BTN's Tom Dienhart: How about a 10-game Big Ten schedule?

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per Dienhart:

A 10-game Big Ten slate also would eliminate the headache schools face in having to schedule two non-conference home games for one season and three for the other. That can make scheduling a home-and-home series difficult.

With a 10-game Big Ten slate, each school easily could set up the magical seven home games it desires each season that are needed for budgetary concerns: five Big Ten games; two non-conference contests.

If it wants, the Big Ten could drop its mandate to schedule a marquee non-league foe from another “power five” conference to accommodate for the 10th Big Ten game. Better to keep as much money “in the family” as possible. Plus, a 10th Big Ten foe in many instances would be on par from a strength-of-schedule standpoint with a non-league “power five” foe.

But if a school still wants to schedule a big-time non-league foe along with one cupcake, that’s OK. And, I also would lift the Big Ten’s ban on scheduling FCS foes if a 10-game league slate is played. With 10 conference contests, the load has to be lightened somewhere.

A 10-game Big Ten schedule shouldn’t hurt the strength-of-schedule quotient for league teams as they compete for a playoff spot. I think any Big Ten team that goes 12-0 or even 11-1 playing a 10-game conference schedule still would earn a playoff spot.

Add it all up, and playing a 10-game Big Ten schedule has many benefits and makes sense.

http://btn.com/2014/05/19/how-about-a-10-game-big-ten-schedule/

Go Gophers!!
 


Has anyone ever seen Tom Dienhart and Wren in the same room?
 

Love it. But don't drop the FCS ban. 10 B1G games and 2 non-con FBS games (I'd actually like them to keep the "Power Five" requirement, but I know I'm dreaming there).
 

A 10-game schedule would make the league more cohesive. It would also eliminate a subsidy game, where Big Ten teams essentially pay the opposing school to come to a Big Ten university and get creamed. More money for the league and for the individual school.

With that being said, the Big Ten is too big and needs to cut teams.
 


I've been saying this for awhile. It can't happen soon enough.
 

Sign me up. Makes too much sense, but I suspect it'll never happen because the coaches won't go for it.
 

Is it up to the coaches? I like it. But I think they should do 11 or 12.

Sent from my MUCH i5 using Tapatalk
 

Dilemina said:
Is it up to the coaches? I like it. But I think they should do 11 or 12.

Sent from my MUCH i5 using Tapatalk
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In the end I think it's up to the presidents and Delany?. ... but if (most of) the coaches are dead set against it I doubt it would get pushed through.
 



Gopherguy0723 said:
A 10-game schedule would make the league more cohesive. It would also eliminate a subsidy game, where Big Ten teams essentially pay the opposing school to come to a Big Ten university and get creamed. More money for the league and for the individual school.

With that being said, the Big Ten is too big and needs to cut teams.
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Which teams should they cut?
 


This can't come soon enough. With 14 teams now in the league, the East division might as well be a different conference than the West. I can't even imagine what it'll be like for the conferences that stuck at 8-game schedules.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
A 10-game schedule would make the league more cohesive. It would also eliminate a subsidy game, where Big Ten teams essentially pay the opposing school to come to a Big Ten university and get creamed. More money for the league and for the individual school.

With that being said, the Big Ten is too big and needs to cut teams.
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Actually, it will make "subsidy" games more common - since pretty much every Big Ten team always plans on 7 home games a year, a 10 game schedule would mean that there are 5 home and 5 road conference games each year. That only leaves 2 more games and both need to be at home, so you'd have two subsidy games every year.
 



2727Gopher said:
Actually, it will make "subsidy" games more common - since pretty much every Big Ten team always plans on 7 home games a year, a 10 game schedule would mean that there are 5 home and 5 road conference games each year. That only leaves 2 more games and both need to be at home, so you'd have two subsidy games every year.
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Well, it's probably more like nothing will change if every team plays seven home games.
 

So...less diversity in schedules, and no opportunity to ever see a non-conference game on the road again? You liked Vegas? How about LA? Plan on going to Dallas? Kiss those trips goodbye! Where do I sign up?:rolleyes:
 

Once the Big Ten Expands to 16 teams a 10-game schedule will happen. Just a matter of time.
 

Am I the only one who thinks that a 9 game schedule will end badly? I think the inherent media/voters bias toward the SEC will be just as powerful as it always is. Thus we'll beat each other up in the big ten, produce a 1 loss B1G champion and watch a bunch of 0-1 loss SEC teams pass us in taking the playoff spots despite their 8 game conference schedule.
 

