Big 10, What is next?

[mrsticka]

Man, all this talk about conference realignment and possible super conferences over the last week or so is so overwhelming it's starting to give me a headache.

I don't mean to bring anyone down, but it is.

I mean, we can't possibly be expected to play ALL of these teams. The football teams, no. But maybe the basketball and baseball teams?

[Turtle9160]

It is starting to look like the Pac12 is in serious trouble. According to 247 Sports, they are reporting that four more teams are talking to the B12, while Oregon and Washington are looking to bail, likely to the B10.

All the realignment is starting to take off like a wildfire. What is college sports going to look like at the end of this decade at this rate?


College football conference realignment: Four Pac-12 teams in discussions to move to Big 12, per report

[damonhynes]

Between realignment, NIL, and the transfer portal, I'm thinking I should be doing something else on Fall Saturdays. The Xfer portal is starting to remind me of when Ken Norton, Jr and Deion would change teams every year or so.

Just wait until NIL gets to HS FB.

[Greg S]

Between realignment, NIL, and the transfer portal, I'm thinking I should be doing something else on Fall Saturdays. The Xfer portal is starting to remind me of when Ken Norton, Jr and Deion would change teams every year or so.

Just wait until NIL gets to HS FB.

Yeah and it's not just in football. It's going into many other sports including non revenue ones. Obviously it's going to be big in men's basketball too, but also non revenue sports too. If schools aren't going to commit to NIL and have active collectives, they probably will go to a different division or level. I just don't see all these schools staying at D1. The level of the field is changing and changing fast.

Greg

[Original]

Really interesting to consider how transitioning to an alternative power model in a sport seems chaotic. For example, in European and most international soccer, the governing board sets the leagues, criteria for the leagues, and then promotes or relegates teams between leagues as appropriate to those criteria. Whether it is the U.S.' cultural resistance to such a system of centralization, Walt Byers not having quite enough vision or enough power to force those ideas through, revenue drivers being the TV networks, or whatever reason, we have a system in the U.S. that really isn't that wild compared to what it could be, or compared to what we see in leagues without TV deals (or antitrust exemptions, natch).


rant-ish:

It's just wild to me that these university figures are just ultimately letting it all denigrate to advertising capitalism and consumerism. Hey, athletes want to be paid? Let's let advertising run rampant. Hey, we need more facilities to 'compete?' Go to TV network deals, which ultimately reduce your university to inventory to advertisers.

I mean, a pure world never existed, Teddy Roosevelt saved college football when guys were literally getting killed on the field, there has always been a lot of churn in the smaller conferences, the big conferences have been regularly doing realignments of some kind since the SWC fell apart in the mid-90s, so 30 years now?

Personally, I don't know if it would be a bad thing if youth academies like in European soccer came to the U.S., as long as they just clearly segregate themselves out. Wouldn't it be better, in a number of senses, if the top, professionally aspiring athletes self-selected out of the pool of amateur competitors? If instead of shelling out thousands and thousands of dollars for 'elite' kids programs that, if we are all honest with each other, are unlikely to produce more than one marginal professional every ten years, and had pro teams pay to operate youth academies that educated and provided sport coaching (with some rich parents with delusional dreams also freighting some of the cost) providing a controlled talent pipeline where the line of exploitation is clear, defined, and socially codified instead of the AAU/MAYB/7-on-7/'qb camps'/NIL-recruiting that kids go through now?

Do that and meanwhile, there are more opportunities for realistic, balanced, sane, _recreational_ competition among amateur athletes without professional dreams. More kids could have the opportunities like I did growing up to just go, practice once or maybe twice a week, play one or two soccer/baseball/basketball games a week, and have sports be a thing that we do, not an fundamental (and expensive) part of our identities. I have a 7 year old, and it is feeling difficult to find those opportunities for him that I had, with laid-back coaches, parents who don't have melt-downs, and a relatively equal skill/competitiveness level between players and teams.

/rant

[Greg S]

The latest from Shatel:


https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/big-te ... p-homepage

[Coyote]

The Big Ten's expansions



Check out the Big Ten's expansions.

[Louie]

I think it's rather exciting watching the realignments happen.

[djc311]

I'm shocked that Notre Dame may hop onboard the Big 10 train... that's crazy

[Greg S]

I'm shocked that Notre Dame may hop onboard the Big 10 train... that's crazy

Until Notre Dame actually applies I remain skeptical on them joining. If they do fully join a conference as a full member, I do think it's the Big 10.

