What happens if the Big Ten goes to 16 teams?
Indianapolis—Yes, we are attending the Super Bowl of college basketball and tonight the story lines abound: Duke will go for its fourth national championship and its first since 2001, under Coach K against Butler. Rated rival North Carolina has cut down the nets twice (2005, 2009) since their hated rival won a title. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is in his 11th Final Four, which ties Carolina’s Dean Smith. One more for K and he passes the Dean for No. 2 on the all-time list.
Butler is playing six miles from its campus. Their playing facility, Hinkle Fieldhouse, was where the championship game in “Hoosiers” was filmed. CBS must be tempted to bring in Gene Hackman and let him walk onto the floor and measure the baskets like he did in the movie that is beloved by all hoopsters.
Understand this about Butler. This isn’t tiny Milan taking on Muncie Central for the Indiana state high school championship in 1954. Butler is really good and is well coached by a guy who looks like he should be a study hall monitor instead of a coach with an 89-14 record. They can beat Duke if they are healthy and the Blue Devils are little cold from behind the arc. We’re expecting another crowd of over 70,000 at Lucas Oil Field.
But enough about hoops. That’s tonight. I’m here today to tell you what’s going on behind the scenes of tonight’s national championship game. I am not big into hyperbole, but you need to know that two things are being discussed that could, in the next six months, could radically change the college athletics landscape as we know it.
The first, of course, is the potential expansion of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament field from 65 to 96 teams. The NCAA floated that trial balloon on Thursday and for the first time gave details about how it could work. That effort was met with criticism that turned into downright derision from fans and media. Why take one of the best sporting events in the world and risk hurting it by trying to shoe-horn another round of games into the same three-week calendar?
You already know the answer. It’s about the money. It’s always been about the money. The NCAA has three more years on its current 11-year, $6 billion contract with CBS but has the option to opt out of those years and put the tournament back up for bid. Needless to say there are other suitors, like ESPN or NBC/Comcast who might want to step up to the plate. Given the realities of the economy, all schools need more money.
Here is my prediction and that’s all it is: The tournament goes to 96 team out of pure financial necessity. The 32 team NIT, which the NCAA also controls, will go always and those teams will be folded into the big tournament. CBS retains the rights to the tournament and finds a cable partner to share in the costs and the distribution. Don’t be surprised if it’s Turner Broadcasting. Then the NCAA will have to do a lot of selling to a skeptical public and press and convince them that the event that they love so much will not be watered down with first round games that include a 9 vs. 24 seed.
I spoke to several commissioners of smaller conferences who are convinced that the vast majority of this money is not going to trickle down to them because most of those 32 extra slots in the tournament will go to teams in the BCS conferences.
The NCAA insists this is not a done deal but my conversations this week tell me the train is at the station and getting ready to move out. Everybody just needs to jump on board.
The other big topic here has a chance to completely change college football as we know it. I’ve spoken to a number of athletics directors and commissioners who are convinced that the Big Ten is positioning itself to seriously consider becoming college football first super conference by expanding to as many as 16 teams.
The Big Ten is looking at three plans: Stand pat with 11 teams, add one team (hopefully Notre Dame) or make a blockbuster move and go to 16.
“If they go to 16 and one of them is Notre Dame then we’ve got an entirely new ball game,” a conference commissioner told me confidentially.
There is pretty serious speculation that The Big Ten would look to the Big East in its big master plan. Now I don’t know which teams are involved, but Just for fun, let’s say the Big Ten asks Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Connecticut and Rutgers to join. If they said yes, the Big East would be out of the football business. I think the Catholic schools (Georgetown, Villanova, St. John’s, Marquette, Seton Hall, DePaul, Providence) in the league move on and form their own basketball conference.
What would happen to the other football playing schools in the Big East: West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida? Does the ACC take them in order to match the Big 16?
What would happened to Notre Dame? Would they be invited to join the Catholic conference for basketball? What about their other sports?
