It seems like outside of basketball in the 80s and 90s, ACC and potential has always trumped ACC and reality when it comes to TV contracts, imho.

The Power of the DC-Boston Northeastern Corridor

From the above article, which is from a BiG perspective, the following key points are made:

The Big Ten commissioner, a South Orange native and North Carolina graduate, knows full well the value of the D.C.-to-Boston corridor, whose epicenter is New York.

"Anyone who forgets that forgets at their peril," Delany told The Post in a telephone interview. "It's the center, it has been the center of media activity for a hundred years. It's the center of financial activity and it has been that way for 150 years. To me it's sort of where a lot of things start in the county."

"I consider the East Coast to be as important to us as the West Coast is even though the West Coast has got the Rose Bowl and the Big Ten-Pac-10 relationship," Delany added. "And it's so because of the recruitment of students, the recruitment of athletes, the size and scope of the markets. I hope it becomes more important."

"It's great to be in New York but you better come with your 'A' game . . . because I don't think the New York market really responds to anything but the 'A' game."

To analyze the points made above, we begin first with the DC-Boston corridor which is basically, DC-Baltimore-Philly-NYC-Harford-Providence-Boston. With the emphasis on DC-Philly-NYC-Boston. What college athletics teams/programs are important to college athletics fans throughout the corridor?

Well, for football, that is easy - Notre Dame and Penn State are 1A and 1B, listed alphabetically for this exercise.

Below those two programs would be Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.

In basketball, not as big a gulf as in football, but the evidence seems to point to (again alpha), Connecticut, Duke, and Syacuse on the first tier with Georgetown, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Temple, and Villanova at the next level down.

So, for the northeastern corridor to become more important overall in college athletics a conference must bring its 'A' game in terms of the programs listed above.

This is why I have always felt that either the ACC or the Big East or some merger of the two would eventually join with the BiG, the SEC, and the Pac as the power 4, even though neither separately was as strong overall (particularly in terms of football and market dominance of its territory) to the others.

In terms of the basketball side, having 2 of the 3 top tier programs with three from the undercard immediately brings the league into contention with the remaining Big East (which will still have UConn plus St. John's, Georgetown, and Nova) for the conference best representing the DC-Boston corridor.

Unfortunately, since football is the gravy train, potential is all that it is likely to remain, unless the ACC can somehow get either ND or PSU into the fold. If, by some miracle they got both, that's the end-game. The ACC would immediately become the predominant college athletics conference in terms of perception, markets, money, and sometimes even in athletics for the DC-Boston corridor, which in turn could make it the pre-eminent college conference in terms of the country as well.

But getting both is unrealistic. However, with 6 of the 8 football programs on the undercard to ND and PSU, getting 1 of them to join would lead to a media frenzy unseen in college athletics.

The trick is, how to get one of ND or PSU to join?

And don't think for one minute that Delany has given up on getting ND to go along with PSU in pursuit of this goal. After all, he is a very astute conference leader and he has the advantage of already having PSU.

Cheers,
Neil

PSU is never, ever leaving the B1G. The only hope the ACC has is that when D-Day comes for ND, they will choose the ACC over the B1G.

That is not exactly a bad or unheard of choice for ND to make. They've got a strong relationship with Pitt and at least some relationship with the former Big East schools in the ACC. They also like to associate themselves with the Eastern market rather than the Mid-West for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. That said, it's quite possible they will eventually choose the ACC over the B1G.

Many people speculated that the B1G would accept Notre Dame and anyone they named. Realistically, ND carries that weight. Syracuse, Pitt, Navy, UConn and Rutgers were all rumored to be on the short list to come with ND. A combo of ND and any three (especially the first three) would have locked up the Northeast corridor. However, ND appears to truly want their independence.

ND has close ties to several B1G teams, like it does to a couple ACC schools. They can go either way and either conference will bend a bit to get them.

Notre Dame and Penn State, would make the ACC THE conference in the northeast. I don't expect that to happen, though. Notre Dame and Rutgers is much more realistic.

I keep going back and forth with UConn or RU. I'm beginning to lean towards RU now. They further cement the ACC in New York City, like UConn would. Unlike UConn they get the ACC into Philadelphia.

Rutgers has a large on campus football stadium. UConn plays in a small stadium, that's not even in their own city. Rutgers always plays in an on campus basketball arena. UConn often plays in a large arena, that's once again, not even in their own city. Rutgers, along with Notre Dame, would give the ACC 7 lacrosse programs.

