B1G Expansion and more Conference Realignment

matthew_m_g said:
WoodyHayes1951 said:
I'm telling you.....Rice and Texas.

Great academics(both AAU and Top-60 schools), Big markets(Houston, Austin, Dallas,etc),Great football(Texas), Great Baseball(Rice), decent Bball, top 3 recruiting state, etc

Not one downside because even if Texas and Rice get together they still can't form a coalition to trump the 14 Yankee schools.
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Houston would be a better choice than the "Feisty Nightbirds" of Rice, IMO, but I see where you're going.
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Athletically? yes.

"Cougar High" as Texas fans will never get in because as arrogant as Texas fans sound by calling them that what do you think Northwestern and the University of Chicago will say about them coming into the Big Ten?

Rice is the only option we have in Texas since A&M left for the SEC. Baylor,Tech, UH, SMU or TCU will never be invited.

 
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Preaching to the choir on Baseball.

I understand we have inherent disadvantages in the Big Ten but we can still try to compete. Giving up is not the answer.

Rutgers competes in baseball(at least they used to)

 
WoodyHayes1951 said:
I'm telling you.....Rice and Texas.

Great academics(both AAU and Top-60 schools), Big markets(Houston, Austin, Dallas,etc),Great football(Texas), Great Baseball(Rice), decent Bball, top 3 recruiting state, etc

Not one downside because even if Texas and Rice get together they still can't form a coalition to trump the 14 Yankee schools.
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I think Texas would be a great addition but I'm not sure about adding Rice. They do have good academics and a strong baseball team but other than that I don't see what they add that we wouldn't have already acquired with the addition of Texas.

 
jaws said:
Notre Dame Joe said:
Pardon me but I will take players receiving tattoos for selling their possessions over players who rape college girls. I guess I'm just old fashioned that way.
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Your an old fashioned liar trying to exploit the suicide of a mentally ill girl who was never raped. Being an informed fan, you knew what you were saying and that it wasn't true.

To Huskers: this is why the Buckeyes are hands down the worst fanbase in America. Competitors like whoever threw piss at you out in the boondocks weren't really thinking hard, and thugU doesn't qualifiy because their 'fanbase' doesn't exist 95% of the time. But the sad part about Ohio is that he isn't too abnormal, and this kind of poo flinging has and always will be there.

Some of you keep Notre Dame #1 on your hate list, that's fine with us, we actually want it that way in the long run. But for many reasons, you'll soon find promote Ohio State to what they are, a big steaming #2.
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I am sorry but you need to look at this objectively. ND fans talk crap all the time. They are no different than OSU and Michigan fans. Everyone needs to get off their pedestals.
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talking trash about wins, titles, bowls, NCAA wrist slaps etc. is the point of having a message board. I do it all the time and was doing just that when Hayes threw his tantrum. For some reason I never hear Huskers, Trojans, or Sooners lying about a 19 year old who committed suicide to gratify their wrath, but it happens all the time with the Buceyes.

 
Lil said:
WoodyHayes1951 said:
I'm telling you.....Rice and Texas.

Great academics(both AAU and Top-60 schools), Big markets(Houston, Austin, Dallas,etc),Great football(Texas), Great Baseball(Rice), decent Bball, top 3 recruiting state, etc

Not one downside because even if Texas and Rice get together they still can't form a coalition to trump the 14 Yankee schools.
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I think Texas would be a great addition but I'm not sure about adding Rice. They do have good academics and a strong baseball team but other than that I don't see what they add that we wouldn't have already acquired with the addition of Texas.
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Again I don't think UT trades being a superpower for being part of triumverate with UM and anOSU. But Rice or the one of the other Texas teams gives you the alleged Texas recruiting and another large tv market.

 
Muck said:
HuskerShark said:
So you're saying that Rutgers and Maryland are stronger universities than Texas, Oklahoma, Florida State, & VaTech? I would argue not, but what do I know?...
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Where did Texas suddenly pop up into the equation when you initially stated A&M?

That being said yes Rutgers & Maryland are stronger universities (you do understand the meaning of the word yes?) than any of the above save Texas (A&M is comparable). On what basis would you argue otherwise? Certainly not using any available metric.

The reality is that many in the COP/C were unhappy with the addition of Nebraska and we will not see another school that is such an academic outlier from other B1G schools be offered any time soon.
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FWIW, Nebraska was an AAU member when we were added to the B1G.

