Expansion to 16 teams????????????

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DL65

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Listened to the talking heads on BTN yesterday and today following the pressers at Maryland and Rutgers. The consensus, when I listened, was that the expansions to Super Conferences will continue. They said they expect the Big 10 to expand to 16 teams sooner than later.

If the BIG does expand to 16 teams, what two teams are next in line to join? What conferences might disband with further expansions?

Your thoughts . . .


Go Gophers!!
 


Using my heart...........Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Using my head............Syracuse and Louisville. Using logic based on sweet mascots, the Sycamores from Indiana St. and the Racers of Murray St!
 

Wow.... maybe no NC games somewhere down the line?
 

I actually had a conversation with Zack Johnson of Gopher Illustrated over Twitter about this today. I asserted that 16 teams makes more sense because it allows for 4 4-team pods which would preserve rivalry game occurring every year and make it so you wouldn't see some teams once every 7 years or so. He brought up a good point that if you had 4 pods with a rotating schedule then that would only make for 7 conference games. I'm sure there is a way to have 8 or 9 conference games with the 4-team pod system but he actually suggested a 20 team conference with the schools potentially being UNC, Duke, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Notre Dame (or Boston College if Notre Dame won't come in football, which I don't think they would). I think that 20 schools would be pretty chaotic and probably not what I would want to see, but it is probably the best solution for balancing the schedules. This is all very speculative obviously, but I just thought I would share.
 



Stanger86 said:
Louisville and Kansas
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is that who you think? or who you want? because if that is who you think it will be, well i have a bridge in brooklyn i would like to sell you. the big ten already has ohio and indiana, which both bleed over some into kentucky. louisville doesn't have that big of following, is not even the flagship university of their state and not sure they are an AAU university. and other than basketball, kansas brings near nothing. the economic purpose of adding nebraska for football is much different and makes far more sense than adding kansas for basketball. the economies of scale for football vs. basketball are significantly different, with far more weight going to football.
 

If B1G expands to 16 sooner rather than later, I expect it will be UNC and UVA or Ga Tech.

I'd be happy with the former and meh on the latter two. Academically UVA is strong enough to be in the B1G, but they don't really bring that many new eyeballs, and they certainly aren't that attractive in football. Ga Tech brings in Atlanta, but, wow, Nebraska to Georgia is a lot of real estate.
 

Kansas brings the KC market too, and a premier basketball program in arguably the premier basketball conference.
 



I posted this in another thread on expansion.


It will be interesting to see if 16 or 18 is the number. I saw a tweet by Zach Johnson at GI talking about about how 18 makes more sense. You have two divisions of 9 and each team will play 8 division games. Preserves being able to play home non-conference games (cupcakes). It then leads to conference championships putting teams into the four team playoff.

For example the Big 10 could be:

West
Nebraska
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern
Michigan
Michigan State

EAST
Purdue
Notre Dame
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
 

It's a Pig Man! said:
I actually had a conversation with Zack Johnson of Gopher Illustrated over Twitter about this today. I asserted that 16 teams makes more sense because it allows for 4 4-team pods which would preserve rivalry game occurring every year and make it so you wouldn't see some teams once every 7 years or so. He brought up a good point that if you had 4 pods with a rotating schedule then that would only make for 7 conference games. I'm sure there is a way to have 8 or 9 conference games with the 4-team pod system but he actually suggested a 20 team conference with the schools potentially being UNC, Duke, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Notre Dame (or Boston College if Notre Dame won't come in football, which I don't think they would). I think that 20 schools would be pretty chaotic and probably not what I would want to see, but it is probably the best solution for balancing the schedules. This is all very speculative obviously, but I just thought I would share.
Click to expand...

In the alignment thread, I have a pod system with a 9 game schedule. You end up playing every team outside your pod home & home over 6 years.
 

Another possibility to watch is UConn if they don't get the ACC bid. Boston market, ESPN in backyard, just makes sense IMO. Might not be quite contiguous, but pretty darn close.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
I posted this in another thread on expansion.


It will be interesting to see if 16 or 18 is the number. I saw a tweet by Zach Johnson at GI talking about about how 18 makes more sense. You have two divisions of 9 and each team will play 8 division games. Preserves being able to play home non-conference games (cupcakes). It then leads to conference championships putting teams into the four team playoff.

For example the Big 10 could be:

West
Nebraska
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern
Michigan
Michigan State

EAST
Purdue
Notre Dame
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Click to expand...

If that's the case it's just two 9 team conferences. When would we play the East?
 



When the started talking expansion a few years back, it should have been done both quickly and with a pattern in mind. The Big 12 was falling apart, so when they brought in Nebraska to make it 12 teams, they should have planned a second step that would have brought in Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Missouri. It would have been easy to create four competitively-balanced geographically-friendly pods.
 