(02-19-2012 06:57 PM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  Notre Dame and Penn State, would make the ACC THE conference in the northeast. I don't expect that to happen, though. Notre Dame and Rutgers is much more realistic.

I keep going back and forth with UConn or RU. I'm beginning to lean towards RU now. They further cement the ACC in New York City, like UConn would. Unlike UConn they get the ACC into Philadelphia.

Rutgers has a large on campus football stadium. UConn plays in a small stadium, that's not even in their own city. Rutgers always plays in an on campus basketball arena. UConn often plays in a large arena, that's once again, not even in their own city. Rutgers, along with Notre Dame, would give the ACC 7 lacrosse programs.

I understand that point of view, but with ND #15 whether its UConn or RU as #16, all the ACC gets is a next level down football program to go along with the 6 others they already have covering the DC-to-Boston corridor. But in basketball, they get a top tier team.

Ultimately that tips the balance in favor of the Huskies in my mind.

If the ACC wants Philly in football and a top tier basketball program then Temple would have to be at least considered.

Cheers,
Neil

There are some in the ACC that are not happy that the league has turned so much to the north and there is a reluctance to add two more northern teams regardless of the monetary gain.

(02-19-2012 08:32 PM)XLance Wrote:  There are some in the ACC that are not happy that the league has turned so much to the north and there is a reluctance to add two more northern teams regardless of the monetary gain.

The problem with that is you have to get a good football school and the only southern teams worth having are S Florida, C Florida, ECU, and Louisvile. Already have 2 teams in Florida and 4 in NC, so Louisville is the only viable option, IMO, unless you go all the way to Texas and grab Houston or SMU.

At least Rutgers sits in fertile recruiting territory.

(02-19-2012 08:32 PM)XLance Wrote:  There are some in the ACC that are not happy that the league has turned so much to the north and there is a reluctance to add two more northern teams regardless of the monetary gain.

I'm sure that is true. But trying to be SEC-lite hasn't entirely worked out and the plain truth of the matter is, the ACC will always be second string in the southern markets that they share with the SEC.

It's the reason why the ACC trails the Pac now in terms of power and wealth though it is the one league they might actually be equal to or superior to, especially if FSU and/or Miami could get back to some semblance of what they were in the 90s and early 00s.

Even a northeastern strategy has its flaws though, since as long as the BiG has PSU, the ACC will be second string in Pennsylvania and as this thread shows, NYC only pays attention if one brings their 'A' game.

Cheers,
Neil

If the Big 10 gets ND, then the ACC will forever be a distant #4 in terms of perception and money (assuming the Big 12 eventually dies). It's that simple.

I don't know if the Big 10 goes all in to 16 with a Northeast strategy but taking it a step further, the Big 10 could absolutely crush the ACC and the other competion in terms of TV money by taking ND + 3 more teams (say UMd, Rutgers, and Syracuse). That's every media market from Minny to Chicago the northeast from Boston to Washington DC.

(02-20-2012 08:26 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  If the Big 10 gets ND, then the ACC will forever be a distant #4 in terms of perception and money (assuming the Big 12 eventually dies). It's that simple.

I don't know if the Big 10 goes all in to 16 with a Northeast strategy but taking it a step further, the Big 10 could absolutely crush the ACC and the other competion in terms of TV money by taking ND + 3 more teams (say UMd, Rutgers, and Syracuse). That's every media market from Minny to Chicago the northeast from Boston to Washington DC.

There were rumors of the B1G flirting with Maryland, and possibly Virginia, both being large state schools with massive research and very good to highest level academics. However, Maryland did not reciprocate - this in spite of facing major issues with sports financing. I think Maryland has a great affinity with the ACC and an even longer history with several of the schools and that tradition is too hard to break.

I still believe that any conference would allow ND to name her tag-a-longs if ND would only join a conference, but as long as ND can remain indy in football, they will. The Big East is well aware of this and will house all other ND sports until ND is forced to join a conference in football.

As to Penn State, forget it. They are ingrained in the B1G now and they earn far more money. Don't forget, in the B1G, the model for sports is very nice, but the model for academic research funds blows away sports revenue. (Which is what the B1G was rumored to be using to entice Maryland). The ACC needs to make itself in a fashion after the B1G model regarding research. That is where the real money in academics is. Ex. Texas earns the most in sports but makes 4-5X that amount in research.

