Looks like things migh be heating up earlier than anticipated. http://dennis-dodd.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/21054795?tag=headlines;other
Here's what I don't understand, the talk about expanding to 14 or 16 teams. It seems to me that 12 is the sweet spot and that going beyond that just contributes to scheduling problems. If they do go to 14 or 16 teams you have to figure it will be at the expense of the Big East. Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers, UConn would give them a huge viewing footprint for the Big10 Network in a very populous region of the country.
My gut feeling is 14 teams. It is all about money now. BTN can really capitalize on the sports scene and each conference team will share in the wealth. Scheduling can be worked out over time. Where there is will, most things can be worked out. I still think Notre Dame might be in the mix, regardless of what Swarbuck is saying at the moment.
If the Irish agree to join the B10 it will not be met with enthusiasm by the fans in general. I have no doubt there are some (maybe more than some) who will welcome joining the B10, and others like me who won't really like it but won't stop following the team and won't fly to South Bend to hold a burning torch outside the Administration. But it will not be a peaceful move.
ND <t>As a ND fan I don't necessarily LIKE it but I just don't see how the Irish can AVOID joining a conference in the near future. I think that's what it boils down to. No matter how bad ND wants to remain independent it just may not be practical if the conferences make the changes they are talking about. <br/> <br/> As I said before, if ND were to be in c conference, it should be the B10. It just a natural fit.</t>
If the PAC 10 expanded and had a conf. championship game, would SC continue with the Thanksgiving games? I doubt it.
I think they would, Fla and FSU still play even though both have conf champ games afterwards in different conferences, so do UGA and Ga. Tech. While I know that there are political reasons why those two rivalries continue, I still think ND/USC would be hard to give up for USC. Of course OU/Neb used to be a big tradition, now it's a game that is played 2x every 4 years.
In past conversations here, I've stated that, living in the middle of Big 10 country, it would work for me if ND decided to join the Big 10. BUT, I completely understand the feelings of folks in other parts of the country outside of the midwest. Having said that, I only hope that the ND decision-makers consider fully the impact conference membership would have on the ND brand, which is uniquely successful in college sports. If they do their due diligence and conclude that the brand will not suffer, then I'm on board.
I don't have a dog in this hunt. However trying to look at it objectively I think Tim has the right approach. At this time I think it hurts Notre Dame to hold out. But time will tell and the world will move on either way.
I read in an article on the NYT that after the move of Miami, BC, VaTech to the ACC that the Big East put in place a couple of things. 1. 5 million dollar penalty for leaving the conference 2. Min of 27 months notice before you can leave. Also another prediction that we will have 4 16 team super leagues. College Football
I think the B12 should consider expansion. They should invite TCU, Utah, Colorado State, and Boise State to join, it wouldn't make big difference in the TV deals but it would truly make us the Rocky Mtn/Plains State Conference.
Brian Kelly said on the Dan Patrick show today that he doesn't want ND to join the Big 10. Brian Kelly on Dan Patrick
I have a question. Why does "academic" fit have anything to do with athletic conferences? The only way I see it as making a difference is if you aren't gong to be competing for championships in any sports, that you just want to have athletics fit within the mission of the school. So the Ivies don't give scholarships, make no claims to be striving for anything other than Ivy League championships, so it makes sense that the teams in the Ivy league be similar academically to even out things on the field of play. But the B10 desires to compete for Nat'l Championships, so they have to compete with every team in Div1. They can't say we don't want to compete with Houston because they are beneath us acadmeically and their athletes don't have to work as hard in the classroom therefore the competition is unfair. It's all about the athletic competition on the field, so I fail to see why the B10 would not even consider schools unless they were an "academic" fit.
This isn't the one I saw but it has the same tenor. That is that at that time, not really so long ago, Notre Dame was the center of the college football world and far and away the strongest. No other team could have done that, at that time. Some times when people today wonder why the Irish got "special" treatment by the BCS or it's antecedents, how big a draw and how much money having the Irish as part of the deal meant. But that was then. ND Back Then