UPDATED: Tech denies Big Ten rumors
Amidst rumors and reports that Georgia Tech has applied and been approved for membership into the Big Ten, the school denied their veracity.
“There is no truth to the rumors,” Institute spokesman Matt Nagel said in an e-mail Friday afternoon.
In his conversations with school president G.P. “Bud” Peterson, acting athletic director Paul Griffin said that Peterson “has told me there’s been no communication (with the Big Ten), nor does he expect any.”
Griffin spoke from Charlotte, N.C., where Tech will play Florida State for the ACC football championship Saturday. Griffin said in addition he was not aware of any communications between Tech leadership and the Big Ten or any other conference.
Wednesday, on a teleconference with news media following the ACC accepting Louisville as a member, commissioner John Swofford said that the nature of conversations he had had with Peterson in the past 10 days regarding Tech’s future “has been emphatic in terms of their commitment to the ACC and Georgia Tech’s future.”
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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252 comments Add your comment
Buzzard
December 1st, 2012
8:33 am
I’d hate to lose the basketball and baseball.
GoBlueINga
December 1st, 2012
8:37 am
Big Ten offers: money from contracts and sell outs in football and basketball, stability, and a national presence. ACC will be the next Big East.
mark
December 1st, 2012
8:40 am
Ga Tech and FSU belong in the SEC. Period.
ToeMeetsLeather
December 1st, 2012
8:45 am
Not sure how this plays out, but this would certainly be a good long term move for Tech. Align themselves with similar schools, expand the recruiting base, help fill up Bobby Dodd, and last but not least, $$$$$.
A look at USNews reveals the Big Ten with six(seven with Tech) top fifty schools. The move would put the ACC at seven. Of course Vandy is the only school in the SEC that values educating their athletes and they are the sole $EC team to show up. So Tech would fit well in that regard. No sign of Purdue though for the dude bragging about their academics.
With two-thirds of southern recruits eliminated from considering Tech due to the lack of classroom preparation, the Big Ten region would open up numerous avenues to expand that pool of student athletes.
Being at every game at Bobby Dodd this year it was sad to see the pitiful crowds Duke, Uva, BC, and Miami brought to the Flats. Not sure how the likes of Minn., Indiana, Purdue, etc. travel, but most every other team should help fill the place up and make for a wonderful atmosphere and generate game day proceeds.
Not much to say about the additional $$$$, it speaks for itself. I guess we shall see soon enough.
dawgfan
December 1st, 2012
9:23 am
You’re not sure how this plays out Toemeetsleather? Maybe you should try reading the article.
“There is no truth to the rumors.”
“there’s been no communication (with the Big 10) nor does he expect any.”
Gee golly how is this all going to turn out? Its a big mystery!!!!
What planet are you Tech fans on?
TEXAS DAWG
December 1st, 2012
9:33 am
Until the courts sort out how much it is going to cost Maryland to leave the ACC, no body else is going anywhere.
greg
December 1st, 2012
9:35 am
big 10 network is already here and free. if you live in a big 10 state, then you have to pay more for it.
Clyde
December 1st, 2012
9:49 am
For those saying that Tech fans are the only ones that watch GT football, that’s simply not the case. Many UGA fans watch GT football too, they are a Georgia team. Yes, there are a lot of Yankees and Midwesterners down here and they would definitely be tuning in to watch their teams play Tech.
GT Fan
December 1st, 2012
10:04 am
Amidst rumors and reports that Georgia Tech has applied and been approved for membership into the Big Ten
———————
Rumors are one thing, but reports, those are a whole nother ball game. Who is providing such reports?
From a pure FOOTBALL standpoint, I really like it. From a GEOGRAPHICAL standpoint? It makes no sense – like the Braves and Falcons, for so many years, playing the NL & NFC West.
BigTenFan
December 1st, 2012
10:10 am
ACC pays $17 Million per team in a really bad television agreement that goes another decade. Big Ten teams pay at minimum $24 Million, and with the addition of East Coast Schools Maryland and Rutgers and a new ESPN deal in a couple of years, Big Ten Schools will pay AT MINIMUM, $35 to $40 Million per school, or double with the ACC pays. I don’t know if this is going to happen, and I hope it does not, however, if it does, Georgia Tech Football will become a bigger player in Georgia and even though the State of Georgia is huge of Bulldogs Football, you can bet the house that Tech and the Big Ten Network would be on every cable system in Georgia.