Lordshawesome said:
Am I the only one who thinks that a 9 game schedule will end badly? I think the inherent media/voters bias toward the SEC will be just as powerful as it always is. Thus we'll beat each other up in the big ten, produce a 1 loss B1G champion and watch a bunch of 0-1 loss SEC teams pass us in taking the playoff spots despite their 8 game conference schedule.
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It may or may not end up the best for the Gophers, but I don't believe the SEC will benefit because of it. I think there's a growing trend among college football writers nationally that are promoting what other conferences are doing with adding more conference games and are getting rather tired of the "we're the SEC, adding another conference game is suicide" mentality that the SEC currently has.

In the next few years, I believe an SEC team will get passed over by a B1G/Pac/Big XII because they're in a conference willing to play a 9th conference game. Only then will you a serious shift in SEC thought process (in fairness, I do believe Saban & Alabama are in favor of an extra conference game and they really aren't the problem when it comes to scheduling).
 

Lordshawesome said:
Am I the only one who thinks that a 9 game schedule will end badly? I think the inherent media/voters bias toward the SEC will be just as powerful as it always is. Thus we'll beat each other up in the big ten, produce a 1 loss B1G champion and watch a bunch of 0-1 loss SEC teams pass us in taking the playoff spots despite their 8 game conference schedule.
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You make a good point, but there isn't a bias against the Big Ten. It doesn't perform well in bowl games or BCS bowl games. There seems to be an SEC bias to some people, but the SEC and southern schools in general are better than the Big Ten. It's not really debatable. I will admit that ESPN is biased toward the SEC now more than ever with ESPN running the SEC network,
 

Exactly... The people who have ties to ESPN are very prevalent amongst the voters. And given ESPN has a vested interest in the SEC ($$$), I see that bias rearing its ugly head come playoff time.
 

dpodoll68 said:
So...less diversity in schedules, and no opportunity to ever see a non-conference game on the road again? You liked Vegas? How about LA? Plan on going to Dallas? Kiss those trips goodbye! Where do I sign up?:rolleyes:
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Well, what will probably happen is that we'll be playing 13 or 14 game seasons before too long. More money trumps giving the players more time to study.
 

If u don't want to be in the playoffs go to a ten game schedule and watch Sec teams and everyone else play in these games.
 

gopherhoopsguy said:
If u don't want to be in the playoffs go to a ten game schedule and watch Sec teams and everyone else play in these games.
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Now, gopherhoopsguy, that is a cowardly approach to insuring that your conference will always be coming in second...or third...or worse to the currently most highly ranked and exhaulted stinking sec conference. Be so damn afraid of their reputation and their espn publicity machine that you don't have the nads to take the harder, much more difficult and dangerous path. IF the Big Ten doesn't go to at least 10 conference games they deserve to be a second-rate conference in the eyes of the media and espn crowd.

Do you people think that the B1G (Big Ten), Big Twelve and Pac what ever could not up the ante for the sec IF they are so incredibly foolish to go with an 8 game conference schedule? What a bunch of wimpy, candy-a$$ed prima donnas the sec would be. Maybe the stinking acc caved and stuck with an 8 game schedule, but the other three power conferences could really call those wimps out by all playing a 10 game (or even larger) conference schedule.

Be BOLD! Be different than the stinking sec. Let the talk start...first the whispers...then the chat room b.s. and finally the bloggers, columnists and talk radio people calling out the sec for being afraid to take the high road and for being afraid to tackle a 10 game conference schedule.

And, tv is NOT so stupid. They want MORE than another sec conference championship match up. They want a NATIONAL championship game. They WANT the regional match ups featuring the other major conferences for their prime-time national championship game. Maybe one year of lsu and Alabama might be fun for espn...but...they won't want to try to sell the ads to that match up too often.

The Big Ten needs to have the courage to go their own way and to do their own thing. IF they can get some other power conferences to do the same thing, they will win and they will bin BIG!

Some day you will start hearing what a fraud of a schedule the wimpy sec teams have when they play direction state and or the sisters of the poor to pad their little sec 8 game conference schedule. Some of the tv analysts might even start questioning WHY the sec is afraid to play more conference games.


Come on Big Ten...man up here! A 10 game conference schedule or bust!
 

As others have pointed out, a 10-game conf schedule means the Gophers will NEVER play a marquee non-conference game, or play a non-conf road game. Every year, the Gophs would play Directional State and Kickmyass U in non-conf - and some of the same people who are calling for a 10-game conf schedule will be back on here complaining about "having to pay good money" to watch two worthless non-conf games.

And, another thought - will any B1G teams be willing to play a big-time non-conf game, for fear of taking a loss and getting knocked down in the ratings? What does this do to the teams that traditionally play Notre Dame every year - do they drop that game?

