaho | Sports](<a href=“http://www.kboi2.com/sports/84632967.html]Broncos”>http://www.kboi2.com/sports/84632967.html)</p>
<p>I don’t know how their few defenders can handle it. Years of being preseason top 10 only to finish unranked. No Rose Bowls since the 50s. Truly rough stuff. At least they have an engineering school where they learn to create digital girlfriends to talk through this stuff with, unlike inferior schools like Wake, UNC, and UVA.</p>
<p>
Hmm, this off-season, Cal signed two 5 star recruits (including one from your state of North Carolina). The recruiting class was ranked No. 11 in the nation by Rivals.com and one of the coaches was named recruiter of the year. That’s hardly a “tough off-season”.</p>
<p>
Uh, this is a result of being a historic, landmark stadium…they can’t add erector-set-looking bleachers. They’re reducing capacity to remodel the stadium and add more creature comforts for fans…including wider, padded seats: [Cal</a> Stadium - University Club](<a href=“http://www.calesp.com/university_club.asp?n=6&c=1]Cal”>http://www.calesp.com/university_club.asp?n=6&c=1) </p>
<p>Cal football will have to play the 2011 season elsewhere (likely the Oakland Colisieum) while they fully renovate the stadium. $321 million is dedicated to the project, all from private sources. </p>
<p>
Haha…Boise State has gone to a BCS bowl the past two seasons and Cal hasn’t…so I wouldn’t really call it “lowly”. He said the move was right for his family…people make these decisions all the time.</p>
<p>
Cal football future seems bright to me.</p>
<p>
That’s computer science. UVA has engineering.</p>
<p>Template for Shooting Down Any Argument Against Texas Going to the Big Ten</p>
<p>[FRANK</a> THE TANK’S SLANT](<a href=“http://frankthetank.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]FRANK”>http://frankthetank.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>Big Ten hires firm to research potential expansion candidates </p>
<p>Initial list of 15 doesn’t include Texas; UW board approves ticket increase</p>
<p>By Jeff Potrykus of the Journal Sentinel </p>
<p>Posted: Feb. 19, 2010 8:46 p.m.</p>
<p>Madison Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said Friday that Big Ten officials have hired a firm to research potential candidates as the conference considers expansion and that 15 programs were included in an initial report.</p>
<p>“They basically broke down what they would bring to the table,” Alvarez said at a meeting of the UW athletic board. “They talked about academics. They talked about size. They talked about size of their arenas. They talked about attendance. They talked about the populace in that specific area.”</p>
<p>According to Alvarez that process will continue, and Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany could make a recommendation to the university presidents this summer.</p>
<p>“I think it could be one (school), or I think it could be multiple,” Alvarez said.</p>
<p>Alvarez declined to identify schools on the list of 15 candidates but acknowledged he did not see Texas on the list.</p>
<p>It was reported recently that the Big Ten and Texas had begun preliminary discussions about the Longhorns leaving the Big 12 for the Big Ten.</p>
<p>“In our initial study, there wasn’t anything on Texas,” Alvarez said.</p>
<p>Alvarez thinks some schools are trying to anticipate possible moves by the Big Ten and the Pacific 10, which also has talked about expanding.</p>
<p>“You saw what happened a handful of years ago with the ACC and the Big East,” Alvarez said. "I think there may be a re-alignment, and I think people are out there trying to position themselves, saying: ‘When the music stops, we better have a chair.’</p>
<p>“I think people are looking right now and trying to decide what’s best for them. I think our league is doing the same thing.”</p>
<p>One school Alvarez doesn’t see joining the Big Ten or any other league is Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“My read is that Notre Dame wants to be a national school, and they want to play a national (football) schedule,” said Alvarez, an assistant with the Irish before taking over the UW football program in 1990. "And unless you’ve been there and seen the magnitude of their fan base and the interest nationally, it is hard to understand.</p>
<p>“I understand.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as expected, the athletic board approved an increase of $3 for UW football tickets in 2010.</p>
<p>Tickets for the general public will be $42 a game. Tickets for students will be $22 a game.</p>
<p>The increase is expected to generate $1,207,928 in revenue for the 2010-'11 athletic department budget and allow the department to have a positive net margin of $130,714.</p>