50PoundHead said:
When the started talking expansion a few years back, it should have been done both quickly and with a pattern in mind. The Big 12 was falling apart, so when they brought in Nebraska to make it 12 teams, they should have planned a second step that would have brought in Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Missouri. It would have been easy to create four competitively-balanced geographically-friendly pods.
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The last two days have shown us that the Big Ten is looking to tap into new markets with high incomes and high populations.

Missouri adds a little, Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas add next to nothing in terms of revenue growth. There's no point to expand without increasing revenue per school.

If we go any further you're more likely to see a Boston College or Georgia Tech than a Iowa State or Kansas State.
 

I doubt seriously any non-AAU university would be invited to join the B1G, so you can forget UConn and Louisville.

Actually, I take that back since Notre Dame clearly is on Delaney's mind, and they aren't members.
 

NateDawgUM said:
The last two days have shown us that the Big Ten is looking to tap into new markets with high incomes and high populations.

Missouri adds a little, Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas add next to nothing in terms of revenue growth. There's no point to expand without increasing revenue per school.

If we go any further you're more likely to see a Boston College or Georgia Tech than a Iowa State or Kansas State.
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I don't disagree, but the Maryland and Rutgers program really don't have that much panache.
 

50PoundHead said:
I don't disagree, but the Maryland and Rutgers program really don't have that much panache.
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I'd say it's way more about the New York and D.C. markets than the universities themselves. If they go to 16, my guess would be Pitt and Syracuse would be the last two members.
 

G
Stanger86 said:
If that's the case it's just two 9 team conferences. When would we play the East?
Click to expand...

It's going forward by going backwards. Guarantees no rematch in championship game and sets up the closest thing to a true playoff system. You have to win your division and then championship game. It takes all the BcS out. 8 divisions of nine funnel to 4 super conference champs that play a playoff. 72 teams are included on this option. I know it will never happen. This would however make the four non-conference games less important.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I'd say it's way more about the New York and D.C. markets than the universities themselves. If they go to 16, my guess would be Pitt and Syracuse would be the last two members.
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I think Georgia Tech is the next team with the Atlanta market. They fit academically with Purdue and Penn State. I've heard Delany really wants UNC.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
I'd say it's way more about the New York and D.C. markets than the universities themselves. If they go to 16, my guess would be Pitt and Syracuse would be the last two members.
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Syracuse wouldn't really make any sense seeing as how Rutgers already brings the NY market. Like others have said, GA Tech seems to make a lot of sense. After that UNC makes sense but I'm not sure they would leave the ACC without Duke (just figure they would want to protect arguably the greatest rivalry in college sports).
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I'd say it's way more about the New York and D.C. markets than the universities themselves. If they go to 16, my guess would be Pitt and Syracuse would be the last two members.
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I agree. It's probably about getting the Big 10 Network on a lot more television sets.
 

BC & Georgia Tech .... Two huge remaining television markets, one great hockey fit and one in the middle of SEC football country
 

waubonsie said:
BC & Georgia Tech .... Two huge remaining television markets, one great hockey fit and one in the middle of SEC football country
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If Delany wants to stick with contiguous states, that won't work.

UVa and UNC will work. Virginia is contiguous with Maryland & UNC is contiguous with Virginia.
 

Virginia and North Carolina
Or
Virginia and Notre Dame

Their call

Other possibilities would be Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Syracuse
 

Tx_Gopher said:
If B1G expands to 16 sooner rather than later, I expect it will be UNC and UVA or Ga Tech.

I'd be happy with the former and meh on the latter two. Academically UVA is strong enough to be in the B1G, but they don't really bring that many new eyeballs, and they certainly aren't that attractive in football. Ga Tech brings in Atlanta, but, wow, Nebraska to Georgia is a lot of real estate.
Click to expand...

If its UNC, it will cost a lot more than $800,000 to get out of playing them.
 

Stanger86 said:
Another possibility to watch is UConn if they don't get the ACC bid. Boston market, ESPN in backyard, just makes sense IMO. Might not be quite contiguous, but pretty darn close.
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UCONN has D-1 hockey too. :p
 

If the Big Ten brings in Georgia Tech why not Texas? All this stuff is getting crazy.
 

To preface: I hate Notre Dame.

It's still all about Notre Dame though - they are the golden ticket that Delany still wants. They have a national fanbase and would go a long way in putting the BTN on more TVs. Notre Dame will think long and hard about joining the Big Ten as well they should. The Big Ten will be a premier conference when everything shakes out. The ACC, on the other hand, may have 1 or 2 of their top teams poached away and will be a step below the Big 10 and SEC. The Big 10 also pays out SIGNIFICANTLY more money than the ACC. The ACC just signed a 15 year contract through 2027 that will give each university about $17 million over the next 15 years (link). The Big Ten paid its member universities about $24 million last year (link) and will renegotiate its contract in a few years.

Notre Dame needs to join a conference before realignment finishes, and they have their foot halfway in the ACC door. The Big Ten can offer close to double the revenue, better competition, better academics, and a better geographic fit (not that it matters nowadays). Will that be enough to sway Notre Dame though?
 

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