(02-20-2012 08:26 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  If the Big 10 gets ND, then the ACC will forever be a distant #4 in terms of perception and money (assuming the Big 12 eventually dies). It's that simple.

I don't know if the Big 10 goes all in to 16 with a Northeast strategy but taking it a step further, the Big 10 could absolutely crush the ACC and the other competion in terms of TV money by taking ND + 3 more teams (say UMd, Rutgers, and Syracuse). That's every media market from Minny to Chicago the northeast from Boston to Washington DC.

Obviously the B1G is a huge brand name in a number of populous, and is going to have a generous TV package for the forseeable future. However, the B1G is fighting negative demographic trends. Its population is shrinking, and it lacks presence in the best recruiting areas.

This thread provided a nice analysis of recruiting areas aroudn the country: http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=546658

Looking at recruiting markets, the ACC has strong presence in 5 of the top 10 markets (6 if you count NYC):

1. 129 - Los Angeles
2. 101 - Dallas
3. 97 - Atlanta
4. 75 - Miami
5. 71 - Houston
6. 45 - Washington, DC
7. 44 - Orlando
8. 43 - Tampa
9. 38 - NYC
10. 34 - Cincinnati

The B1G has presence in one market.

This NY Time article takes a shot at measuring popularity of schools by region and in total:
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09...ent-chaos/

The analysis is clearly not perfect, particularly because it does not appear to measure the depth of fan commitment. However, it shows that NYC, undoubtedly by its sheer size, is the biggest market for college football in the country. Notably, Rutgers is far and away the most popular school in the NYC market, not ND. Rutgers has been a solid recruiter as well, ranked 24th by Rivals for the 2012 recruiting class. It will be interesting to see how Rutgers continues to fairs with Schiano off to the NFL. UConn is 4th in popularity in NYC, roughly tied with SU.

ND is number 2 in NYC, but not so strong that UConn would not be a reasonable substitute. What ND, does, though, is bring large following in the Midwest that the ACC completely lacks.

If the ACC viewed that dominating NYC was critical to its future, and was willing to go to 16, expanding by adding UConn and Rutgers would make the ACC the dominant school in NYC by far. Combined with its similar strength in DC and Boston, the ACC would be the dominant conference in 3 of the 4 major northeastern markets. This would be combined with the ACC's dominant position in large and growing states of NC and VA, plus its very stong positions in Georgia and Florida. It is interesting to note that not only does population growth in the ACC's southern states exceed that in the B1G footprint, it substantially exceeds that of the SEC states not shared with the ACC except Texas.

In essence, the ACC is well positioned for the future. Its real problems appear to be, 1) being locked into a long term TV deal at what now appears to be a below market price, and 2) lack of a dominant football school(s) making regular runs at the national title. Item 1 simply requires time to resolve. Item 2 requires commitment at the individual school level and a little luck in the form of the emergence of one or more coaches capable of recruiting and coaching at the recent Bama/LSU level. FSU, VPI and the U have all played in the NCG during the BCS era. There is simly no reason to believe that schools with the commitment level of the top programs in the ACC won't break through to this level again soon.

(02-20-2012 09:49 AM)orangefan Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 08:26 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  If the Big 10 gets ND, then the ACC will forever be a distant #4 in terms of perception and money (assuming the Big 12 eventually dies). It's that simple.

I don't know if the Big 10 goes all in to 16 with a Northeast strategy but taking it a step further, the Big 10 could absolutely crush the ACC and the other competion in terms of TV money by taking ND + 3 more teams (say UMd, Rutgers, and Syracuse). That's every media market from Minny to Chicago the northeast from Boston to Washington DC.

Obviously the B1G is a huge brand name in a number of populous, and is going to have a generous TV package for the forseeable future. However, the B1G is fighting negative demographic trends. Its population is shrinking, and it lacks presence in the best recruiting areas.

This thread provided a nice analysis of recruiting areas aroudn the country: http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=546658

Looking at recruiting markets, the ACC has strong presence in 5 of the top 10 markets (6 if you count NYC):

1. 129 - Los Angeles
2. 101 - Dallas
3. 97 - Atlanta
4. 75 - Miami
5. 71 - Houston
6. 45 - Washington, DC
7. 44 - Orlando
8. 43 - Tampa
9. 38 - NYC
10. 34 - Cincinnati

The B1G has presence in one market.