<p>The board also approved a spending authority of $88,588,800 for 2010-‘11. That includes $83,088,800 for athletics, $3 million for University Ridge Golf Course and $2.5 million for coaches’ camps and clinics.</p>
<p>According to UW officials, the $88,588,800 spending authority for 2010-'11 is a decrease from the current fiscal year ($88,761,200) and from the 2008-'09 fiscal year ($89,149,700).</p>
<p>Source: [Big</a> Ten hires firm to research potential expansion candidates - JSOnline](<a href=“http://www.jsonline.com/sports/badgers/84822917.html]Big”>http://www.jsonline.com/sports/badgers/84822917.html)</p>
<p>I think BA is now one of the leaders of the B 10 ADs so I put lots of weight on what he says. Or does not say. Kudos to UW for keeping sports spending in check too. If you can call nearly $90,000,000 in check. But they pay their own bills too.</p>
<p>chicago is in the big ten?</p>
<p>Yes and no. It’s complicated. No if you are talking sports.</p>
<p>University of Chicago is part of the Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The best analogy is the Ivy League of the Midwest. [About</a> CIC](<a href=“http://www.cic.net/Home/AboutCIC.aspx]About”>http://www.cic.net/Home/AboutCIC.aspx)</p>
<p>I know I am beating a dead horse on the subject!!<br>
Anyways, So much for Texas…:(</p>
<p>[Texas</a> AD: No talks with Big Ten about conference expansion - latimes.com](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-texas-big-12,0,5766396.story]Texas”>http://www.latimes.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-texas-big-12,0,5766396.story)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>just like miraculous process whereby athletic directors and potential new coaches have NO contact until, one day, background checks have been completed, interviews conducted and a contract has been magically signed. </p>
<p>the notion of denying contact via similar means (outright lying or the use of intermediaries) is clearly unfathomable in this case. </p>
<p>this isnt to say i think texas bolts from the big 12.</p>
<p>Texas said that they’re not interested.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The B10 hasn’t talked to any school (haven’t finished their due diligence); and it’s likely that the B10 will eventually talk to UT since UT and CU are the likely prime targets for the Pac10 (the Pac10 has to move quicker on expansion since they need to know sooner in order to make the deadline ahead of negotiating their next TV contract).</p>
<p>Texas is not going to admit that it is considering changing conferences. That would not be the brightest PR move! Texas (and the Big 10) will only confirm interest when talks are at the advanced stanges.</p>
<p>^ It was the standard nondenial denial - “We are very happy in the B12…” and not “We are absolutely not going to join the B10.”</p>
<p>Ryan Miller’s grandfather Butch was the first to go to MSU, coming from Saskatchewan to play there from 1955-59. His brother, Lyle, followed, starting in 1961. Ryan’s father, Dean, played at MSU from 1977-79.</p>
<p>Lyle’s sons Kelly (1981-85), Kevin (1984-88) and Kip (1986-90) all played at Michigan State and combined for 39 seasons in the NHL. Two other cousins, Curtis Gemmel and Taylor Gemmel, also played at Michigan State before East Lansing, Mich., native Ryan went there in 1999. Ryan’s brother, Drew, followed in 2002 and now plays for the Detroit Red Wings.</p>
<p>“They were all good students, and they all had a work ethic,” said former Michigan State coach Ron Mason, who coached and/or recruited them all.</p>
<h2>Source: [In</a> net, USA’s Ryan Miller is backbone of gold hockey hope - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/hockey/2010-02-23-ryan-miller-cover_N.htm]In”>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/hockey/2010-02-23-ryan-miller-cover_N.htm)</h2>
<p>In spite of the OT loss to Canada, Ryan Miller will always be a TRUE Spartan whose pedigree goes Green & White!! Born & raised in E. Lansing and owns the ‘Refinery’ clothing store in town!! </p>
<p>P.S. Nearly half of the Team USA roster hailed from the state of Michigan, besides MSU, I believe an ex-UM player also participated! :)</p>
<p>Big Ten told it’s safe to expand horizons</p>
<p>9:59 p.m. CST, March 1, 2010</p>
<p>An initial report commissioned by the Big Ten offered this suggestion to conference officials: Just say yes to expansion.</p>
<p>A source inside the league told the Tribune that the report, prepared by the Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Company, analyzed whether five different schools would add enough revenue to justify expanding the league beyond 11 teams.</p>
<p>“The point was: We can all get richer if we bring in the right team or teams,” the source said.</p>
<p>The five analyzed were Missouri, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers. The source, though, called those five “the obvious suspects” and cautioned that other universities could earn consideration.</p>
