First, let me give credit where credit is due. I'm responding to an offhanded comment which Ark St Fan threw out in another thread in which he said:
"I'm not convinced that the BCS will still be around in 2014 . . ."
Well, that sure would be a big deal. It would certainly constitute the "seismic shift" that Notre Dame AD Swarbrick mentioned.
Maybe this isn't all about money. If it were, why would the Big Ten even be looking at a school like Vanderbilt? Only if there agenda had something to do with the face of the Big Ten.
And why would they even be thinking of going to 16 schools when BCS rules limit the number of bowl participants to only 2 per conference? Under this condition, how would it make any sense to lump a bunch of premier programs together under one umbrella? Schools like Texas, Nebraska, Notre Dame together with Penn State, Ohio state, & Michigan? Makes no sense.
Maybe it's not just about money & not just about power within the existing structure.
Although the Big Ten has said that they were not out to destroy any other conference, maybe what they want to do is to blow up the BCS. They can't be happy about a little school like Boise State getting a bowl bid which their members must feel is rightfully theirs.
The Big Ten was reluctant to join the BCS in the first place. Maybe they've decided they've had enough of it. Maybe their goal is to become strong enough that they can make their own bowl deals without the BCS as a mediator. If they can pull enough power teams together, teams that any major bowl would love to have, then maybe that's all they need to operate semi-autonomously.
Of course, at that point it would make sense for other conferences to do the same if they can pull the right players together so that they can also have valuable properties under their control Expansion would then make sense regardless of TV contracts & their accompanying revenue.
Again, thanks to Ark St Fan for throwing the idea out there. Thoughts?
(06-03-2010 08:32 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe this isn't all about money. If it were, why would the Big Ten even be looking at a school like Vanderbilt?
If anyone ever says its "not about the money"....its ABOUT THE MONEY!
Big Ten is expanding for one reason and one reason only..."MONEY!" (Heck...their own Big Ten Commish has stated basically that about the need to expand into "new markets" which will help bring in MORE $$$$).
Vandy has a much of a chance at joining the Big Ten as UCONN has joining the NFL.
I think the BCS dying would be about the money. Big 10 gets under-paid under the BCS system and an expanded Big 10 capped at 2 participants is likely under-represented in BCS games.
(06-03-2010 08:32 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote: [ -> ]First, let me give credit where credit is due. I'm responding to an offhanded comment which Ark St Fan threw out in another thread in which he said:
"I'm not convinced that the BCS will still be around in 2014 . . ."
Well, that sure would be a big deal. It would certainly constitute the "seismic shift" that Notre Dame AD Swarbrick mentioned.
Maybe this isn't all about money. If it were, why would the Big Ten even be looking at a school like Vanderbilt? Only if there agenda had something to do with the face of the Big Ten.
And why would they even be thinking of going to 16 schools when BCS rules limit the number of bowl participants to only 2 per conference? Under this condition, how would it make any sense to lump a bunch of premier programs together under one umbrella? Schools like Texas, Nebraska, Notre Dame together with Penn State, Ohio state, & Michigan? Makes no sense.
Maybe it's not just about money & not just about power within the existing structure.
Although the Big Ten has said that they were not out to destroy any other conference, maybe what they want to do is to blow up the BCS. They can't be happy about a little school like Boise State getting a bowl bid which their members must feel is rightfully theirs.
The Big Ten was reluctant to join the BCS in the first place. Maybe they've decided they've had enough of it. Maybe their goal is to become strong enough that they can make their own bowl deals without the BCS as a mediator. If they can pull enough power teams together, teams that any major bowl would love to have, then maybe that's all they need to operate semi-autonomously.
Of course, at that point it would make sense for other conferences to do the same if they can pull the right players together so that they can also have valuable properties under their control Expansion would then make sense regardless of TV contracts & their accompanying revenue.
Again, thanks to Ark St Fan for throwing the idea out there. Thoughts?
