Potential Big Ten-only schedule gaining steam?




Yikes. Things are getting dark quickly. My ESPN CFB writer friend just texted me that Ohio State just shut down their workouts. Also said:

"There's zero chance we're starting on time. I think there's some chance there are conf only games. I think there's a strong chance we ain't getting football in the fall."
 

That's why there's a conference championship game.
To each their own, other powers have played twice in a year. I just love huge games. Worst case for me is more garbage like Maryland. I would love to play the toughest schedule in the country.
 


I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
I don’t know that it really reduces the risk all that much, but how upset would we all be (and how much money would the B1G lose) if there was an outbreak at Michigan that they got from playing Arkansas State in week 3? At least if there’s an outbreak on a team in conference only play, we don’t have to sit here and wonder if it was worth it to pay The Little Sisters of the Poor $800k to come give us COVID.
 

Yikes. Things are getting dark quickly. My ESPN CFB writer friend just texted me that Ohio State just shut down their workouts. Also said:

"There's zero chance we're starting on time. I think there's some chance there are conf only games. I think there's a strong chance we ain't getting football in the fall."
There’s still time to see if deaths are going to spike, or miraculously not.
 


I think scheduling is going to be so screwed up this year. We will see a number of cancelled games due to unexpected CV flare-ups. I’m betting that we won’t see the FBS playoffs.
 



I think scheduling is going to be so screwed up this year. We will see a number of cancelled games due to unexpected CV flare-ups. I’m betting that we won’t see the FBS playoffs.

The major soccer leagues in Europe have all spun up and started playing w/o issue.
 



So...if they cut non-conference do we get a refund on part of our season ticket costs? 3 of the 7 games are home non-conference games. One of which I was looking forward to against BYU. So we’d get to see 4 games...I’m not paying those prices for to watch half the games.
 



I wonder if you bet the under on the wins it would still apply if they rescheduled the teams. I would think the under would be a very good play for a lot of teams on the win total for the year......because they are changing to all conference games that would be a seriously good play.
 

We will have a home and home with one team.
 

meant home and away with one team.
 

If the B1G goes through with this plan and other conferences follow, this is likely the death knell for struggling programs like UConn and New Mexico St.
 

If the B1G goes through with this plan and other conferences follow, this is likely the death knell for struggling programs like UConn and New Mexico St.

Yeah I really worry about that. Those schools athletic budgets are HIGHLY reliant on the football team picking up those paychecks...

It might not be popular but I'd like to see if B1G goes down that route ... they someone pay something to those schools.
 

So...if they cut non-conference do we get a refund on part of our season ticket costs? 3 of the 7 games are home non-conference games. One of which I was looking forward to against BYU. So we’d get to see 4 games...I’m not paying those prices for to watch half the games.
I believe the plan is indeed to prorate the costs as needed, which could be the entire nugget depending on if fans are allowed at all.
 

If the B1G goes through with this plan and other conferences follow, this is likely the death knell for struggling programs like UConn and New Mexico St.
I question why that has to be the case. Not that it won't be.

I could rather classify those programs as "not thriving, but not struggling". But they were making enough money to stay afloat, at their current level.

So if that demand and interest is still there, it will still be there a year from now. Why does a one year blip have to sink the whole thing? That seems silly to me.
 

Yeah I really worry about that. Those schools athletic budgets are HIGHLY reliant on the football team picking up those paychecks...

It might not be popular but I'd like to see if B1G goes down that route ... they someone pay something to those schools.
The Big Ten does not care an inch about the Sun Belt, the Mountain West, etc.

If anything, they maximize the revenue to themselves from the Big Ten network, if they went to a 12 game all conference schedule.

Not saying it will go all the way to that, in one year. But I also wonder if having 10 conf games this year would cause it to go to 10 moving forward (with grace periods to fulfill currently signed non-conf contracts, or buy them out)?

10 conf games gives you more content to put on BTN, more to sell to ESPN/FOX, etc. And evens out the home/away at 5/5.
 

I believe the plan is indeed to prorate the costs as needed, which could be the entire nugget depending on if fans are allowed at all.
That’d be nice. Hopefully we have a season. But I’d be fine getting a few hundred refunded on my ticket cost
 

the whole point of conference games only is to push the start of the season back in hopes that the number of positive cases go down, or someone comes up with a treatment or vaccine.

in other words - wait and hope that things get better.

What do you do about teams in the hot spots - Florida, Arizona, Texas - all road games?

my gut tells me the odds of the season NOT being disrupted in some fashion are getting lower with each day.

again we're talking about college age kids. almost impossible to keep them in a bubble. a few key players go to a party, test positive, and your depth chart goes out the window.
 

A lot of noise outside Minnesota saying the Uof MN is a school not excited to allow Fall sports
 

The Big Ten does not care an inch about the Sun Belt, the Mountain West, etc.

If anything, they maximize the revenue to themselves from the Big Ten network, if they went to a 12 game all conference schedule.

Not saying it will go all the way to that, in one year. But I also wonder if having 10 conf games this year would cause it to go to 10 moving forward (with grace periods to fulfill currently signed non-conf contracts, or buy them out)?

10 conf games gives you more content to put on BTN, more to sell to ESPN/FOX, etc. And evens out the home/away at 5/5.
Disagree.
Right now the big ten basically has 14 teams that play 7 home games per year and 5 road games (with a few exceptions).

if you go to a 10 game conference schedule. You don’t gain any more home games for big ten football teams...if anything you lose them with more teams falling into a 6 and 6 model.
in college football the home team owns the tv rights in most cases.


you actually might improve your inventory of conference games But reduce the number of games you own while at the same time eliminating your most marketable non conference games
 

Disagree.
Right now the big ten basically has 14 teams that play 7 home games per year and 5 road games (with a few exceptions).

if you go to a 10 game conference schedule. You don’t gain any more home games for big ten football teams...if anything you lose them with more teams falling into a 6 and 6 model.
in college football the home team owns the tv rights in most cases.


you actually might improve your inventory of conference games But reduce the number of games you own while at the same time eliminating your most marketable non conference games
Every team would still be at 7/5 home/road. You have 5/5 conference, and then 2/0 non-conf. The non-conf games would all be buy games, then.

I suspect they mostly are now, vs MAC teams, etc. G5 confs.

There are a few marquee P5 v P5 non-conf games, but suspect they are very few. You'd be replacing 14 non-conf home games, with 7 conf games. So total games goes down, but the relative worth of those games goes way up.


And there's still the possibility of doing some marquee P5 v P5 non-conf games at neutral sites each year, as one-offs. Probably couldn't get LSU to come to Lambeau, but maybe KC/Dallas? Something like that.
 


Every team would still be at 7/5 home/road. You have 5/5 conference, and then 2/0 non-conf. The non-conf games would all be buy games, then.

I suspect they mostly are now, vs MAC teams, etc. G5 confs.

There are a few marquee P5 v P5 non-conf games, but suspect they are very few. You'd be replacing 14 non-conf home games, with 7 conf games. So total games goes down, but the relative worth of those games goes way up.


And there's still the possibility of doing some marquee P5 v P5 non-conf games at neutral sites each year, as one-offs. Probably couldn't get LSU to come to Lambeau, but maybe KC/Dallas? Something like that.
I just think if they thought they make money off it they’d have done it already.
they already backed off the P5 non conference requirement And the FCS ban because teams couldn’t get To 7 home games.
 

I just think if they thought they make money off it they’d have done it already.
they already backed off the P5 non conference requirement And the FCS ban because teams couldn’t get To 7 home games.
FCS home buy games cost like half what it costs to pay a MAC school to come for a game.
 





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