Chicago Tribune: Delany pushing for conference title game at Madison Square Garden

[BleedGopher]

per the Chicago Tribune:

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany rarely loses a battle of wills.

After enriching the conference by creating the Big Ten Network and a conference title game, are university presidents and chancellors in any position to rebuff him?

Delany continues to push for the 2018 men's basketball tournament to be played at Madison Square Garden, with a source telling the Chicago Tribune that he is "determined" to make it happen.

School officials are concerned about increased costs associated with staging the event in the heart of Manhattan. Delany can combat that by selling the event as a one-time chance to promote the new Big Ten (hello, Rutgers and Maryland) in the nation's largest media market.

The more intriguing obstacle is this: The Big East already is locked into the "championship week" dates for its men's basketball tourna

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_26027262/big-ten-basketball-delany-pushing-conference-title-game

Go Gophers!!

 

[SelectionSunday]

Anyone who believes Delany wants the BTT in New York only as a "one time" deal is very naive. Have little doubt he wants MSG in the regular BTT rotation.

Delany has done a ton of good for the Big Ten, but he's starting to lose me. If they go to MSG in 2018 and (most importantly) move the BTT off Selection Sunday weekend, that's the last straw.

 

[mootrack]

This would be horrible.

 

[station19]

Anyone who believes Delany wants the BTT in New York only as a "one time" deal is very naive. Have little doubt he wants MSG in the regular BTT rotation.

Delany has done a ton of good for the Big Ten, but he's starting to lose me. If they go to MSG in 2018 and (most importantly) move the BTT off Selection Sunday weekend, that's the last straw.

Good points SS. This topic could be intertwined with the 'Michigan Football alienates fans' thread on the football board.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

Anyone who believes Delany wants the BTT in New York only as a "one time" deal is very naive. Have little doubt he wants MSG in the regular BTT rotation.

Delany has done a ton of good for the Big Ten, but he's starting to lose me. If they go to MSG in 2018 and (most importantly) move the BTT off Selection Sunday weekend, that's the last straw.

Completely agree.

 

[scools12]

Anyone who believes Delany wants the BTT in New York only as a "one time" deal is very naive. Have little doubt he wants MSG in the regular BTT rotation.

Delany has done a ton of good for the Big Ten, but he's starting to lose me. If they go to MSG in 2018 and (most importantly) move the BTT off Selection Sunday weekend, that's the last straw.

I understand what the frustation is but the last straw for what exactly? Sure fans wouldn't like it but I doubt attendance during the season nor any TV deals would suffer from it.

 

[SelectionSunday]

I understand what the frustation is but the last straw for what exactly? Sure fans wouldn't like it but I doubt attendance during the season nor any TV deals would suffer from it.

Just saying it'd be the last straw for me. I'll officially hate Delany's guts if he moves the BTT off of Selection Sunday weekend.

 

[station19]

Like they always say 'Follow the TV sets'.

 

[Ope3]

MSG title

Like they always say 'Follow the TV sets'.

Maybe Delany is thinking of a way to split the tourney. For example, 7 teams could gather in Mpls & Cleveland. Top seed in each gets a bye. Opening round and quarterfinals would be played down to a Final 4 who would all gather to play the Semis & Championship game in MSG on Saturday & Sunday.

 

[BleedGopher]

Maybe Delany is thinking of a way to split the tourney. For example, 7 teams could gather in Mpls & Cleveland. Top seed in each gets a bye. Opening round and quarterfinals would be played down to a Final 4 who would all gather to play the Semis & Championship game in MSG on Saturday & Sunday.

That would put a tremendous strain on resources of the Big Ten Conference, Big Ten Network and sponsors.

No need for Delaney to complicate this. Rotate it between Indy and Chicago, and throw a bone to Minneapolis once a decade!

Go Gophers!!

 

[station19]

That would put a tremendous strain on resources of the Big Ten Conference, Big Ten Network and sponsors.

