Is Vanderbilt a good fit for the SEC? Northwestern for the B1G?
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Conferences kicking out members?
- Thread starter wcbsas
- Start date
The fact that this article was written deliberately and specifically mentioning Nebraska is proof that Nebraska is not a team that would be on the list to jettison. The large fan base will click the link and drive up views. That's why you post that article. Its the same reason the dark years of Nebraska football have maintained full stadiums and high ratings in comparison with most of our conference mates. Teams like OSU, PSU and Michigan draw well. Nebraska is right there in the next tier, when they stink. That's a revenue draw.
These types of threads are the dull kind of crap that the summer brings. Its all going to be moot when Nebraska is half-way decent again and can stay relevant in the conference title chase through the middle of the season.
I'd love to see an interview with a TV exec that made an argument for relegating Nebraska. It would be the opposite.
Now look at the geography of the Big 10 and you'll find another reason it would be dumb to remove Nebraska (and create an even larger gap between the western-most teams and the rest of the league.
The Big 10 is made up of schools with large alumni bases who live around the country and watch games. I don't think this "relegation" notion makes any sense for our league. Even the crappy teams have large alumni bases and draw eyeballs. There's a solid structural reason why the Big 10 media deals outpace every other league.
All that said, I'd love a model where there is a "big league" football and a lower division, and there WAS relegation and promotion, where teams like Boise State could break into the big league and Vanderbilt or last decade's Kansas could be relegated. Maybe the top 48 teams are in the upper division. During bowl season, the bottom 2 teams play for relegation.
These types of threads are the dull kind of crap that the summer brings. Its all going to be moot when Nebraska is half-way decent again and can stay relevant in the conference title chase through the middle of the season.
I'd love to see an interview with a TV exec that made an argument for relegating Nebraska. It would be the opposite.
Now look at the geography of the Big 10 and you'll find another reason it would be dumb to remove Nebraska (and create an even larger gap between the western-most teams and the rest of the league.
The Big 10 is made up of schools with large alumni bases who live around the country and watch games. I don't think this "relegation" notion makes any sense for our league. Even the crappy teams have large alumni bases and draw eyeballs. There's a solid structural reason why the Big 10 media deals outpace every other league.
All that said, I'd love a model where there is a "big league" football and a lower division, and there WAS relegation and promotion, where teams like Boise State could break into the big league and Vanderbilt or last decade's Kansas could be relegated. Maybe the top 48 teams are in the upper division. During bowl season, the bottom 2 teams play for relegation.
The networks will ultimately guide any decisions on this more than University Presidents. It's conceivable that a few Big or SEC schools might have something to worry about down the line but Nebraska isn't one of them. Not even close.
You sir, won the prize.
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Remember it's not all about football, academics alone I think would keep northwestern in. Softball, basketball, field hockey, all sorts of sports besides football that northwestern is pretty good at.
I don't think that particular cycle ever started has it
Yes. Those 2 schools probably raise the GPA of their respective conferences.
The Nebraska angle is clickbait but the larger point is interesting to consider. It wouldn’t surprise me if the SEC or B1G “restructure” or combine in some way and the conference offers a deal to some schools like, you can stay in our conference for every but football. That would be a hard decision for some schools.
Like NW or not they are a very classy univeristy imo.
Yeah, that’s important for revenue generation!
But it is about football, and a little bit about basketball. Same line of thinking that volleyball matters in these conference discussions.
No, I would've stated it's entirely possible.
The Big 10 is not going to kick out Nebraska.
But that's the very point. Schools you mentioned earlier were Duke, UNC, GTech, Miami, Notre Dame. Duke/UNC give you a lot in basketball, not a ton in football. Georgia Tech doesn't really give you anything (besides the Atlanta TV market, but I don't think it really gives you that). Miami is essentially in the same boat as Nebraska; used to be great in football but can't find any traction in recent years (better in basketball). Notre Dame is the only football home run in the group, but even they are a question mark now that Kelly is at LSU.
Nebraska has a much higher potential to be good in football than most of these schools. They throw more money behind it and have more fan support behind it. Doesn't mean they will be better this year or five years from now, but I struggle to believe that long term Duke/UNC/GTech are a better football bet than Nebraska. (That might just be me being a stubborn Nebraska fan.)
If it is purely academic, then yes those schools all have a high reputation. However, I struggle to believe that the academics are going to continue to play as big of a factor as they have in the past for the B1G.
Again, unless one of the member schools becomes a "problem child", I struggle to believe they'll start kicking schools out. Is there any precedent for that?
I understand your points. All easy to comprehend in today’s environment. But everything changes so quickly. 5 years ago to comprehend NIL, transfer portal, magnitude of conference realignment, CFP expansion … the landscape has changed quickly and the next five years may have as much change as well.
All this has happened in an era of expanding TV. What happens if revenues decline? What happens when universities are faced with mounting debt, what happens if schools are forced to cut sports. It’s easier to run a business when the top line is growing. It’s harder when revenues are flat or declining.
If football is truly the cash cow … when is someone going to ask … what does Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Rutgers contribute? When are the Alabamas and tOSU’s going to say I’m better off without these schools than with them?