And what does the SEC do if the Big Ten throws down this gauntlet? The conference has its 15-year, $3 billion television contract in place. Does the SEC have to react to the new marketplace that has been created? The SEC and Big Ten have separated themselves financially from the rest of Division I. If the SEC stood pat would it risk watching the Big Ten with the additional dollars that would come in, pull away from the SEC?
Does the SEC get aggressive and pick up the phone call Texas? That’s the one school that would move the financial needle to improve the great deal the SEC already has. And if you take Texas, you have to take Texas A&M because of the politics. Does the SEC take another look at Florida State and Miami and see if those schools would be interested in leaving the ACC for a better financial deal?
I have been saying this for years: The dominoes of expansion will start tumbling when the Big Ten makes its move. If it only adds one team, even if it’s Notre Dame, then relatively little will change. But if commissioner Jim Delany wants to make a splash and go to 16, then absolutely anything is possible. If members of the Big East want to leave, they must remain in the conference for an additional 27 months after they declare. So if the Big Ten wants to take some Big East teams, they must make a decision soon in order for those teams to be in place for the 2012 football season.
Understand that there is a lot of smoke here. None of this could happen. Or all of it could. So stay tuned.
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264 comments Add your comment
Heel
April 6th, 2010
12:24 am
ps this article ain’t worth the corn in my poo
WhittNole
April 6th, 2010
12:25 am
FSU would have little interest in leaving the ACC. The current alignment affords them equal exposure to BCS dollars, a formidable schedule (always top 5 in the country…remember you play a schedule, not a conference) that obliges them to more TV coverage (Google ESPN’s top watched programs ever – the top two are FSU vs Miami) and thus dollars. Not to mention that the ACC is not a one-trick pony like the SEC. Sure you have a few good basketball and baseball teams here and there (KY, UF) but it’s even better for those sports in the ACC. Of course, then there is the topic of academics; I don’t need to list all the great universities in the ACC because you already know who they are – and there is a precipitous academic drop between the bulk of ACC and SEC schools. The SEC has 3 great universities (Vandy, UF, UGA) and all the rest are average. FSU is an excellent university, and only bound to be greater aligned with the likes of Duke, UNC, Virginia, Boston College, GT….shall I continue?
Go Noles
April 6th, 2010
1:03 am
LOL at the people who think GT should be added to the SEC to secure the Atlanta market. Really? UGA IS the Atlanta market. Same thing can be said for Miami? If the SEC wants Miami, fine, but please keep in mind the SEC already has a huge foothold in south Florida. Florida Gators anyone? Their press coverage across the state of Florida (outside of Tallahassee and the panhandle) easily eclipses that of Miami and FSU put together.
For the record I do not see the Big 10 going to 16. That is just too much. To be honest, I think 14 is prolly too much too, but it seems they’re intent on doing it.
As an FSU fan I hope they do as I do not think the SEC will stand idly by while the Big 10 tries to usurp all the power and prestige. The SEC will reciprocate and IMO, FSU is probably the first school they’ll call. I do think Va Tech would be an interesting call, but I think there will be too much political pressure to stay pat in the ACC after how the last expansion went. FSU is a national program. They bring in huge TV numbers. Louisville is another.
Something like this would be awesome…
SEC East – UF, FSU, UGA, Clemson or GT, USC, Kentucky, Vandy
SEC West – Tennessee, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss State, Arkansas, LSU
All that said, I wouldn’t be crushed if FSU remained in the ACC so long as the divisions were redone and maybe UConn and WVU were brought in.
All you lamers calling FSU “chicken” can go pound sand. We tried to get into the SEC for nearly 30 years and the SEC said “no thanks”. The ACC’s financial offer was better and Bobby rationalized it in the media. FSU is an anytime, anyone, anywhere program. Look up “Octoberfest” and get back to me. Hell, throughout the 90s we got had the upper hand against UF who absolutely owned the SEC so what does that tell you. We have played Miami and UF every year since the 60s. We don’t duck anyone.
To the above poster, all that academics stuff is crap. Being in the ACC hasn’t done squat to help FSU’s academic rep. Likewise, being in the SEC will do nothing to harm it.
