Big10 (11) Meetings

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CHICAGO -- Greetings from the site of the Big Ten spring meetings of coaches and athletic directors.

The first set of meetings begins early this afternoon, as basketball coaches and athletic directors convene. The ADs and coaches are rolling through the lobby, and several have stopped to talk with a growing group of reporters, including yours truly and ESPN colleague Joe Schad.

Expansion is obviously the hot topic around the Big Ten and will be on the agenda this week. Athletic directors Dave Brandon (Michigan) and Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin) both expressed curiosity about the expansion study and expect to receive updates on the process from league commissioner Jim Delany.

"There's a general feeling that change is in the wind," Brandon said. "Obviously, the prospects for change are out there, or there wouldn't be as much time spent. There's clearly energy around change, but that doesn't mean it's going to manifest itself in an outcome that's either immediate or as significant as what's been rumored.

"We'll see."

Keep it right here for coverage of the spring meetings all week.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/22300/welcome-to-the-big-ten-spring-meetings

 

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@schadjoe Here in Chicago Michigan AD Dave Brandon says there is a "general feeling that change is in the wind." 20 minutes ago


@schadjoe But Alvarez cautions that ezpansion decisions will be made by presidents 18 minutes ago

 

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@BFeldmanESPN RT @ESPN_BigTen Delany sez he hopes expansion study doesn't take longer than 18 months. Said it may wrap up in 11 months. Not anytime soon. 4 minutes ago


@ESPN_Others Big Ten commish says timetable for expansion still 12-18 months. Boise State is in a tough spot with this one. The MWC could lose a lot. 4 minutes ago

 

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CHICAGO—The first television camera reached the Sofitel lobby around 9 a.m. Monday to chronicle this week's Big Ten spring meetings. Before the conference's annual gathering ends Wednesday afternoon, the early-risers from Comcast SportsNet should be joined by media from as far as Omaha, St. Louis and Kansas City. At some point, the reporters might outnumber the coaches and administrators who are supposed to be making the news here.

And when the meetings break, most of those media members might deem this Windy City visit a wasted one. The buzz here Monday was simple—potential expansion remains the league's primary discussion item.

"There's a general feeling," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said, "that change is in the wind."

But any word, official or otherwise, about the Big Ten's exact plans won't come from this week's session. Nothing to see here, folks. Please move along. Commissioner Jim Delany will speak Tuesday morning, and he's expected to say little more than he said last month in Arizona: Our league has a 12- to 18-month timetable. And we're sticking to it.

Chances are the same message will emerge from a meeting of Big Ten presidents and chancellors in early June. The world wants answers, of course, but conference leaders won't, and shouldn't, be rushed.

The presidents and athletics directors understand this is not a race. There's no jackpot for expanding first in what's expected to be a series of moves nationwide. But there's a clear payoff for expanding best. Chalk up the constant discussion and reports about "schools in play" and "offers extended" to 24-hour news cycles, not substantive moves by the league. Other expansion explorations haven't earned nearly this much scrutiny.

"What's different this time is the Internet world," Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said. "The media world, the blog world, instant information. Maybe that's what's changed."

Barta's point hints at a bigger change, especially since Penn State joined the league in 1990. Coverage of and interest in the league's potential growth again highlights college football's place as the No. 2 sport in America. As the NBA cruises toward its Finals, as another Stanley Cup presentation approaches, as baseball slinks toward summertime, the Big Ten's expansion talk ranks right with any other sports storyline

Continued...

http://www.sportingnews.com/college-football/article/2010-05-17/be-patient-big-ten-it-mulls-expansion

 

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@ESPN_Others What if the MWC loses two or more teams? No AQ bid at that point. Then what's the benefit for Boise? Still a non-AQ with no ESPN contract


@schadjoe Right now Delany is telling coaches and ADs why they are strongly considering expansion 27 minutes ago


@schadjoe Big theme here is that people are moving away from Big Ten states (reason to spread) 27 minutes ago


@schadjoe Delany was adament here that he respects NDs decision to remain independent 28 minutes ago

 

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ISDUpdate RT @davebirkett: Delany on Notre Dame: "It chooses to be an independent in football & be a member of the Big East. That's it's destiny."

 

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Day 2

Delany declined to comment when asked if new members to the Big Ten would receive the same revenue as existing members or need to buy their way into the league. But I would be very, very surprised if the Big Ten didn't keep revenue issues even for all its members. The equal revenue sharing is a big reason why the Big Ten is so appealing. The Big 12 should take notice. "I'm huge on where we are," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said. "Philosophically, we share evenly in order to help everyone in this league have a quality environment for their student-athletes and ultimately rise all the ships. ... I think what we have really helps all the ships rise. I would have a very difficult time going through expansion and ultimately changing our revenue-sharing model. I would struggle with that."


Delany on the expansion process: "This is no more than a study, and it's a serious study. It's a thorough study, it's a time-consuming study, and it's one that has created a lot of public interest, and I get that."


Delany on the invitation/application process: "Schools would have to apply, and then they would have to receive eight votes [for admission]. But I would presume that nobody would apply without knowing they were welcome to apply. We’re not interested in embarrassing ourselves, or embarrassing anyone else. So the process of due diligence is a long one, but the process of formal conversations about it is a shorter one. The head’s up [other conference commissioners] would get would be before a public announcement, but probably not months before a public announcement.”