GTpack
December 1st, 2012
10:11 am
Our basketball program is much better than it was in Conf USA and even SEC. When we entered the ACC, Bobby C recruited based on “If you think you are good, come play for me and you will play as a freshman against the best and show your talent”. Scheduling against teams no one wants to watch here locally does nothing for us or local recruits. Instead of BYU, MTSU, or Prebys, why not Auburn, Ala, Michigan, Ohio State, etc. Sure they would beat us to pieces at first, but we need someone that can recruit and see that playing against tough teams can be a good selling point.
Winning brings better recruits, more fans, more attendance, and more $. Our key to winning is having a defense that can actually stop the other team. That requires a really good defensive coach (Bud Carson, Dwayne Painter, George O’Leary, Jon Tenuta) and a head coach that puts emphasis on both offense and defense. To have a good defense, you also need to have good recruits. That requires having someone who can actually sell the program to those who want to compete against top football schools.
The ACC has brought the football programs of FSU and VT down instead of raising everyone else.
The Big Ten or SEC might be the answer for better competition. Fans like to see good games against top teams period. Big Ten does offer better competition in football than the ACC right now and are pretty good in basketball. The ACC is a basketball conference right now and a very weak football conference.
The only way the conference is going to turn that around is by winning out of conference games against strong opponents. But we have to schedule good competition first, and then sell it to recruits that want to start and show what they can do. That will bring in recruits and do miracles for finances and fan support.
I still say it is embarrassing to have a 6-7 team as your runner up in the conference, or a 7-6 team that is your conference champion and in the Orange Bowl. Something is very wrong with this picture and it reflects on the overall weakness of the ACC football teams.
Clyde
December 1st, 2012
10:18 am
It’s just a bad year for the ACC, GTPack. If it weren’t for Miami’s indiscretions, the ACC would be shining a bit brighter today.
Footballrules
December 1st, 2012
10:22 am
ACC should tell Notre Dame: you come in for ALL SPORTS, including football. That deal was to come in w/o football was just stupid. THANKS, SWOFFORD. No other ACC school gets to pick and choose which sports to include in conference play. Having ND compete for football championship would end all talk of the ACC imploding, and would shore up the ACC for the future.
Al Bundy
December 1st, 2012
10:26 am
The thought of GT joining the Big 10 makes me want to puke! I hate every team in the Big 10!!!!!
Dawgs 2012
December 1st, 2012
10:40 am
Sounds like GT and UVA are both going to announce Monday they will join the Big 10. If that’s the case I see FSU and Clemson leaving for the Big 12
Messin with da Sasquatch
December 1st, 2012
10:45 am
Leave the ACC. Recruits are avoiding it like the plague. Would Matty Ice play for BC today? Not likely. When Duke almost wins a division and Va Tech sucks, we have a problem.
JASon
December 1st, 2012
10:47 am
“Tech not talking with Big Ten”
Shouldn’t it be “Big Ten not talking with tech”? I mean, what conference would want that team
GTville
December 1st, 2012
10:48 am
GT is not isolated with Clemson and FSU nearby. Joining the B10 will completely isolate them and instead of competing against the ACC/SEC for recruites, they will also allow the B10 into Georgia.
Is the magic number 16, 18, or 20? If a 4 conference format is to take place, the B12 or ACC need to dissolve and I just do not see this happening.
Clyde
December 1st, 2012
10:50 am
It’s gonna be a shame if GT doesn’t’ make it back to the SEC. I know UGA fans like to insult GT by saying they are irrelevant but they are much more prominent than Vandy, Ole Miss, Miss State, Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina. It would be nice if Peterson was telling the truth that they’re not in touch with the Big 10, because they’re in touch with the SEC.
Footballrules
December 1st, 2012
10:54 am
Jason…many conferences would want Tech. Great tv market in a big city location, a great football tradition (yes, down right now), and a top notch school that is a member of the AAU. Now, go look up AAU.