This NY Time article takes a shot at measuring popularity of schools by region and in total:
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09...ent-chaos/

The analysis is clearly not perfect, particularly because it does not appear to measure the depth of fan commitment. However, it shows that NYC, undoubtedly by its sheer size, is the biggest market for college football in the country. Notably, Rutgers is far and away the most popular school in the NYC market, not ND. Rutgers has been a solid recruiter as well, ranked 24th by Rivals for the 2012 recruiting class. It will be interesting to see how Rutgers continues to fairs with Schiano off to the NFL. UConn is 4th in popularity in NYC, roughly tied with SU.

ND is number 2 in NYC, but not so strong that UConn would not be a reasonable substitute. What ND, does, though, is bring large following in the Midwest that the ACC completely lacks.

If the ACC viewed that dominating NYC was critical to its future, and was willing to go to 16, expanding by adding UConn and Rutgers would make the ACC the dominant school in NYC by far. Combined with its similar strength in DC and Boston, the ACC would be the dominant conference in 3 of the 4 major northeastern markets. This would be combined with the ACC's dominant position in large and growing states of NC and VA, plus its very stong positions in Georgia and Florida. It is interesting to note that not only does population growth in the ACC's southern states exceed that in the B1G footprint, it substantially exceeds that of the SEC states not shared with the ACC except Texas.

In essence, the ACC is well positioned for the future. Its real problems appear to be, 1) being locked into a long term TV deal at what now appears to be a below market price, and 2) lack of a dominant football school(s) making regular runs at the national title. Item 1 simply requires time to resolve. Item 2 requires commitment at the individual school level and a little luck in the form of the emergence of one or more coaches capable of recruiting and coaching at the recent Bama/LSU level. FSU, VPI and the U have all played in the NCG during the BCS era. There is simly no reason to believe that schools with the commitment level of the top programs in the ACC won't break through to this level again soon.

I'm not buying this data for NYC and Rutgers. I don't see how Rutgers is at ~ 21% of the NYC CFB market.

(02-20-2012 11:41 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 09:49 AM)orangefan Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 08:26 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  If the Big 10 gets ND, then the ACC will forever be a distant #4 in terms of perception and money (assuming the Big 12 eventually dies). It's that simple.

I don't know if the Big 10 goes all in to 16 with a Northeast strategy but taking it a step further, the Big 10 could absolutely crush the ACC and the other competion in terms of TV money by taking ND + 3 more teams (say UMd, Rutgers, and Syracuse). That's every media market from Minny to Chicago the northeast from Boston to Washington DC.

Obviously the B1G is a huge brand name in a number of populous, and is going to have a generous TV package for the forseeable future. However, the B1G is fighting negative demographic trends. Its population is shrinking, and it lacks presence in the best recruiting areas.

This thread provided a nice analysis of recruiting areas aroudn the country: http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=546658

Looking at recruiting markets, the ACC has strong presence in 5 of the top 10 markets (6 if you count NYC):

1. 129 - Los Angeles
2. 101 - Dallas
3. 97 - Atlanta
4. 75 - Miami
5. 71 - Houston
6. 45 - Washington, DC
7. 44 - Orlando
8. 43 - Tampa
9. 38 - NYC
10. 34 - Cincinnati

The B1G has presence in one market.

This NY Time article takes a shot at measuring popularity of schools by region and in total:
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09...ent-chaos/

The analysis is clearly not perfect, particularly because it does not appear to measure the depth of fan commitment. However, it shows that NYC, undoubtedly by its sheer size, is the biggest market for college football in the country. Notably, Rutgers is far and away the most popular school in the NYC market, not ND. Rutgers has been a solid recruiter as well, ranked 24th by Rivals for the 2012 recruiting class. It will be interesting to see how Rutgers continues to fairs with Schiano off to the NFL. UConn is 4th in popularity in NYC, roughly tied with SU.

ND is number 2 in NYC, but not so strong that UConn would not be a reasonable substitute. What ND, does, though, is bring large following in the Midwest that the ACC completely lacks.

If the ACC viewed that dominating NYC was critical to its future, and was willing to go to 16, expanding by adding UConn and Rutgers would make the ACC the dominant school in NYC by far. Combined with its similar strength in DC and Boston, the ACC would be the dominant conference in 3 of the 4 major northeastern markets. This would be combined with the ACC's dominant position in large and growing states of NC and VA, plus its very stong positions in Georgia and Florida. It is interesting to note that not only does population growth in the ACC's southern states exceed that in the B1G footprint, it substantially exceeds that of the SEC states not shared with the ACC except Texas.

