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What do we know about B10 expansion?

doneagain

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Mar 12, 2004
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1) They want AAU schools.

2) They want teams in new large TV markets in states they previously haven't had members to sell their Network.

3) They have stated publicly they want their conference footprint to consist of contiguous states.

4) Gordon Gee suggested conferences might grow to as many as 20 teams. It was noteworthy that he threw out the number 20.

5) Gee stated the B10 could go south and/or west for new teams.


Regardless of how many consecutive national titles the SEC has won, the 500 lb gorilla in the room is the B10.

They are not just going after TV money in the 10's of millions each year, they are advertising hundreds of millions to billions of pooled AAU research dollars for conference members each year.

If there is a discussion of a scheduling agreement going on between the B12 and SEC or ACC, to me that says everyone has serious concerns about losing teams from their conferences that belong to the AAU ranks.

For the SEC, I know everyone will immediately discount the possibility of losing any teams.

I know for B12 fans, the argument will be the grant of rights.

And for ACC fans, they believe UNC is just so noble that they would turn down hundreds of millions of pooled research dollars in the B10 just so they could make 17-20 million (still less than the B10 pays athletically) each year in the ACC.

There is no buy out in the SEC.

For all the conferences not named B10, the AAU is not the driving force, much less A driving force in conference expansion, and that leaves them at a disadvantage.

The B10 Network has also proven to be a huge recruiting tool for new members. The more markets they sell to, the more money for conference members.

SEC AAU members: Florida, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt & Missouri.

We already know Missouri wanted to be in the B10 badly. With no buyout in the SEC, and with Missouri struggling to compete in the SEC in football, it is not a stretch to see Missouri jumping ship to the B10 if an offer is ever made.

And as Gordon Gee stated last weekend, he believes conferences could grow to as many as 20 members, and he believed further B10 expansion could go south AND west.

Missouri would jump if given the chance. Would Vanderbilt or Florida?

ACC AAU members: UVA, UNC, Duke, & GT.

All 4 of those schools love to bandy about what academic monsters they are. They could ratchet up their snobbery in the B10, and make more money athletically and academically than they do in the ACC.

B12 AAU members: Iowa State, Kansas, Texas.

The 50 million buyout didn't deter the B10 from going after Maryland. If a school wants to join the B10, the B10 would leave the responsibility of getting out of the grant of rights on that school.

It just depends on how badly they want a team, and how badly that team wants them. Out of the ACC, SEC & B12, I believe the B12 to be the least likely to lose a team because the fight to get out would be harder.

I think the only choice from the B12 would be Kansas, as the B10 has a school in Iowa already. As for Texas, that eliminates the contiguous angle, plus the Longhorn Network is a stumbling block.

To get any of the 4 ACC schools, the B10 is most likely going to have to offer all 4 of them. Leaving together as a group to reunite with Maryland gives the schools five existing regional rivals. The opportunity for their fans to host Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska and Wisconsin in football on a fairly regular basis would boost ticket sales. Indiana and Michigan State in basketball would be a plus for them as well, considering the emphasis they place on basketball. The fact that the B10 is also a strong basketball league only enhances the appeal of jumping.

I think it is a foregone conclusion that Missouri would switch, but I could be wrong. Maybe they resent the B10 now. Turning down all that money doesn't seem realistic though, and their school is a better demographic fit in the B10 than it is the SEC. Missouri might be the only SEC school willing to jump, but I would expect that the state of Florida's 26 million population would make the B10 push hard for the Gators.

It is hard to imagine the Gators jumping though.

So maybe the one school the B10 would make exceptions for finally gives in after watching the Big East & ACC crumble around it. Maybe Notre Dame becomes team #20.

Lots of scenarios to consider.

I just wish the Maryland thing would get resolved so we can get all this realignment stuff over with once and for all.
 
AAU money isn't pooled in the B1G 10--the AAU is a separate organization that has lots of members not associated with the B1G or any major athletic conferences.

The Big 10 has an academic consortium called the CIC that they are letting Maryland join soon--but it doesn't pool research money either. It connects the different campuses to each other via technology for things like shared classes and is primarily a purchasing benefit to the universities involved.

It could be possible for the B1G to grow to 20 teams, but this is probably a smokescreen to "scare" other conferences. If you say midwestern teams--many immediately think BIG 12 and ignore the BIG 12's GORs. Everyone knows the B1G wants Notre Dame and that probably had more to do with adding Rutgers and Maryland than keeping PSU on board like they claimed.

Missouri could possibly move and of course Cincinnati is out there (never could understand how Indiana, Illinois and especially Michigan allow two major schools in the conference from their states but let OSU in such a large state remain the only school in Ohio)

Previously the B1G said they were looking at improving recruiting for the future--and south and southeast is the way to go there.
The ACC is the only conference the B1G has any hope of being able to poach. The Maryland lawsuit probably does come into play there--why pay more than you have to--just wait out the lawsuits and see where the buyout might end up.
 
I am not a B10 guy, but I have been told by more than one individual that They absolutely do pool money on joint institution research projects within their academic consortium. There will be 3-4 schools that partner up on a project that will request research funding together and pool the research to acquire more funding for the project and eliminate doubling up on efforts.
 
They don't pool their money--they work together on purchasing to reduce the costs in the CIC and have technological connections that aid in research.

The AAU seems to be just an association of a certain type of research school.

WVU has research projects with other universities like what you are discussing, and perhaps some B1G 10 schools do that but it isn't part of those organizations purpose or plan.
 
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