But on topic, I think that our viewpoints are different when we are considering the strength of a university. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you are defining it as successful in academics. I am talking athletics (specifically football), which is where the main focus NEEDS to be IMO for the B1G to remain relevant (or to maintain the little relevance it currently holds). So I'll throw these facts out there:

Rutgers football is known as the birthplace of college football, as it held the first ever college football game in 1869. However, the football team has been to a total of 7 bowl games in its 150 year history. SEVEN! Powerhouse program...

Maryland football is a little more respectable, as they are two-time national champions -- 1951 and 1953....

They have won 8 ACC titles, their most recent in 2001.

Now consider the other schools on the list:

Virginia Tech - 3 Big East titles, 4 ACC titles. Most recent - 2010. They have played in a total of 24 bowl games. Maybe not the most historically relevant football program, but in the past 20 years, their program has been extremely respectable and is one of the best football teams in the ACC on a yearly basis.

Texas - 4 National Championships, 32 conference titles, 3 of which are in the Big 12, most recently in 2009. They have appeared in 50 bowl games, and also have powerhouse basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball programs.

Oklahoma - 7 National Championships, 43 conference titles. Oklahoma has the most 10+ win seasons (32) and 11+ win seasons (20) of any program, as well as the fewest losing seasons (12) of any program. Speaks for itself.

Florida State - 2 National Championships, 15 conference titles, and has appeared in 41 bowl games and holds a 25-14-2 record in them. Not to mention they are in a recruiting hotbed for not just college football, but all sports.

 
Two things:

1. Shark - Academics plays an important part in Delaney and the Presidents/Chancellors' thinking, whether we like it or not. For that reason alone, the likelihood that VT will sniff the B1G is very remote. FSU's academics have actually improved quite a bit since they joined the ACC 20 years ago, and for that reason, I could see the discussion, but again, it's probably far down on Delaney's list of potentials right now. OK and TX aren't going anywhere without some agreement likely worked out ahead of time regarding the Grant of Rights to the conference of their Tier 1 and rights. So the likelihood of snagging any of those football 'bluebloods' is pretty slim, in my estimation at this time. Not that it couldn't change, and some of this seems to change on a dime, but that's what it seems like.

2. From what I can tell, it sounds like the winds have started to shift yet again. From what I'm seeing, it sounded like UVA was the main target, and UNC or GTECH would be #16. But something evidently shifted at UVA, and the assumption I've seen in what I've followed is that some type of headbutting occurred between the Pres and the Board there. From my understanding the Pres was ousted and then brought back, so the relationship is somewhat strained anyway. Not 100% on that, but from what folks have said, it certainly sounds plausible. But it also sounds like the B1G has shifted at least one target, and that instead of UVA, they're targeting BC. Not sure how I feel about that, but there are certainly some potential positives. BC actually has a better track record in athletics, for the most part, than UVA would have. Would bring a another major TV market in. Those two would certainly be interesting, though it certainly seems as though GTECH would kind of be left on an island, even though the stretch from MD to GA really isn't that far. Again, will be interesting to see how everything plays out.

 
AAU schools that play football NOT currently in the Big Ten:

Pac 12 : University of California-Berkeley,University of California-Los Angeles,University of Oregon,University of Southern California,University of Washington,The University of Arizona ,University of Colorado Boulder,Stanford University

SEC: Texas A&M University ,University of Florida ,University of Missouri-Columbia,Vanderbilt University

Big XII: The University of Texas at Austin ,Iowa State University, The University of Kansas

ACC: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ,University of Pittsburgh,University of Virginia ,Georgia Institute of Technology ,Duke University

Other non BCS schools I see as viable: Rice University

Just cross Pac-12 and SEC schools right now. Not happening. That leaves us trying to poach the ACC or Big XII.

KU or UT are the only schools that could be taken. Iowa State doesn't expand.

No one wants Pitt in the Big Ten and no one really wants Duke. That leaves UNC, UVA or GIT.

As I see it(without trying to get Pac-12 or SEC schools) the only viable options are UNC,UVA,GIT,UT, RU or KU.

 
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Woody--excellent list, thanks for the rundown, Sir.

As for SEC schools, the only one we could realistically poach would be Missouri. They have a rivalry with Illinois already established, and they could get the BTN into KC. St. Louis, per my understanding, is already considered part of the BTN footprint. The thing is...you could get KC with Kansas, really, and get a better basketball team and a school whose academics are on par with that of Missouri or Nebraska.