WhittNole
April 6th, 2010
1:10 am
I Disagree…”you show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Big 10 to expand and become Big 16? | Baseball News Update
April 6th, 2010
1:30 am
[...] Barnhart is hearing whispers from conference commissioners indicating that the Big 10 is at least considering expanding to a superconference of 16 [...]
Juan from CHI
April 6th, 2010
2:46 am
Big XII,
The SEC splits is TV revenue evenly among all teams. That is also the method used by the Big 10. I think only the Big XII and PAC 10 split TV revenue based on schools individual deals.
Juan
Go Noles
April 6th, 2010
3:31 am
Umm, that might apply to individual people, but to apply that sort of logic to giant universities made up of thousands of people, that is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?
Would you say FSU’s academic rep has improved due to its membership in the ACC? Any evidence? On the list of things that make a university great, athletic conference affiliation (Ivy league and possibly Big 10 withstanding) ranks somewhere around school colors and food quality in the student union food court.
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April 6th, 2010
4:01 am
[...] Tony Barnhart said yesterday that he has talked to : …a number of athletics directors and commissioners who are convinced that the Big Ten is positioning itself to seriously consider becoming college football first super conference by expanding to as many as 16 teams. [...]
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[...] 10 Expansion talk… 16 teams? I just read an article by Tony Barnhart of the AJC that said there is talk of the Big 10 expanding to 16 teams… has anyone heard anything about [...]
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[...] Tony Barnhart speculates about conference expansion after hearing a bunch of other people speculate about conference expansion. [...]
O.G. Eagle
April 6th, 2010
7:06 am
Looks like Walmart has sold alot of Bama t-shirts since the National Championship game….The band wagon is very full.
Beau
April 6th, 2010
8:22 am
I love you Sec guys! you take over any football blog about how great you are! why ? take away the fact your schools sucks @ education, and yes SEC is awesome! but don’t fool yourselves into think you will remain that way forever! ………. and stop saying the Bigten cant count.. you sound stupid! they didnt change the name cuz they thought they was adding another school.( N.D.) and the have 11 in the logo… come up with something new at least!
Steve Spurrier
April 6th, 2010
8:31 am
Florida blocks FSU. South Carolina blocks Klempsin. UGA blocks GT. It would be tough to expand in the same geographical area anyway. What’s the point? No, I think the SEC has to stretch to Texas and maybe also pick up WV and VT if they go to 16. East Carolina would also be a consideration if they committed to upgrading their facilities and why wouldn’t they?
Beau
April 6th, 2010
8:48 am
I don’t think anyone will go to 16 teams… but i believe 14 is the magically number.
at least for the Big Ten… and i don’t think they go with a east/west but instead with a rotation that switches every year, I.E. they never have one division lacking for more than two years. in football you never know what school has the once in 4/8 year golden year, but by rotating you keep the conference true, and yet have 3 in conference games to keep the rivals in place
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
8:52 am
Army guy!
You have to admit it-the SEC has it right. The ACC sees the merit and would be foolish to expand. The return to prominence of FSU and Miami will erase any doubts about that conference period. And believe me they will return with a vengeance. For now the SEC is king with the Big12 somewhere in the shadows.
This very discussion is why college football rules the roost. God bless The Game!
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
9:02 am
BamaStan and Otto-help here! Who is the freak imposter?
Now for the truth everyone needs to hear. 1. ND will not join a conference anytime soon. It’s the $$$ period. And when they arise as Bama and USC have look out-the kitchen will be on fire again and this is good for all of football. 2.12 is the magic number. 14-16 would forever erase tilts such as Bama-PSU, ND-Texas, or USC-Nebraska.Who would risk that? 3.Why insult Navy-I am an Army guy and I can tell you that the Navy dudes are tough and honorable men of character. Plus I have to admit they saved my bacon on a few occasions-so leave the Navy comments out. Some teams come and go-others are forever in the mix.
