I'd actually say there are more people in the SEC footprint now.

Using Electoral votes minus the 2 per state for the Senate
Big Ten 98
SEC 130

Now, before the expansions, Big Ten was larger- B10 95 SEC 86.

Texas is almost double the size of Illinois and Pennsylvania(the 2 biggest B10 states). Florida is nearly 50% larger than them. Nebraska is smaller than every SEC state. The moves that the SEC did getting into Texas and Missouri really were huge.

btw, ACC at 130- same as SEC. If you add in ND as well- up to 139.

(09-14-2012 10:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  I'd actually say there are more people in the SEC footprint now.

Using Electoral votes minus the 2 per state for the Senate
Big Ten 98
SEC 130

Now, before the expansions, Big Ten was larger- B10 95 SEC 86.

Texas is almost double the size of Illinois and Pennsylvania(the 2 biggest B10 states). Florida is nearly 50% larger than them. Nebraska is smaller than every SEC state. The moves that the SEC did getting into Texas and Missouri really were huge.

btw, ACC at 130- same as SEC. If you add in ND as well- up to 139.

If you give credit to Texas A&M for carrying the entire state of Texas (and to UF for carrying the entire state of Florida) then yes, I'd have to agree. On the other hand, if we use that logic the new Big East has the largest footprint of all!

However, what if we assume that fans within each state are divided more or less equally among the BCS teams within that state? That would mean that Florida is split 4 ways - Miami, USF, UF and FSU. Texas is split x ways - A&M, Texas, Tech, Baylor and TCU. Realistically, those splits are NOT even - let's give UF a double portion of Florida, but let's also give UT a double portion of Texas. Give Ohio State 2/3 of Ohio and give Penn St half (or 2/3?) of PA. Give UGA 2/3 of GA, but give GT 1/3, etc.

Those are all ball-park guesses, and perhaps there is more accurate data available, but you get my point. What would THAT do for your demographics?

I was tempted to use TV ratings, but those are severely skewed as well because the SEC has been on national TV disproportionately more than any other conference, so of course they get the highest ratings. That's a little like saying the first string RB gets more yards than the second stringer, when the former also gets 4x as many carries... duh. The SEC has been guaranteed at least 2 national TV games EVERY Saturday for years (CBS and ESPN). Only now, with these new TV contracts, are the other conferences even beginning to close that gap. If anything, I think the dominance of the SEC - on TV and on the field - is coming to an end.

(09-15-2012 04:27 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(09-14-2012 10:53 PM)stever20 Wrote:  I'd actually say there are more people in the SEC footprint now.

Using Electoral votes minus the 2 per state for the Senate
Big Ten 98
SEC 130

Now, before the expansions, Big Ten was larger- B10 95 SEC 86.

Texas is almost double the size of Illinois and Pennsylvania(the 2 biggest B10 states). Florida is nearly 50% larger than them. Nebraska is smaller than every SEC state. The moves that the SEC did getting into Texas and Missouri really were huge.

btw, ACC at 130- same as SEC. If you add in ND as well- up to 139.

If you give credit to Texas A&M for carrying the entire state of Texas (and to UF for carrying the entire state of Florida) then yes, I'd have to agree. On the other hand, if we use that logic the new Big East has the largest footprint of all!

However, what if we assume that fans within each state are divided more or less equally among the BCS teams within that state? That would mean that Florida is split 4 ways - Miami, USF, UF and FSU. Texas is split x ways - A&M, Texas, Tech, Baylor and TCU. Realistically, those splits are NOT even - let's give UF a double portion of Florida, but let's also give UT a double portion of Texas. Give Ohio State 2/3 of Ohio and give Penn St half (or 2/3?) of PA. Give UGA 2/3 of GA, but give GT 1/3, etc.

Those are all ball-park guesses, and perhaps there is more accurate data available, but you get my point. What would THAT do for your demographics?

I was tempted to use TV ratings, but those are severely skewed as well because the SEC has been on national TV disproportionately more than any other conference, so of course they get the highest ratings. That's a little like saying the first string RB gets more yards than the second stringer, when the former also gets 4x as many carries... duh. The SEC has been guaranteed at least 2 national TV games EVERY Saturday for years (CBS and ESPN). Only now, with these new TV contracts, are the other conferences even beginning to close that gap. If anything, I think the dominance of the SEC - on TV and on the field - is coming to an end.

the thing is though- for the Big Ten network, it's subscribers in the entire state. It's like .80 cents per subscriber in footprint, and .10 cents per subscriber out of footprint. So, in PA for instance, you may be a Pitt fan, but you get the B10 network, you're getting counted as being an .80 cent customer. So, the entire size does matter more than you would think..