Delany on the potential for super conferences: "It's like saying everybody is going to go to a 12-team conference. We didn't. We stayed at 11. I don't necessarily see why if one group does something it thinks is in its best interests, somebody else would imitate it. Unless there were good reasons to imitate it. ... I would be shocked if we would get larger, that other people would automatically get larger."


There actually was some non-expansion talk Tuesday, as I got some injury updates from Big Ten coaches. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said backup quarterback Curt Phillips underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and could be available for the fall, which would be a big boost for the Badgers. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said starting safety Kim Royston should be ready for the season opener Sept. 2 after suffering a broken leg in April.


Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said preserving the annual Michigan-Ohio State game is paramount when discussing potential division alignments in the Big Ten. "For us, it’s always been at the end [of the regular season] and that’s always had a great buildup and excitement to that," he said, "so you would think that would be part of the conversation. But there’s a lot of factors in play."

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/22365/notes-from-day-2-of-the-big-ten-meetings

 

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@schadjoe UM AD Dave Brandon says "there"s not a person in the world" that knows who is joining Big Ten

 

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1. The Big Ten still wants to land a big fish

It would be tough to see the Big Ten being satisfied with an expansion that didn't include Notre Dame, Texas or Nebraska.

Several Big Ten athletic directors said that Notre Dame makes a lot of sense for the league both athletically and academically. One league source told ESPN.com that Nebraska would be a great fit for the league. Texas brings some challenges because of its location, but the Big Ten is well aware of UT's obvious strengths.

Ohio State AD Gene Smith, a former Notre Dame player and coach, made some interesting comments about how times have changed in South Bend and how players miss out on the chance to play for conference championships.

The Big Ten knows it can add some smaller-name programs, but the league isn't going to give up on the big boys.

2. AAU membership matters for the most part

Delany made it clear Tuesday that membership in the Association of American Universities remains an important criteria for most expansion candidates. All 11 current Big Ten schools are AAU members.

"AAU membership is an important part of who we are," he said.

Of course, the Big Ten's last expansion target, Notre Dame, isn't an AAU member, and it likely wouldn't preclude the league from pursuing the Fighting Irish again.

"The academics and the traditions and the values of those schools have to match the values of the Big Ten," Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said. "[AAU membership] is very important."

When asked if AAU membership is part of the identity of Big Ten schools, Alvarez replied, smiling, "It is right now."

In other words: it is until Notre Dame wants in.

The AAU comments could spell bad news for Connecticut, a non-AAU member.

3. Other than Texas, the South likely isn't a target area

Delany's comments about the nation's population shift to the Sun Belt region set off signals to some that the Big Ten would focus much of its expansion efforts on institutions in the South. That's probably not the case. Aside from Texas, few schools in the South fit what the Big Ten is looking for from an academic, athletic and marketing perspective. While it's foolish to totally write off candidates at this stage, I think Delany might have been misunderstood.

It's more likely the Big Ten will try to increase its presence in the northern half of the country, particularly in the Midwest and the East Coast. If the Big Ten can add more alumni in the North and become bigger in the biggest TV markets, it shouldn't be hurt too much by a shifting population.

Then again, if Texas is interested ...

4. The Big Ten is only concerned about its own timetable

Delany said there will be no vote at the June 6 meeting of Big Ten presidents and chancellors at the league headquarters in Park Ridge, Ill. And several league sources said the expansion process likely would go through the fall before reaching a resolution.

The Big Ten doesn't seem concerned about the start of fiscal years for expansion candidates or the penalties -- either financial or length of time -- that schools would face for leaving other conferences. Delany and his staff want everyone to know how thorough and diligent they're being with this expansion study, in an effort to avoid missteps made in the past by other leagues and to try to limit the damage on the back end.

"A lot of these things that we've studied have been, in my view, improperly studied [by other leagues]," Delany said. "Didn't understand the logistics, didn't understand the culture, didn't understand the academic fit, didn't really understand whether they were doing a merger or whether they were doing an expansion. Expansion is very difficult, and we're learning how to do it better, I think."

5. The end game won't last long

Delany knows he's holding most of the cards in this process, and if/when the Big Ten ultimately decides to go forward with expansion, the league will act quickly. Delany will inform other conference commissioners before beginning formal discussions with one of their institutions.

Ultimately, an institution must apply for admission to the Big Ten and receive at least eight votes from the league's presidents and chancellors to be admitted. But that process should be more or less a formality. The league presidents and chancellors will know who they want and what they want before taking a vote. We likely won't see a repeat of Penn State's admission process in 1989-90.

"I would presume that nobody would apply without knowing they were welcome to apply,” Delany said. “We’re not interested in embarrassing ourselves, or embarrassing anyone else. So the process of due diligence is a long one, but the process of formal conversations about it is a shorter one. The heads up [other conference commissioners] would get would be before a public announcement, but probably not months before a public announcement

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/12551/five-lessons-about-big-ten-expansion-study

 

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CFBRumorCentral Is the Big Ten willing to make special concessions to land Notre Dame and Texas? http://bit.ly/9R3yEM about 15 hours


That's the question posed on here last week. I would think yes, as both would be blockbusters. Say they play seven games instead of 8 in conference games. If a game were added to the schedule to make 13, then both schools could still play 6 OOC games, and find a way to have 7 home games, five away games, and one at a neutral site.
That and the tv money are going to be primary sticking points.

 

[Thegreatone]

Big 10 can do whatever they want but it isnt happening with those two schools. I think they go after 2 Big XII schools and 1 Big east personally.