And now for the pain we all awaited-who rules colege bb now? The Duke Blue Devils of the ACC!? Congrats but it is painful to accept!
Beau
April 6th, 2010
9:18 am
i think the Big 12 proves that a set north/south is a bad idea! “any given Saturday” and all…even if the Big Ten goes 12,, i would hope its a rotating big ten instead of a East/West.. wouldn’t you Doug?
Canes5X
April 6th, 2010
9:49 am
If Miami were to join the SEC, would Florida still find a way to dodge them on the schedule?
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
9:49 am
Beau-love that name! The key to the Big Ten is yes going with twelve teams but, keeping the Michigan-OSU, PSU-OSU, and other rivalries intact. So, go to a north-south scenario. But who goes where is a problem. ND would solve that but it will not happen. So who? Pitt is the team you will see creep in that back door! Forget about Texas, Nebraska, or the mighty Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Any alignment you come up will be challenged but I for one would listen since this will rumble through the Big East, ACC, and the Big 12. The SEC is secure and this will not hurt them.
Otto and BamaStan?
McSweeney
April 6th, 2010
9:52 am
Bama Stan, you can’t just make stuff up and pawn it off as fact.
13 national titles? Come on now. I think we can all agree Bama is one of the all-time historic programs, but no school does more to pad its resume with fictitious titles. Of the 13 national titles claimed, one is dubious, one is questionable, and two are completely fabricated. In 1930 you finished the season ranked #2 behind Notre Dame in every major poll. In 1934 Minnesota was declared the national champion by 8 of the 12 existing polls. 1941 is a total lie, as you finished the season ranked #20 in the AP poll. And in 1973 you finished the season ranked #4 in the AP poll. Most credible sources–i.e. everything but the Alabama media guide–credits you with nine consensus NCs, not 13.
As for ND’s concessions, your claims aren’t accurate here either. ND does NOT get an automatic BCS bowl berth if they win 10 games. Their record is immaterial; they have to finish the season ranked in the Top 12 to be eligible for a BCS berth or finish in the Top 8 to get an automatic berth. I love how ND haters scream “favoritism” when it comes to BCS bowls and then conveniently ignore the fact that the BCS conference champion auto-bid format sent an 8-4 Purdue to the ‘01 Rose Bowl, a 9-5 Florida State to the ‘03 Sugar Bowl, an 8-4 Pitt to the ‘05 Fiesta Bowl, and an 8-5 Florida State to the ‘06 Orange Bowl. Four times in a 6-year period a BCS conference team with an average of 4.5 losses went to a BCS bowl, and you think it’s a crime if a 10-2 ND gets BCS consideration? Please.
Yes, ND gets a slice of the BCS payout even if they don’t participate in a bowl. And how is that different from every SEC school splitting the pots of every bowl with an SEC team in it, regardless if the SEC team plays in a bowl?
Do This
April 6th, 2010
9:55 am
SEC East – UF, FSU, UGA, Clemson, USC, UT, UK, Vandy
SEC West – Bama, Aub, LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St, Ark, Texas, T A&M
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
10:02 am
Do This-Way too heavy on the Western side of your league proposal. Maybe switch LSU and say Vandy or UK?
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
11:30 am
Cane5X-I do not care for the Gators or that shadey Coach Urban Meyer (former ND guy) but I will tell you this:Florida would have destroyed the Canes the last 6-7 years. and that is not a slam at you but a fact. So I doubt they are avoiding you.
oledawg
April 6th, 2010
11:58 am
Sorry, I don’t get it. If the Big 10 expands, they have more teams sharing the bigger pie. Why does that mean that we have to expand to keep pace? Pace with what?
Jim Delaney is already responsible for foisting the BCS on an unexpecting College Football world and rigged it where Big 10 has played in more BCS games than any conference. It has reduced their competitiveness. They have eschewed conference expansion since before time and principally because of Jim Delaney. They have no Championship Game because of Delaney, yet they have touted their teams beyond their capabilities and pimped them up by having more bowls to take their teams. This is simple dilution in order to get more money while the competition falls off. Jim Delaney is no guru. He has heavy-handedly promoted the Big 10 into oblivion. The SEC has seen to that.