Don't get me wrong - I understand the appeal of a 10-game conf schedule, and the issues with a 9-game schedule - but I think the 10-game schedule could potentially create as many problems as it solves.
 

The Big Ten should drop Notre Dame simply due to the fact that the Big Ten invited Notre Dame to join the conference and they turned it down a couple of times. They play a partial acc conference schedule in football just so the acc would include them in all the other sports. Give Notre Dame the same kind of respect that they gave the Big Ten Conference.

As less and less people start buying season tickets because you can see all the games on tv any way, the conference games do tend to sell better than the ooc games. And, how many people travel to California, Florida or most any where else just for an ooc game. Play a powerhouse, you say? How many butt-whippings will people pay to travel to in Texas or somewhere down south in August or September? I'll travel to a bowl game destination, but, I sure as heck won't travel for a meaningless ooc game in August or September. But, maybe that is just me.

I WILL travel to Big Ten Games all over the country. I think a trip to DC in October to watch my Gophers help establish a bit of a new conference rivalry with Maryland would be a blast. Or a bit of an extended trip to Rutgers that would include some time in NYC might be something my wife and I would love to do. For me, the conference games are the reason I am a Golden Gopher life-long fan. Give me MORE Conference games! And, let Notre Dame go Big Ten-less for the next fifty years! Let the Big Ten ONLY play them in a bowl game or a National championship game
 

short ornery norwegian said:
As others have pointed out, a 10-game conf schedule means the Gophers will NEVER play a marquee non-conference game, or play a non-conf road game. Every year, the Gophs would play Directional State and Kickmyass U in non-conf - and some of the same people who are calling for a 10-game conf schedule will be back on here complaining about "having to pay good money" to watch two worthless non-conf games.

And, another thought - will any B1G teams be willing to play a big-time non-conf game, for fear of taking a loss and getting knocked down in the ratings? What does this do to the teams that traditionally play Notre Dame every year - do they drop that game?

Don't get me wrong - I understand the appeal of a 10-game conf schedule, and the issues with a 9-game schedule - but I think the 10-game schedule could potentially create as many problems as it solves.
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We could retain the "Power Five" scheduling rule for one of the two OOC games. What I would really like to see is the conferences agree on some rotating, multiple conference version of basketball's B1G-ACC challenge which would leave only one slot for the teams to schedule Southwest Wisconsin Polytechnic High School for the Blind each year.

I really would like to see 12 games against top-level competition. Is it so bad to ask that teams be able to go .500 against peers in their quality of conference to be able to go to a bowl game? They don't even need a winning record.
 

I have problems with two of the arguments I keep seeing here against a 10-game schedule:

First is the argument that we would fill up our schedule with two cream puffs for non-conference and people would complain. This, of course, is ignoring the fact that we already fill up our schedule with three, if not FOUR crappy teams that sometimes aren't even worth watching every September. Sure, San Jose State is pretty decent, but would you rather go to the Bank to watch us take on them, or watch us take on a team like Ohio State that we otherwise wouldn't be able to play more than once every ten years with an 8- or 9-game schedule? Every September nowadays is almost like the NFL preseason, just teasing us for what's to come, and I'd give anything to be able to shorten that to two games.

Second, while I understand it's nice to play marquee non-conference opponents, I'd still rather play teams from the East division that we have tradition with, Rutgers and Maryland aside, as opposed to a Pac-12 school. Yes, it was fun playing Cal and USC, but I'd still prefer to play Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State more frequently than play a nice non-conference opponent.

And I feel I should point out that these are, of course, my opinions.
 

Would be suicidal for schools that don't have deep rosters. Having a few easy games with nothing on the line (one later in the season) reduces wear and tear. Bad idea.
 

10 games just gives the B1G more power to dictate who will be the haves and who will be the have-nots. With just an 8 game schedule, the B1G has made it clear what programs they want to rise in the west. Just take one look at Iowa & Wiskys crossover games this coming season, then look at ours... A 10 game schedule just gives them more opportunities to do that.
 

Lordshawesome said:
10 games just gives the B1G more power to dictate who will be the haves and who will be the have-nots. With just an 8 game schedule, the B1G has made it clear what programs they want to rise in the west. Just take one look at Iowa & Wiskys crossover games this coming season, then look at ours... A 10 game schedule just gives them more opportunities to do that.
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Just increase the regular season schedule by a game and play 13 Big Ten/B1G games. Every team will play every team and the Concerence can't cook the books with "cross over schedules. That will put the screws to your objection lordshawesome. Play only within the conference for regular season games. Then and only then will we really know the best team in the conference.
 

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