In essence, the ACC is well positioned for the future. Its real problems appear to be, 1) being locked into a long term TV deal at what now appears to be a below market price, and 2) lack of a dominant football school(s) making regular runs at the national title. Item 1 simply requires time to resolve. Item 2 requires commitment at the individual school level and a little luck in the form of the emergence of one or more coaches capable of recruiting and coaching at the recent Bama/LSU level. FSU, VPI and the U have all played in the NCG during the BCS era. There is simly no reason to believe that schools with the commitment level of the top programs in the ACC won't break through to this level again soon.

I'm not buying this data for NYC and Rutgers. I don't see how Rutgers is at ~ 21% of the NYC CFB market.

The survey and article were largely debunked. The overall premise about the general markets is fairly accurate (southern cities are more into college football than many northern cities). As to Rutgers having the largest amount of fans, most surveys show they are lucky to appear in the top ten. ND, PSU are at the top. Syracuse ranks (large student recruiting and many grads in NYC). Naturally, the ACC, B1G and Big East are heavily represented in NYC. Overall, NYC remains a pro sports town and likes college winners.

(02-20-2012 12:04 PM)HtownOrange Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 11:41 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  I'm not buying this data for NYC and Rutgers. I don't see how Rutgers is at ~ 21% of the NYC CFB market.

The survey and article were largely debunked. The overall premise about the general markets is fairly accurate (southern cities are more into college football than many northern cities). As to Rutgers having the largest amount of fans, most surveys show they are lucky to appear in the top ten. ND, PSU are at the top. Syracuse ranks (large student recruiting and many grads in NYC). Naturally, the ACC, B1G and Big East are heavily represented in NYC. Overall, NYC remains a pro sports town and likes college winners.

As I note, there is little doubt the NY Times study is flawed. Asking "who is your favorite school" provides little assistance for determining how many folks are going to tune into a local interest game versus a national interest game, buy tickets, buy a premium cable tier, or otherwise contribute value based upon such interest.

Having said this, I stand by my two points, which are: 1) the ACC's footprint with or without more support in NYC has positive demographic trends as compared to the B1G that undermine the argument that the ACC is hopelessly behind the B1G; and 2) if the ACC (or B1G for that matter) believes that creating a strong presence in NYC is extemely important, adding UConn and RU will accomplish that goal pretty much as effectively as a combo of one of these with ND.

(02-19-2012 08:02 PM)omniorange Wrote:  ...If the ACC wants Philly in football and a top tier basketball program then Temple would have to be at least considered.

Cheers,
Neil

Or Villanova. ND might want another Catholic school that happens to bring the Philly market.

(02-20-2012 12:42 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 12:04 PM)HtownOrange Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 11:41 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  I'm not buying this data for NYC and Rutgers. I don't see how Rutgers is at ~ 21% of the NYC CFB market.

The survey and article were largely debunked. The overall premise about the general markets is fairly accurate (southern cities are more into college football than many northern cities). As to Rutgers having the largest amount of fans, most surveys show they are lucky to appear in the top ten. ND, PSU are at the top. Syracuse ranks (large student recruiting and many grads in NYC). Naturally, the ACC, B1G and Big East are heavily represented in NYC. Overall, NYC remains a pro sports town and likes college winners.

As I note, there is little doubt the NY Times study is flawed. Asking "who is your favorite school" provides little assistance for determining how many folks are going to tune into a local interest game versus a national interest game, buy tickets, buy a premium cable tier, or otherwise contribute value based upon such interest.

Having said this, I stand by my two points, which are: 1) the ACC's footprint with or without more support in NYC has positive demographic trends as compared to the B1G that undermine the argument that the ACC is hopelessly behind the B1G; and 2) if the ACC (or B1G for that matter) believes that creating a strong presence in NYC is extemely important, adding UConn and RU will accomplish that goal pretty much as effectively as a combo of one of these with ND.

I agree with point one, as do many surveys and analyses. Point two includes Rutgers as having influence in NYC. Most surveys and data analyses show that Rutgers has few sports fans in NYC/LI. Most show Syracuse (240 miles away) with more fandom than Rutgers (40 miles away), the difference being the state. In NY in general and NYC specifically, there is a demarcation line, the state border. The only thing in NJ that New Yorkers like are the pro-football teams, the Giants and the Jets. Both insisted and were granted the rights to maintain the moniker of "New York" in their respective names, otherwise they would not have moved to the Meadowlands.