The SEC is the leader of the pack because they welcomed competition, something that Delaney says is not that important. His deal is to influence the NCAA on anything that gets money for him and sometimes the Big 10 with the least amount of competition. Ohio St is ranked each year beyond their capability and have become the most thumped team in College Football due to their undeserved props upward by ESPN (full of ingrown OSU people) who champion Delaney because he helps their cause. Well, BS to the BCS and the Big 10 expansion. I just don’t see how that will push us toward expansion in order to compete. By this reasoning we can expand the SEC to 24 teams and take over the NCAA and college sports. Hmmmmm. That idea may be worth pursueing. We could have two conferences, the SEC and the ROT (Rest of Them).
Doug Coleman
April 6th, 2010
12:55 pm
Beau-we gave your idea a long look and after careful consideration this scene emerged:1.The league will be an East/West formant due mainly to geography and 2.Your 12th team will be Pitt. Forget about ND since they appear to be the ‘Hottie’ that no one can catch at the present time with the scheme of things So here we go…
East-PSU, OSU, Pitt, Indiana, NW, Purdue
West-Michigan, MSU, Iowa, Illinois, Minn, Wisconsin
As for the SEC-they did the equation and the magic number is in fact 12!
c.coleman
April 6th, 2010
2:35 pm
ND will join the Big 10 because they really r starting to have a tough time scheduling opponents. They can make more money in the conference and still have there TV Contracts (Michigan has an exclusive TV contract with ABC). If ND ops out of joining the Big 10 then they will have to find 3 to 4 Quality opponents to play against. And in todays games of easy non conference games that will be come harder to do. So look at it this way. When ND joins the Big 10 they will want to bring along there natural rivals. That being Pitt. Texas and Texas A&M. Also this would give the Big 10 the two most winning est programs in college football. For those who think the all mighty SEC is all that, they should look at the all time records of the show down between the two conferences u might learn something. By the way will someone teach those Alabama fans how to count please.
Beau
April 6th, 2010
5:29 pm
ole Dawg.. your a bit crazy huh? the bigten expanded 1st then Sec, then Big 12 was formed and then the Acc…
the top teams in the bigten can play with the Sec schools.. Iowa has played the Sec 4 times in the last 10years ( 3-1) Penn st. 3 (2-1) Wis. 3 times (2-1) Mich. 5 times (4-1)
only OSU sucks against the Sec (0-4).
Beau
April 6th, 2010
6:13 pm
or if you want to look at it the other way from 1999-2010
FL (2-4) LSU ( 2 -2) Bambie ( 0-2) auburn (3-2) Georgia ( 3-0)
DJ
April 6th, 2010
7:30 pm
This won’t happen. The B10 plays 8 conference games now. If you have a two 8 team divisions, you would rarely play anyone from the other division (7 in division/1 out of division.
It would be like an old big ten vs. new big ten because most of the new teams would be from the east coast.
TAGZILLA
April 6th, 2010
8:08 pm
If the SEC expanded, taking Louisville and West Virginia would be fine with me. Move Vandy to the SEC West. The SEC needs basketball power and those two would be perfect. The Louisville v Kentucky rivalry would evolve into being every bit as intriguing as the Duke v UNC rivalry, and just as heated. West Virginia brings a huge traveling fan base and would be a fine add for football and basketball. Both schools have been to Final Fours and BCS games, and have done well. If the Big 10 raids the Big East, then those two are who I want in the SEC. The ACC better hope that the Big 10 just gets Notre Dame, Pitt, and Rutgers so that they can pick up Syracuse and UConn, since Boston college desperately needs some actual conference rivalries. Cincy and USF could go back to C-USA.
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Doug Coleman
April 7th, 2010
3:33 pm
Going to sixteen teams for the Big ten (two?) would be the death of the conference and they know it! This bluster is to lure or force the Irish to join. And the Irish will exact a high price on and off the field of play. It’s that simple my great football loving fanatics!