<p>It’s also widely assumed that Notre Dame, which came within a whisker of joining the league in 2003, is not ready to give up its football independence, with Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick saying in December: “Our strong preference is to remain the way we are.”</p>
<p>The report got to the crux of the decision that will face Big Ten chancellors and presidents: If they expand to 12 or 14 schools, would they increase the current $21 million-$22 million a year each school receives from the league’s revenue pie?</p>
<p>If the Big Ten decides it wants to expand, one plausible scenario would have the conference negotiate specific terms for entry.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that a Big East school opting to join would have to pay a $5 million “loyalty clause” fee, according to sources.</p>
<p>“You just don’t jump into the league and get a full share of what everyone else in this league has established over time,” Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told the Associated Press. “I think someone has to buy their way into the league.”</p>
<p>Alvarez declined to be interviewed for this story, as did Ohio State President Gordon Gee, another outspoken proponent of expansion.</p>
<p>Gee did tell Ohio State’s student newspaper, The Lantern, that the two main motivations for expanding would be financing and “an inelegance in having 11 teams. We can’t play each other quite like we want.”</p>
<p>A 12th team would allow the league to split into two divisions and create a Big Ten title football game that would generate an estimated $15 million a year. That game would also address Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s complaint that the league “goes into hiding for six weeks” after the regular season.</p>
<p>Two sources told the Tribune that they believe the Big Ten will expand largely because Commissioner Jim Delany, who in 2008 signed a five-year contract extension, wants to add another accomplishment to his legacy.</p>
<p>Since taking the helm in 1989, Delany has added Penn State, helped form the highly profitable Big Ten Network and grown revenue from about $20 million a year to $220 million.</p>
<p>“What gets Jim going,” said a source with ties to Delany, “is doing something bold.”</p>
<p>Other than submitting to a prearranged radio interview with WSCR-AM 670 last month, during which he shot down speculation that the league had contacted schools such as Texas and Pittsburgh, Delany has declined nearly all interview requests.</p>
<p>Reached Monday, he said: “This is not a quiet phase; this is a silent phase.”</p>
<p>At times, Alvarez has been the public voice on the issue. He told Wisconsin’s athletic board on Feb. 19 that the league had hired a firm to research 15 potential candidates.</p>
<p>As quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Alvarez said: “They talked about academics. They talked about size. They talked about size of their arenas. They talked about attendance. They talked about the populace in that specific area.”</p>
<p>Alvarez said he didn’t believe Texas was on the list of 15, and Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds has since told AP that the school’s relationship with the Big Ten “is working. I like it … We’re always going to be looked at. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. That’s a good thing.”</p>
<p>If the Big Ten expands, especially to 14 or 16 schools, the ramifications could affect several major conferences.</p>
<p>As Gee pointed out, Penn State’s decision to join the Big Ten in 1989 played a role in the collapse of the Southwest Conference, the Big Eight becoming the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference adding Arkansas and South Carolina.</p>
<p>“Schools are concerned with what’s coming,” said an athletic director from a big-six conference school. “They’d rather be talked about than ignored.”</p>
<p><a href="mailto:tgreenstein@tribune.com">tgreenstein@tribune.com</a> </p>
<p>Source: [Big</a> Ten officials told: Just say yes to expansion - chicagotribune.com](<a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0302-big-ten-foot--20100301,0,2940944.column]Big”>http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0302-big-ten-foot--20100301,0,2940944.column)</p>
<hr>
<p>$5 million “loyalty clause” fee –> a small price to pay imho!! lol</p>
<p>That made the Big Ten out to be pretty arrogant, but I’m sure the people in real control are smarter than that. If the conference really wants the new school to “buy” their way in, they’ll eliminate some good programs from consideration and be stuck with the Big East with an outside shot at Big XII schools. They shouldn’t screw up integrating the new school like the did with Penn State.</p>