Bobby Dodd
December 1st, 2012
11:04 am
Reading all the blogs, it sounds like most Tech people would favor the B10 move. I think I would. UGA fans as usual are jealous of anything or any time Tech gets its due because of academics. B10 does have 7 schools high in academics and really no bad academic schools. I’ve been a Johnson supporter, but I am starting to agree with you guys about the total downfall in recruiting. Defensive stars in hs don’t want to come to Tech because of the Tech offense. they know they will have to go against that OLine blocking every day in practice (thanks to UGA and other coaches they know it well). So, maybe Johnson does need to go back to a smaller level of coaching and we need to bring in a young, energetic recruiter. Go Tech, Roll Tide, and here’s to Ogletree getting body slammed today into the turf.
Fact Check
December 1st, 2012
11:19 am
There are so many ignorant people posting on here. GT is the most desirable member in ACC because of the TV market in Atlanta. Despite some myopic, I-was-educated-at-UGA view of the world, there are vast numbers of GT fans and graduates living in metropolitan Atlanta. The GT brand is internationally known for excellence in science and engineering. Georgia has an elite football program, no doubt. But Georgia Tech has an elite (Top 10 in the world) academic product. Cable operators are never happy when they pay more for content, but that is why the conferences are expanding and grabbing new media markets — negotiating leverage. Simple math concepts Dawg posters — just because there are more UGA fans in Atlanta, does not diminish the fact that there are large numbers of GT viewers as well. Moreover, GT fans tend to watch UGA play and vice versa. You would be able to come to that conclusion if your educational background included some form of critical thinking.
GT will be in the Big 10 soon enough unless the ACC builds its own network. The financial draw is simply too great.
SouthGADawg
December 1st, 2012
11:30 am
GATA Tech eat those Seminoles up. Hope Tech wins big Bull dog nation is pulling for you. tech has a damn good team and its tie to shine. FSU will not be able to slow that offense down. Good luck and sting their as-.
Texas Pete
December 1st, 2012
11:43 am
Wow, dude nuked my comment from overnight.
Prometheus
December 1st, 2012
12:06 pm
Sunday night: (Bloggers) “Well tomorrow is the big day, Tech to the BIG and FSU and Clemson
to the BIG12. VaTech to the SEC . The ACC is history man. I been telling em all along. Poor Dook, UNC and UVa. Wake to FBS.”.
Next Sunday night: “F%#^ing Swofford, lied to all em ACC schools and swindles em into staying. But believe me, you can put it in the bank, the ACC is going down. Just hold on to your drawers. It’s gonna happen. Academics my ass. Who cares about academics. We’re talking about football. Basketball, nobody south of North Carolina cares about basketball. If we wanaa watch BB in the SEC we can watch Cats. “
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 1st, 2012
12:21 pm
Toxic
December 1st, 2012
7:08 am
By combining their resources Big Ten schools bring in billions (yes billions) of dollars of federal grant money that dwarfs the millions of dollars made by the Big Ten channel and football. Getting a piece of this pie will be a major reason GA Tech joins the Big 10.
The B1G is an athletic conference. It has no bearing on their grant money, which is applied for individually by each institution or university. No school gets more or less research money because of their athletic conference.
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
Bobby Dodd
December 1st, 2012
11:04 am
UGA fans as usual are jealous of anything or any time Tech gets its due because of academics.
This is called cognitive dissonance. Your mind actively tries to justify your situation (Georgia Tech is a joke in football) with platitudes and falsities that no one else except you believes or cares about (”academics”).
tobacco road
December 1st, 2012
12:24 pm
This whole expansion mess is just that, a mess. The experts may think tv money and football drive everything, but you simply can’t toss aside what made you great (basketball), and try to replace it with something you’ve never been good at (football). As a Wolfpack lifetime rights ticket holder, I’ve watched ACC officials dump our longstanding rivalries with Duke and UVA, plus threaten to cut back the UNC-NCSU rivalry so more expansion teams can fill our schedule. Do they honestly think fans will flock to Carter-Finley Stadium to watch a home schedule that could look like BC, Wake, Syracuse, Pitt, Central Michigan, South Alabama and one more OOC directional school?