Actually, I believe that the Big Ten likes the BCS a lot. It's a system that virtually guarantees that 2 schools from the Big Ten get BCS bids every year, keeps the Rose Bowl, and puts schools in great position to make it to the national championship game. Now, I do believe that growing to 16 schools (especially if the 5 additional schools include 2 or more heavyweights) will effectively give the Big Ten control or at least veto power over any types of changes to the college football postseason in the future. Maybe the Big Ten would be allowed to receive a 3rd BCS bid. Maybe the Big Ten can get rules changed to allow an intra-conference playoff (4 divisions to create a semi-final round AND a championship game). Regardless, if you thought that the Big Ten could hold up changes to the college football postseason now, just imagine the power that it would have if it added ND and/or Texas. Whatever the Big Ten wants (whether it's a bowl system or a playoff), the rest of the college sports world would likely have to follow.
The BCS has been pretty good for the Big 10, that doesn't mean that they are content to leave the structure as it is with the nominal payment for a second team or being capped at two.
(06-03-2010 09:47 AM)arkstfan Wrote: [ -> ]The BCS has been pretty good for the Big 10, that doesn't mean that they are content to leave the structure as it is with the nominal payment for a second team or being capped at two.
Oh, I agree. I do believe the Big Ten would want to get some changes, especially if it expands. Removing the cap on 2 teams would be a start for sure along with ensuring the Rose Bowl is never, ever, anything other than a Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup.
(06-03-2010 09:34 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote: [ -> ] (06-03-2010 08:32 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote: [ -> ]First, let me give credit where credit is due. I'm responding to an offhanded comment which Ark St Fan threw out in another thread in which he said:
"I'm not convinced that the BCS will still be around in 2014 . . ."
Well, that sure would be a big deal. It would certainly constitute the "seismic shift" that Notre Dame AD Swarbrick mentioned.
Maybe this isn't all about money. If it were, why would the Big Ten even be looking at a school like Vanderbilt? Only if there agenda had something to do with the face of the Big Ten.
And why would they even be thinking of going to 16 schools when BCS rules limit the number of bowl participants to only 2 per conference? Under this condition, how would it make any sense to lump a bunch of premier programs together under one umbrella? Schools like Texas, Nebraska, Notre Dame together with Penn State, Ohio state, & Michigan? Makes no sense.
Maybe it's not just about money & not just about power within the existing structure.
Although the Big Ten has said that they were not out to destroy any other conference, maybe what they want to do is to blow up the BCS. They can't be happy about a little school like Boise State getting a bowl bid which their members must feel is rightfully theirs.
The Big Ten was reluctant to join the BCS in the first place. Maybe they've decided they've had enough of it. Maybe their goal is to become strong enough that they can make their own bowl deals without the BCS as a mediator. If they can pull enough power teams together, teams that any major bowl would love to have, then maybe that's all they need to operate semi-autonomously.
Of course, at that point it would make sense for other conferences to do the same if they can pull the right players together so that they can also have valuable properties under their control Expansion would then make sense regardless of TV contracts & their accompanying revenue.
Again, thanks to Ark St Fan for throwing the idea out there. Thoughts?
Actually, I believe that the Big Ten likes the BCS a lot. It's a system that virtually guarantees that 2 schools from the Big Ten get BCS bids every year, keeps the Rose Bowl, and puts schools in great position to make it to the national championship game. Now, I do believe that growing to 16 schools (especially if the 5 additional schools include 2 or more heavyweights) will effectively give the Big Ten control or at least veto power over any types of changes to the college football postseason in the future. Maybe the Big Ten would be allowed to receive a 3rd BCS bid. Maybe the Big Ten can get rules changed to allow an intra-conference playoff (4 divisions to create a semi-final round AND a championship game). Regardless, if you thought that the Big Ten could hold up changes to the college football postseason now, just imagine the power that it would have if it added ND and/or Texas. Whatever the Big Ten wants (whether it's a bowl system or a playoff), the rest of the college sports world would likely have to follow.
Well, I think what they would want would be no cap on the number of teams that could get into BCS bowls.
You're talking about a combination of schools that can potentially get 5 - 6 teams in under the current system (Big Ten, Big XII, ND, BE) but without any changes would now be limited to only 2. That just doesn't compute.