Greg

[Greg S]

ESPN will not be a part of the Big 10's TV deal going forward. Fox, CBS and NBC are in. Sounds like a streaming network like Apple or Amazon will be a possibility too. Crazy money on this as it seems each of those 3 are paying more than ESPN paid for the A games for the SEC. Fox has the A games for the Big 10 going forward, with the B and C ones to CBS/NBC.

https://theathletic.com/3492372/2022/08 ... ia-rights/


Greg

[Louie]

ESPN will not be a part of the Big 10's TV deal going forward. Fox, CBS and NBC are in. Sounds like a streaming network like Apple or Amazon will be a possibility too. Crazy money on this as it seems each of those 3 are paying more than ESPN paid for the A games for the SEC. Fox has the A games for the Big 10 going forward, with the B and C ones to CBS/NBC.

https://theathletic.com/3492372/2022/08 ... ia-rights/


Greg

Interesting to see NBC adding more games than just Notre Dame.

[Greg S]

ESPN will not be a part of the Big 10's TV deal going forward. Fox, CBS and NBC are in. Sounds like a streaming network like Apple or Amazon will be a possibility too. Crazy money on this as it seems each of those 3 are paying more than ESPN paid for the A games for the SEC. Fox has the A games for the Big 10 going forward, with the B and C ones to CBS/NBC.

https://theathletic.com/3492372/2022/08 ... ia-rights/


Greg

Interesting to see NBC adding more games than just Notre Dame.

Yeah definitely a new player.

Greg

[Coyote]

Big Ten Announces Monumental Multi-Billion Dollar Media Rights Deal
Member schools could rake in nearly $100 million a year

After hearing for more than a year that a record-breaking television deal was upcoming for the Big Ten Conference, the announcement has finally been made. The Big Ten announced Thursday morning that distribution agreements had been reached with CBS, FOX, NBC and NBCUniversal's Peacock. Those partners are in addition to the Big Ten Network and FS1. As expected, ESPN and ABC are not part of the package.

“The Big Ten Conference media rights agreements are more than just dollars and deals. They are a mechanism to provide stability and maximum exposure for our student-athletes, member institutions and partners during these uncertain times in collegiate athletics,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said. “We are very grateful to our world-class media partners for recognizing the strength of the Big Ten Conference brand and providing the incredible resources we need for our student-athletes to compete at the very highest levels, and to achieve their academic and athletics goals.”Warren and the league did not announce raw numbers, but multiple reports indicate the seven-year agreement is worth more than $7 billion. The contract is said to include an escalator clause, which could push the deal to nearly $10 billion.

The deal begins July 1, 2023.

[Coyote]

Big Ten announces new media rights deal with three major networks

The Big Ten announced its new, seven-year media rights deal with Fox, NBC and CBS that is believed to be the richest ever struck with a college sports conference. A person familiar with the contracts tells The Associated Press that the conference's soon-to-be 16 member universities will eventually share more than $1 billion in revenue per year. “The Big Ten Conference media rights agreements are more than just dollars and deals. They are a mechanism to provide stability and maximum exposure for our student-athletes, member institutions and partners during these uncertain times in collegiate athletics,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “We are very grateful to our world-class media partners for recognizing the strength of the Big Ten Conference brand and providing the incredible resources we need for our student-athletes to compete at the very highest levels, and to achieve their academic and athletics goals.”

The agreement begins July 1, 2023, and runs through the 2029-30 season.

Starting in 2024, when USC and UCLA join the conference, Big Ten football Saturdays will be structured similar to the NFL. That means three marquee games being carried in consecutive time slots on three different major TV networks. According to the Big Ten, CBS’s initial season in 2023 will include seven football games and regular season and postseason men’s basketball. The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament final will appear on CBS for the first time.

[Coyote]

Big Ten reaches new $7 BILLION media rights deal | Paul Finebaum Show



Pat Forde joins The Paul Finebaum Show to discuss the Big Ten’s new media rights deal worth $7 billion

[Greg S]

Just crazy how the Big 10 did better than the SEC again. Good article here on how Delaney set the stage for this win back in 2016 by only signing 6 year deals. I remember many criticizing it since cord cutting was a big thing and there was fear the sports bubble was about to burst:

https://theathletic.com/3520031/2022/08 ... dia-deals/

Greg

[Coyote]

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren named as Chicago Bears president, CEO

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren is headed to the NFL. The 59-year-old was named Thursday as the next President and CEO of the Chicago Bears. Warren, who served as the conference's commissioner from 2020-23, was previously an NFL executive with the St. Louis Rams (1997-2000), Detroit Lions (2001-03) and the Minnesota Vikings (2005-19).

[Coyote]

Big Ten Conference Looking for New Commissioner
Kevin Warren to join the Chicago Bears as team president and CEO Big Ten Conference Looking for New Commissioner

The Big Ten Conference will be needing a new commissioner. The Chicago Bears announced Thursday the naming of Kevin Warren as their new team president and CEO. Warren has experience with multiple NFL teams. He will begin official club business in the spring.

A national search will begin for the seventh Big Ten Conference commissioner.

[Coyote]

Pick Six Podcast: Who is really running the Big Ten conference other than money?

Sam McKewon, Dirk Chatelain and Tom Shatel discuss Kevin Warren's departure from the Big Ten and ask who is really running the conference other than money?