UConn has more influence in NYC than Rutgers. UConn produces winners. Rutgers has provided very little for NYC to cheer for. Though Rutgers has won over the last several years, they still lack a league championship or continuous contender status.

(02-20-2012 12:48 PM)ChrisLords Wrote:  

(02-19-2012 08:02 PM)omniorange Wrote:  ...If the ACC wants Philly in football and a top tier basketball program then Temple would have to be at least considered.

Cheers,
Neil

Or Villanova. ND might want another Catholic school that happens to bring the Philly market.

Please do not go there. Unless Nova agrees to build a D1/BCS level stadium, their name shall remain silent in the football world. Basketball and lacrosse, OK.

(02-20-2012 12:42 PM)orangefan Wrote:  Having said this, I stand by my two points, which are: 1) the ACC's footprint with or without more support in NYC has positive demographic trends as compared to the B1G that undermine the argument that the ACC is hopelessly behind the B1G; and 2) if the ACC (or B1G for that matter) believes that creating a strong presence in NYC is extemely important, adding UConn and RU will accomplish that goal pretty much as effectively as a combo of one of these with ND.

What do you mean by 'Strong Presence'? Do you mean that this would be enough to get a conference netowrk into NYC on basic cable?

I have to disagree with you in that UConn + RU = ND + UConn or RU in NYC.

(02-20-2012 01:28 PM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I agree with point one, as do many surveys and analyses. Point two includes Rutgers as having influence in NYC. Most surveys and data analyses show that Rutgers has few sports fans in NYC/LI. Most show Syracuse (240 miles away) with more fandom than Rutgers (40 miles away), the difference being the state. In NY in general and NYC specifically, there is a demarcation line, the state border. The only thing in NJ that New Yorkers like are the pro-football teams, the Giants and the Jets. Both insisted and were granted the rights to maintain the moniker of "New York" in their respective names, otherwise they would not have moved to the Meadowlands.

UConn has more influence in NYC than Rutgers. UConn produces winners. Rutgers has provided very little for NYC to cheer for. Though Rutgers has won over the last several years, they still lack a league championship or continuous contender status.

I guess I look at NYC as the NY TV Market, 1/4 to 1/3 of which is in New Jersey. I would agree that interest in Rutgers pretty much ends at the Hudson River. NY is too large of a market to be covered by just one school. To be New York City's conference, you really need at least 2, and more likely 3 schools (which could include a PSU or ND that have significant followings there). The Big East has basically had 6 NYC local interest schools in hoops (SU, SJU, RU, SHU, ND, and UConn).

(02-20-2012 03:11 PM)Hoquista Wrote:  What do you mean by 'Strong Presence'? Do you mean that this would be enough to get a conference netowrk into NYC on basic cable?

I have to disagree with you in that UConn + RU = ND + UConn or RU in NYC.

By strong presence, yes I would mean a presence significant enough to get a conference network cleared on cable on financially favorable terms.

(02-20-2012 11:41 AM)Hoquista Wrote:  I'm not buying this data for NYC and Rutgers. I don't see how Rutgers is at ~ 21% of the NYC CFB market.

You would be correct. As someone else posted already, the data used in that article to reach its main conclusion is extremely flawed, other than the fact that the northeast has the least amount of fan interest in college football while the south has the greatest.

Of course, one of the reasons why I believe this to be the case in terms of fan interest is that unlike college basketball, the two most prominent college football programs the northeast cares about have never truly been in a conference together or with the undercard programs that I mentioned above. Which is one of the thrusts for my initial post. Put ND and PSU in the BiG together or put ND with 6 or 7 of the programs on the undercard in the same conference and I believe college football interest in the northeast will increase significantly.

Anyway, the top 7 in the article is basically what I have seen in polls of NYC's favorite college football programs (last time somewhere in 2007,2008), just out of whack in terms of who the favorites are.

Notre Dame
Penn State
(gap)
Rutgers
Syracuse
(gap)
Michigan
Army
Miami

It wouldn't surprise me to see UConn at this point having entered the picture.

In terms of college basketball the results are basically:

Duke
SU/UConn (alternating between 2 and 3 dependent upon who recently was the better program)

North Carolina
St. John's

Cheers,
Neil