Twelve is still the magic number folks-twelve!
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Diego
April 7th, 2010
4:46 pm
The Big 10 will expand to no more that 14 teams. Pittsburgh is in. If Notre Dame wants in they are in. They would also make more money.
This would one team would need to be added. Who knows what team that would be. Austin TX, is 1603 miles to State College PA (PSU) All non revenue sports travel by van. That is simply to far for the Lacrosse or tennis team to travel. The longest trip in the big 10 currently the longest Big 10 trip is State College to Minneapolis 995 miles.
michael z.
April 7th, 2010
4:50 pm
I do think the Big 10 is headed towards a 16 team superconference. I am not sure at this point if they will look to go east or west, but it is eventually going to happen. Here is one article about that I wrote about a 16 team conference including Texas that just makes alot of sense. Check it out if interested, I would love some feedback: http://thepolesposition.com/2010/02/18/2018-big-16-championship-ohio-state-28-texas-24/
Phil69
April 7th, 2010
5:00 pm
For all you SECers, each team in the Big 10 makes more annual TV money ($22 million each) than any team in any conference in the country because of the Big Ten network. That said, Big Ten expansion is going to be decided by the university presidents and not the athletic directors or the alumni. That means that money and academics is going to be the governing factor-not football or basketball rivalries or travel distances that fans may have to drive or fly for away games. Rutgers has over 21 million people within a 50-mile radius of its campus and is a good academic institution. Result: alot of TV sets with Big Ten network on basic cable. Syrucuse reinforces the NY market, is good academically and brings a top-10 basketball program to the table. Notre Dame needs no explanation. If the Big 10 goes to 16 members, Missouri brings in the St. Louis and Kansas City markets and Nebraska has a national following. All of these schools are in the top 100-150 academic schools in the country. Sure, the Big 10 presidents want more TV money to justify adding members, but they also care about academics and graduation rates of their atheletes.
SEC will receive from its new 15-year, $2.25 billion contract with ESPN
April 7th, 2010
5:57 pm
SEC
WAKE UP BROTHERS
April 7th, 2010
11:35 pm
some points….
a) stop the roll tide and go dawgs partisanship in this discussion.. it does no good in long term solutions.
b) quit pointing arkansas out the door.. the sec are brothers, so please do not throw your brother under the bus.. same with kentucky, to suggest they move to sec west would destroy about 100 years of rivalry with their current sec east brothers.. we are all part of the same family, keep this in mind.
c) $$$$ is a motivator, do not forget this or we all will be in peril. money comes from academics (via research dollars) and athletics (via tv revenue – MFB & MBB). we are probably generally fans, but decisions are made at the top with an eye to the bottom line. modern major colleges are factories for research and entertainment – see also the current 96 team NCAA basketball expansion for proof.
d) understand the difference between owning your product (see also Big 10 network) and renting your product (see also SEC deal with ESPN). one creates a revenue stream that grows over time, and the other offers fixed installments over 15 years. if you attended a university in the SEC, you should be able to figure out which is which.
e) while new to our SEC brothers, this discussion has been going on for awhile in other conferences – I might suggest http://frankthetank.wordpress.com/ as there are about a dozen well debated blogs on the expansion topic (warning.. a lot of reading to get through them all – but many interesting thoughts). as this site has had about 500,000 hits, my guess is it is reaching many folks. A good discussion might be what a 16 team SEC would look like. for those not old enough to remember, the SEC and ACC were one in the same in the old Southern Conference.
f) I would like to see the SEC be the best conference for my children and grandchildren, but for that to happen we must all stick together and fight side by side as brothers in defending against those who would like to see us fail. S – E – C !! S – E – C!! S – E – C!!
ps.. thank you mr. barnhart for this article, i know you can pull my email from this post if you would be kind enough to correspond with me.