Plus adding Kansas would be throwing Nebraska a bone in that it gives us another close game to go to, which negates some of the post-move grumbling that the stick-in-the-mud Nebraska fans are making about the B1G and travel distances.

The thing is, out of the only viable AAU schools for the B1G to grab, UNC, GIT, and KU are your best bets. Texass is a pipedream/longshot, IMO, and let's not forget they'll have a "Tech Problem", as your program's ADs so eloquently put it.

This may be why the UNC and KU talk is making the rounds, if Delaney is truly hamstrung by choosing via AAU membership.

 
matthew_m_g said:
Woody--excellent list, thanks for the rundown, Sir.

As for SEC schools, the only one we could realistically poach would be Missouri. They have a rivalry with Illinois already established, and they could get the BTN into KC. St. Louis, per my understanding, is already considered part of the BTN footprint. The thing is...you could get KC with Kansas, really, and get a better basketball team and a school whose academics are on par with that of Missouri or Nebraska.

Plus adding Kansas would be throwing Nebraska a bone in that it gives us another close game to go to, which negates some of the post-move grumbling that the stick-in-the-mud Nebraska fans are making about the B1G and travel distances.

The thing is, out of the only viable AAU schools for the B1G to grab, UNC, GIT, and KU are your best bets. Texass is a pipedream/longshot, IMO, and let's not forget they'll have a "Tech Problem", as your program's ADs so eloquently put it.

This may be why the UNC and KU talk is making the rounds, if Delaney is truly hamstrung by choosing via AAU membership.
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I definitely think the goal is to get to 16(B1G) which leaves us with two schools.

The way I see it we need a Big Splash and an Ok school or two Ok schools with great potential.

I think Kansas will always be there for us as a school. They are like Rutgers. You just know they would jump at the chance of joining especially with their ole buddy Nebraska being in the conference. At the same time I don't think KU and UNC make waves as the final two. It would have to be something like UT and KU together for KU to be admitted

 
That was a nice summary of AAU schools still left, Woody. Thanks for that.

When you say 'splash', though, which of those left do you think is still a 'splash'? G. Tech I think would be good, and sounds like it could definitely be the next member, if the rumor mill is correct at all. Not sure whether you would call that a 'splash' though.

Nonetheless, will definitely be interesting. I think we're likely days or weeks away from moves being made at this point, rather than months.

 
HuskerFanChuck said:
That was a nice summary of AAU schools still left, Woody. Thanks for that.

When you say 'splash', though, which of those left do you think is still a 'splash'? G. Tech I think would be good, and sounds like it could definitely be the next member, if the rumor mill is correct at all. Not sure whether you would call that a 'splash' though.

Nonetheless, will definitely be interesting. I think we're likely days or weeks away from moves being made at this point, rather than months.
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I agree with you about Tech.Here is my view on the expansion candidates assuming we are correct in thinking we are limited to AAU schools.

First tier adds: UT, UNC

second tier adds: GIT , UVA

third tier adds: KU, RU

First tier:

Honestly when we're constrained to that list(and with few exceptions we are) the only splash would be if UNC and/or Texas joined.

Texas is Texas. I think everyone can agree they would be a good add since their political power is jack in the Big Ten.

I don't think people realize how bad the Big Ten & the SEC want UNC. They are the signature public University of the southland and both commissioners are making their pitch.

So I think that would be the dream scenario. Both. If we can get one I won't complain.

Second tier:

GIT and/or UVA would be great schools(both top 10 Public Universities) in big markets and fertile recruiting states. I would be happy with adding them.

People will say they suck as football schools and I will have no counter for that. They DO suck. But with very few exceptions do teams move when they are on top. For the most part we are drafting for potential and there is no doubt that these two schools have incredible potential.

Third tier(the conditional tier):

Kansas and Rice. I would be glad to have these great schools in the conference under the condition that they bring a first tier school with them. Texas and KU? fantastic. KU just by themselves? not feeling it.

 
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Woody...Do you think UNC will go any where without NCST? I have read that they are tied at the hip along with everyone on Tobacco Road.

 
Stumpy1 said:
Woody...Do you think UNC will go any where without NCST? I have read that they are tied at the hip along with everyone on Tobacco Road.
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Would UNC leave NCST, Duke, UVA, and other founding members of the ACC? Would Maryland have left if they were in a stable financial situation and weren't desperate for the money?

 
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