Under John Swofford, we’re stuck with 6 former Big East schools plus a partial 7th member who will keep its football money and take our best bowl slot. We’ve lost ACC charter member Maryland, but our local press honestly thinks that Louisville is a great replacement. I just want to play our natural geographic rivals, not some outpost castoff Big East team that has landed here because there’s nowhere else to go. The Big East tv market is a pro market, regardless of how many more tvs the ACC or B1G thinks it’ll bring in. There is a big difference between college and pro fans.
Most people here think we’re headed for 4 superconferences. I agree. The ACC won’t emerge as one of those leagues, and that’s why I look for the arrogant UNC and UVA to be at least a B1G target. The SEC in my opinion has nothing to gain by adding FSU, Clemson or GT since their footprint is already in those 3 states, but adding VT and NCSU would make a lot of sense. The Raleigh tv market is equal to the Charlotte market and I believe both are in the top 30, not 50, nationally.
I never wanted to see the Wolfpack bolt the ACC, but after years of supporting their program and watching our once-loved conference turn into the hated Big East, I’m all for getting out of Dodge while we can. FSU certainly must feel the same way, after going 10-1 with a 1-point road loss being their only blemish yet being only 10th in the BCS Poll.
Fire John Swofford.
Old Dog
December 1st, 2012
12:39 pm
To Hell with Tek,today,tomorrow and every other day!
Prometheus
December 1st, 2012
12:52 pm
You always have a little bit of a complex when your school is not perceived to be the academic equal of it’s biggest rival. (Tech>UGa; UVa>VaTech; UNC>NCState; Vandy>Tenn. And this is especially exacerbated by the fact that you may have not been accepted by >school. It often turns into hate.
Dogham
December 1st, 2012
1:03 pm
Not sure how the AJC is so far behind on this story, but GT and Virginia are both announcing on Monday they are leaving the ACC to join the B1G Ten. This is a done deal. They have both been asked to not say anything publicly until after the ACC championship tonight. Great move by both schools, both fit academically with the B1G Ten schools and will both make more $$$ than they ever imagined. B1G Ten gains the Commonwealth and Atlanta (the heart of the SEC).
jack thompson
December 1st, 2012
1:08 pm
REAL HEADLINE- BIG 10 NOT INTERESTED IN TEK!!
Peach Fuzz
December 1st, 2012
1:10 pm
Dogham, I’ve got some waterfront property in downtown Atlanta. You seem like a smart fellow who might like to get in on the ground floor.
dawgfan
December 1st, 2012
1:38 pm
Yes, we are insanely jealous that there are “rumors” that Georgia Tech will be joining the Big 10. I’m just green with envy.
The only thing I’m jealous about is that I wish my head was as far up my azz as Tech fans’ are. It must be nice to be so blissfully ignorant. Honestly, I can see the appeal. You beat us once in 12 years and you have the balls to say we’re jealous of your joke program? LMFAO.
Here’s the deal Techies. You’re 20-18 the past 3 seasons and currently the laughing stock of college football for needing a charity handout to even make it to a crap bowl game. Your bitter rival that you hate with every fiber of your being just beat the everloving crap out of you 45-12 (but we’re soooooo jealous of Tech). This is a perfect time for you to drum up some total BS about joining the Big 10 in a desperate attempt to make your pile of crap football program seem relevant. You clowns do crap like this all the time. Its laughable, delusional and, worst of all, pathetic.
All of this would be very mean if it wasn’t 1,000 percent true.
Georgia Tech=JOKE
Paddy
December 1st, 2012
2:02 pm
Jason……your lack of depth tells us all alot about your knowledge of this subject.
Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!! Beat the Red Elephants!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Texas Pete
December 1st, 2012
2:37 pm
If ACC and SEC fans in Atlanta already watch SEC games, exactly how does adding GT to the SEC help the SEC in Atlanta?
That’s like Chick-fil-a building another metro Atlanta location and calling it a huge expansion into a new market.
Paul in NH
December 1st, 2012
2:39 pm
@tobacco road
I think you are pretty close to what will happen if the ACC breaks up
Delbert D.