My 2 cents worth
April 8th, 2010
12:28 am
16 team SEC – if Big 10 goes to 16
SEC East: UGA, Ga Tech, UT, Vandy, UK, UNC, UF, and USC
SEC West: Texas, Texas A&M, Bama, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Miss St
adding Ga Tech, UNC, and Texas .. would boost basketball
adding Texas and Ga Tech would boost football
adding Texas and Carolina would add their states Senators / Congressmen in Washington
adding Texas and Carolina would enhance TV markets (big bang in extra revenue)
adding Texas A&M would add research, and make Texas politicians happy (you have to take both)
with UM or FSU, you are just overlapping UF TV footprint, at least with Ga Tech you get academics to compensate for the UGA overlap..
a collection of state schools could lead to a research pool like the Big 10 has with the (CIC) – which contributes about 6 BILLION per year to be spread among Big 10 schools (compared to 200 MILLION a year from the TV contracts) – as 6 Billion > 200 Million PER YEAR!
Will Smithrock
April 8th, 2010
12:54 am
You are blowing smoke, my friend. The Big Ten and SEC are far too intelligent to expand to an unruly mishmash of 16 teams. The old Western Athletic Conference tried it in the 90s and the longstanding members (BYU, Utah, Air Force, etc.) all bolted to form a more manageable 9-team Mountain West Conference. 12 teams is the max for a manageable conference. The Big Ten is set with Notre Dame joining. The only other schools they would consider are fellow AAU (American Assoc. of Universities) members Pitt, Missouri, Nebraska or Texas, and it will only be ONE of them.
cwillfromdatx
April 8th, 2010
2:41 am
I think the SEC will stay the same or will move one team out(ark) and one team in(GT). The SEC is fine. As for the Big 10, they will add one team. ND. As for the Big 12, they will lose one team(Buffs) but will bring in Ark. Texas will not or ever move to the SEC because of smartness not sports. Their is only one school in the SEC that is at the top and that is Vandy. While the Big 10 has everyone thats above every school in the SEC. So i see Texas staying in the Big 12
do the math
April 8th, 2010
9:37 am
i personally agree that 12 is the magic number, but i am just a fan. If i were a decision maker, I would want 16 as it stays in the math.. 2×2 = 4, 4×2 = 8, 8×2 = 16, 16×2 = 32, 32×2 = 64, and 64×2 = 128. when dealing with brackets these are the magic numbers, and translate to the greatest possible revenue streams. If you do not think the #1 motivation behind all this is $$, then you probably believe in unicorns and the tooth fairy. (14 just does not make good math brackets).
do i personally want to see 16 team conferences, or a 128 team NCAA basketball tourney? NO! NO! NO!
do i think it will happen in my lifetime? YES$$ YES$$ YES$$
the point is.. if this is the future, i would rather see the SEC be proactive, not reactive!!
Unverified Voracity Catches Up With Kelly Baraka. Yes, Again. | Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym
April 8th, 2010
4:38 pm
[...] other Big Ten expansion news, Barnhardt writes about a 16 team Big Ten, spurring another round of PANIC duly shot down by DocSat, resurrected by the St Louis [...]
really?
April 9th, 2010
2:49 am
The Big 10 has far more to offer than the SEC, and if Texas and A&M leave the Big 12, that is where they will land. Football money is big, but research/academic money is much much much much bigger.
And the Big 10 is the undisputed king of the research/academic side of this argument. Football (and sports in general) = tens to maybe a hundred million dollars. Research money = hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe more.
SEC might be the best football conference, but the Big10 is the conference that brings prestige and money.
Big11Ten
April 10th, 2010
9:27 pm
The SEC only cares about football. High school and college. The Big Ten has the highest acedemic and offers more varsity sports than anyother conference except the Ivy League. Football is the reason the Big Ten is looking to expand, but believe me, if they do not fit their standards, they will not be invited. The only SEC schools that meet Big Ten standards are Florida, LSU, and Arkansas.
Big Blue News » Blog Archiv » College Football Realignment?
April 11th, 2010
6:11 pm
[...] man Tony Barnhart posted an interesting blog entry this week that, if true, could have serious implications for college football and the SEC. In the [...]