No need for Delaney to complicate this. Rotate it between Indy and Chicago, and throw a bone to Minneapolis once a decade!

Go Gophers!!

I believe they passed a law against common sense years ago.

 

[WanderingGopher]

I'd love to see the tourney in MSG one year, but not if they can't have it championship weekend.

The new Big East is a joke of a conference, let them have their tournament a week early. Nobody would care.

 

[tjgopher]

There is ZERO chance that Delaney is going to move the BTT off of Selection Sunday weekend. None.

What he is almost certainly doing right now is negotiating with the Big East to move their event to somewhere else for 2018. With teams based in Washington DC, Chicago, Omaha, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, NYC, Providence, and Milwaukee - I'm guessing the Big East has some options for the event.

My prediction - Delaney will make a deal/payoff/strong arm the Big East and he'll get his event into MSG.

As to this being a one-time event in MSG....who knows? If he can secure MSG for this event once every 5-6 years, I'd say absolutely do it. The earliest he could do it after 2018 would be 2023.

 

[Bad Gopher]

The love of money is the root of all evil. They'd better watch out, or they're going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. They've already excluded me permanently from the BTT by making it a 5-day event, and they're looking to exclude more people all the time by generally making it more difficult to be a Big Ten fan in the Midwest.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

Honestly, I don't mind the BTT at MSG once every 5 or 6 years, as long as Chicago and Indianapolis get 2 to every 1.

So if we had a line up of the following...I'd be OK.

Chicago
Indianapolis
Mpls/Lincoln/DC
Chicago
Indiacapolis
NYC
and so on

And yes I said Lincoln, NE because their new stadium and what not is worthy of a visit once every 15 years.

 

[WanderingGopher]

The love of money is the root of all evil. They'd better watch out, or they're going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. They've already excluded me permanently from the BTT by making it a 5-day event, and they're looking to exclude more people all the time by generally making it more difficult to be a Big Ten fan in the Midwest.

Sorry to break this to you, but it's not just a midwestern conference any more, and doesn't want to be. Trying to stay a midwestern conference would leave the B1G behind the other major conferences (population, talent, $ is shifting from 30-40 years ago) and that's what Delaney recognizes.

Even before the addition of Md and Rutgers, a half million B1G alumni lived in the eastern corridor between NY and DC, and the two new schools bring that number north of 1 million.

 

[SelectionSunday]

So if we had a line up of the following...I'd be OK.

Chicago
Indianapolis
Mpls/Lincoln/DC
Chicago
Indianapolis
NYC
and so on

And yes I said Lincoln, NE because their new stadium and what not is worthy of a visit once every 15 years.

The Big Ten tourney won't be held on Nebraska's home court, or anyone else's. Omaha, Neb. (Century Link Center) would be a great spot, absolutely, but it won't be held @ Pinnacle Bank Arena.

 

[Bad Gopher]

Sorry to break this to you, but it's not just a midwestern conference any more, and doesn't want to be. Trying to stay a midwestern conference would leave the B1G behind the other major conferences (population, talent, $ is shifting from 30-40 years ago) and that's what Delaney recognizes.

Even before the addition of Md and Rutgers, a half million B1G alumni lived in the eastern corridor between NY and DC, and the two new schools bring that number north of 1 million.

There's nothing new under the sun. There's never been as much money in the Midwest as on the east coast. What's changed is the conference under Delaney becoming a whore in pursuit of east coast money. We can choose to be a whore or to not be a whore.

 

[station19]

I want everything to be the way it was in the 60's.

BTW has anyone seen my bleeding madras shirt?

 

[cncmin]

That would put a tremendous strain on resources of the Big Ten Conference, Big Ten Network and sponsors.

No need for Delaney to complicate this. Rotate it between Indy and Chicago, and throw a bone to Minneapolis once a decade!


Go Gophers!!

If it goes eastward to NY, then it also needs to go westward to Mpls. But it won't.