04-06-2010, 05:08 PM
04-08-2010, 09:32 AM
Some fascinating stuff here. I have not thought about the Big East potentially losing their AQ status should the lead markets get raided by the Big Ten. I doubt they will lose AQ status, but the possibility is viable.
One thing I have always wondered about with Big Ten expansion is whether the NY/NJ market will really bring much more football viewership? Penn State already owns most of the NY/NJ market. New York is just not a college football town (even with it's 25-30Mil residents), but is that only because Rutgers/Syracuse/UConn/Pitt have to play a bunch of lame Big East schools? If regualrly scheduled games against Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan (maybe even Notre Dame) were on the slate, would New York see a sharp increase in college football interest? I think the gamble is worth taking for the Big Ten. Basketball ratings would be huge as well.
Living in Chicago, I think it would be awesome if the Big Ten title game was at Soldier Field. It's not too cold here in early December, and Chicago is the undisputed capital of the Big Ten (this will not change with the addition of NY/NJ markets). I could see push back for a "fair" climate controlled game in Indy in a stadium with a slightly larger capacity, and this will probably be the site, but a Chicago game would be madness here in the Windy City.
One thing I have always wondered about with Big Ten expansion is whether the NY/NJ market will really bring much more football viewership? Penn State already owns most of the NY/NJ market. New York is just not a college football town (even with it's 25-30Mil residents), but is that only because Rutgers/Syracuse/UConn/Pitt have to play a bunch of lame Big East schools? If regualrly scheduled games against Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan (maybe even Notre Dame) were on the slate, would New York see a sharp increase in college football interest? I think the gamble is worth taking for the Big Ten. Basketball ratings would be huge as well.
Living in Chicago, I think it would be awesome if the Big Ten title game was at Soldier Field. It's not too cold here in early December, and Chicago is the undisputed capital of the Big Ten (this will not change with the addition of NY/NJ markets). I could see push back for a "fair" climate controlled game in Indy in a stadium with a slightly larger capacity, and this will probably be the site, but a Chicago game would be madness here in the Windy City.
04-08-2010, 10:04 AM
I just don't see the B10 inviting historically east coast schools like UConn, Rutgers, Syracuse, etc. The B10 is a mid-west conference based in OH, MI, IN, ILL, IA, etc. The east coast media market just doesn't fit and the resulting friction between members would be destructive.
I think, in the end, the conservative B10 will add one member, Mizzou, have their championship game (Soldier Field is a great idea; reminds me a bit of the Rose Bowl in its history and all) and call it a day.
It will be easy to agrue that the more radical alignments (e.g. to 16 members) can be put off till another day. Why rock an already hugely successful boat?
I think, in the end, the conservative B10 will add one member, Mizzou, have their championship game (Soldier Field is a great idea; reminds me a bit of the Rose Bowl in its history and all) and call it a day.
It will be easy to agrue that the more radical alignments (e.g. to 16 members) can be put off till another day. Why rock an already hugely successful boat?
04-08-2010, 10:21 AM
(04-08-2010 10:04 AM)FIUFan Wrote: [ -> ]I just don't see the B10 inviting historically east coast schools like UConn, Rutgers, Syracuse, etc. The B10 is a mid-west conference based in OH, MI, IN, ILL, IA, etc. The east coast media market just doesn't fit and the resulting friction between members would be destructive.
I think, in the end, the conservative B10 will add one member, Mizzou, have their championship game (Soldier Field is a great idea; reminds me a bit of the Rose Bowl in its history and all) and call it a day.
It will be easy to agrue that the more radical alignments (e.g. to 16 members) can be put off till another day. Why rock an already hugely successful boat?
This is pretty much my thought as well. After the Big 10, it would remain to be seen what the Pac-10 does. Both expansions could affect the Big 12. If the Big 12 lost one or two members, who would it add? I don't think a massive shift to 16 member conferences is here. At least not yet.
04-08-2010, 10:38 AM
The Big 10 receives something like a dime a month from my cable company for my sports package subscription because there isn't a Big 10 team in my state.
If they were to invite Arkansas State, that charge rises by a dollar. In Arkansas (or Nebraska) that's not a big deal. When you start talking about New York, New Jersey, and Missouri, you start talking serious money. Missouri just in cable revenue would be worth between $3 million and $9 million annually. New Jersey would be somewhere in the $5 million to $12 million range. New York worth $25 million to $36 million a year assuming 2.5 people per household and something between 20% to 40% of households subscribing to Big 10 Network.
In New York, you don't get the extra dollar unless you add a New York team and in I-A, that's either Syracuse, Buffalo, or Army, only one of those fits the B10 profile. BUT Syracuse on its own doesn't command enough of the market for people and their TV providers to balk at paying an extra dollar a month. Penn State helps. Rutgers helps. Notre Dame certainly helps. If you add Syracuse you have the legal right to make the charge. If you add Rutgers, and Notre Dame you can get away with the extra charge.
All of that is before ESPN/ABC sets their rights fee, before B10 Net starts charging for advertisements, before negotiating bowl deals, or collecting tournament revenue.
If they were to invite Arkansas State, that charge rises by a dollar. In Arkansas (or Nebraska) that's not a big deal. When you start talking about New York, New Jersey, and Missouri, you start talking serious money. Missouri just in cable revenue would be worth between $3 million and $9 million annually. New Jersey would be somewhere in the $5 million to $12 million range. New York worth $25 million to $36 million a year assuming 2.5 people per household and something between 20% to 40% of households subscribing to Big 10 Network.
In New York, you don't get the extra dollar unless you add a New York team and in I-A, that's either Syracuse, Buffalo, or Army, only one of those fits the B10 profile. BUT Syracuse on its own doesn't command enough of the market for people and their TV providers to balk at paying an extra dollar a month. Penn State helps. Rutgers helps. Notre Dame certainly helps. If you add Syracuse you have the legal right to make the charge. If you add Rutgers, and Notre Dame you can get away with the extra charge.
All of that is before ESPN/ABC sets their rights fee, before B10 Net starts charging for advertisements, before negotiating bowl deals, or collecting tournament revenue.