12 June 2010, 9:39 pm
All this is driven by money and leverage. The Big 10 started pushing buttons now its changing the landscape of college sports. The Big 12 and Big East will not be the same power conferences they are now after all the dust settles. Texas and Oklahoma are the only 2 teams that can pick and choose what conference they want to go to, money will be the deciding factor. Here's why this all started and how its going to end up. The Big 10 believes their network has passed the infancy stage and they are ready to take it to the next level. They believe the success of their network gives them leverage over other conferences and to maintain this leverage they have to broaden their viewership. Right now the big 10 and its network owns the rights to all big 10 games and receives revenue from ABC, ESPN, etc... when they sell them the game. Their goal is to expand east and add the New York market. This involves Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt and Notre Dame, ND would not join the big 10 until the other 3 big east teams join and Miami joins the SEC. After that the SEC & ACC will rape the Big East of WV, Cincinnati, Louisville, Miami and build their conferences to 16 teams. The Big East will restructure itself but will no longer be a power conference. The Big 10 added Nebraska because of its rich tradition in football and its still prominent nationwide fan base. They told Mizzo they are not interested in inviting them and it sounds like they feel the same way about Kansas. Besides, they will have the 16 teams they want already. The Big 10 believes that in adding these teams their viewership will include the midwest, Ohio valley and the northeast. This area contains over 40% of the nations population. The Big 10 network will turn into a mega sports channel, they will no longer sell the rights to their biggest games. Major sponsors will be paying them when they broadcast their high profile games. The revenue from football alone will put the schools in this conference at a decided advantage over any other program in the country. This is what is driving the Pac 10 to be so proactive. The SEC and ACC are monitoring every move carefully and plotting their next move. In the end there will be 4 super conferences with 16 teams each. Some people believe these conferences will have 2 divisions with division winners squaring off in a conference championship game. After that the 4 conference champs will meet in a 4 team playoff to decide the national championship. This is what Notre Dame fears and will be the driving force for the Big 10 to get them to join their conference. If the 5 teams from the Big 12 south announce they are moving next Tuesday this will start the domino's in motion. After that its up to the Big 10 to get their Big East teams before the ACC or SEC tries to grab them. All the talk right now is about the 5 teams in the Big 12 but for the most part they probably know what they are going to do. The real action is going on in the Big East, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt, WV and who knows who else is probably talking to the Big 10, ACC & SEC right now trying to figure out what will work out best for them. Then there's Notre Dame, they are sitting there chewing their nails hoping nothing else changes.... Read More »
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