December 1st, 2012
2:46 pm
There are some rash comments on this blog about what the Big Ten universities do or not do. Some basic research regarding the Association of American Universities and collaboration on federally-funded research, and the cooperation among Big TenConference universities in research can lead to better conclusions.
Husker Lifer
December 1st, 2012
3:13 pm
Good luck today!
From where I sit (about the 45 yard line in Memorial Stadium), GT would be an EXCELLENT addition to the B1G on every imaginable level. And while NU isn’t much of a factor on either front (yet!), I think you’ll find as good of academics AND basketball in the B1G as in the ACC. Hope to see you in Lincoln sometime soon! Go Tech, and GO BIG RED!
ATLien
December 1st, 2012
3:53 pm
Tech will NEVER be invited back to the SEC. Burnt bridges from when they foolishly left still a factor. But biggest reason is the same as why FSU nor Clemson will ever get in. If you’re UGA, UF or SC, why would you ever vote to bring in a lesser in state program. Tech in the SEC doubles their athletic budget right off the bat. Not going to happen.
What will happen if this Tech, FSU and Clemson thing happens and the ACC implodes is that the SEC will swoop in and grab UNC and Virginia. Both fit, bring new markets and don’t step on any current member schools toes.
Husker Lifer
December 1st, 2012
4:10 pm
ATLien, if the same rumors about GT prove true, then UVA probably is also heading to the B1G. All the anonymous source stuff (fwiw) up here says they’re coming as a package much like UMD and Rutgers last month.
I personally don’t see how UVA is as valuable as the other 3, especially GT. (But then I was holding out for Texas and ND
But those are the rumors.
JoeFan
December 1st, 2012
4:24 pm
If Tech loses tonight, then I can see the announcement coming Monday. If they win, then probably not until after the Orange Bowl. Maybe all this is just whistling in the wind but it does appear to be a rumor that has legs especially since there are no denial coming out of the B10 offices. Very real probability that a confidentiality/ non-disclosure agreement has been signed between parties prohibiting them speaking on the subject.
egas51
December 1st, 2012
4:57 pm
As a Big 10 fan, I think we would LOVE to get GT, and GT should consider the move for the following reasons: 1) when the B1G signs their new TV deal in 2017, each school is estimated to receive $40million. 2) All B1G schools are not only AAU members (except NE for now, but they will be back in soon) but they also comprise the CIC, an academic consortium that collaborates on research, bringing in $8 Billion in grants. GT would likely receive an additional $100 million in academic grant money. Hope this happens!
Mr BUG
December 1st, 2012
5:57 pm
I wouldn’t buy into any of this BIG10 stuff. Bud Peterson seems pretty committed to staying in the ACC. I don’t think there is any ‘reading between the lines’ on this. Bud seems to be a straight shooter so I would tend to believe him.
Bull Gatorr
December 1st, 2012
6:53 pm
I heard we are going to go to the Ivy League
Fact Check
December 1st, 2012
11:00 pm
I notice the Dawg Trolls went into hiding after losing the SEC Championship.
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 2nd, 2012
12:11 am
I can’t believe there are still dummies posting about academics, as if they ever mattered to an athletic conference.
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 2nd, 2012
12:14 am
Fact Check
December 1st, 2012
11:00 pm
I notice the Dawg Trolls went into hiding after losing the SEC Championship.
lol I’m not even close to being a Georgia fan, but how was your 6-7 season? ahahahaha you’ll never be relevant in football again Tech, give up just give up
B1G
December 2nd, 2012
12:56 am
The B1G is first and foremost an academic conference, it always has been. The University of Chicago which used to be a member of the conference athletically is still a member academically. @Billy Mays Here– academics is highly important to the B!G which is why they are sacrificing on field performance in expansion by going after AAU members.
BILLY MAYS HERE
December 2nd, 2012
11:55 am
You couldn’t be more incorrect. Let me say this again: the B1G, like the ACC, the SEC, the Big XII, are all SPORTS CONFERENCES. They do not play an academic role at all.
Just stop deluding yourself. This is from an article on al.com about SEC revenues:
David Ridpath, who defends academic integrity as executive director of The Drake Group, said major conferences are simply fulfilling their calling to make money for their members.
“Conferences don’t exist for academic reasons. They exist for monetary reasons and TV exposure.”