The Big 10 isn’t expected to announce its plans for world domination until December at the earliest. So it’s all conjecture for now. As UC athletic director Mike Thomas put it Monday, “A ripple or a tidal wave?’’ The Big 10 has 11 teams. It could add one team, to make it conference championship-friendly. It could add three teams. It could add five. If it adds five, hold onto your aspirations, UC.
“An unnerving time,’’ Thomas said.
Worst-case scenario: The Big 10 decides it wants to go to 16 teams. For competitive and TV-market reasons (not necessarily in that order), it robs the Big East of Syracuse, Rutgers and Pitt, at which point the Big East ceases to exist.
Other large conferences such as the ACC, SEC and Pac-10 do the same. “I won’t just sit back and ignore what’s going on around me,’’ SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. What that means is, if the Big 10 grows into the Ginormous 10-plus-6, the SEC will do likewise. Don’t expect the Big Others to spectate. It’d be every school for itself.
Where would UC land? Maybe not softly.
“The domino effect could be significant,’’ Thomas said. “When the dust settles, who are those schools that have to reinvent themselves? We’re not holding the cards right now.’’ He wasn’t speaking about UC specifically. But he could have been. Imagine the Bearcats, spending all that money to get their football program up to BCS snuff, only to have the rug yanked.
No offense. But UC isn’t tossing money at football so it can resume the home-and-homes with Memphis and East Carolina.
You can forget about UC ever joining a Big 10 that includes Ohio State. The Buckeyes won’t even play the Bearcats home and home, in football or basketball. The Bucks own the state, at least all but a small corner of it. Why would they share? There is no upside for OSU, as the talking heads would say.
UC won’t be in any reconfigured Big 10. It doesn’t have geography on its side for a move to the SEC. The ACC? Maybe. Beyond that, what?
It should be noted that the last time the Big East re-tooled, it included UC. But this is different. The notion of four, 16-team superconferences is not some vague idea. It’s a decent possibility, fueled by TV alliances and the naked need of the big schools for more power.
The Big 10 already has its own network. The Big 10 network gives each of its member schools $22 million a year. In the not too distant future, BTN could be in the basic cable package of more than one third of the nation’s homes.
The SEC has a similar monster deal with CBS and ESPN. What would the Big Ten Network’s haul be if it added the New York and Pittsburgh markets? How would the SEC do if it raided the Big 12 for Texas and/or Oklahoma?
Where does that leave Cincinnati? Playing at TCU on a Thursday night?
“It’s about the dollars (and) expanding your footprint,’’ said Thomas. The Ginormous 10-plus-6’s print would be historic. Or prehistoric. Any school leaving the Big East now would owe the conference $5 million and be obligated to stay in the league for 27 months. Theoretically, that would give the uninvited leftover schools time to regroup. Or to plot their own exit strategies.
“Interesting times, for sure,’’ Thomas said. Not necessarily in a good way.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100426/COL03/304260072/1062/SPT/Doc++UC+watches++waits+for+Big+Ten
“An unnerving time,’’ Thomas said.
Worst-case scenario: The Big 10 decides it wants to go to 16 teams. For competitive and TV-market reasons (not necessarily in that order), it robs the Big East of Syracuse, Rutgers and Pitt, at which point the Big East ceases to exist.
Other large conferences such as the ACC, SEC and Pac-10 do the same. “I won’t just sit back and ignore what’s going on around me,’’ SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. What that means is, if the Big 10 grows into the Ginormous 10-plus-6, the SEC will do likewise. Don’t expect the Big Others to spectate. It’d be every school for itself.
Where would UC land? Maybe not softly.
“The domino effect could be significant,’’ Thomas said. “When the dust settles, who are those schools that have to reinvent themselves? We’re not holding the cards right now.’’ He wasn’t speaking about UC specifically. But he could have been. Imagine the Bearcats, spending all that money to get their football program up to BCS snuff, only to have the rug yanked.
No offense. But UC isn’t tossing money at football so it can resume the home-and-homes with Memphis and East Carolina.
You can forget about UC ever joining a Big 10 that includes Ohio State. The Buckeyes won’t even play the Bearcats home and home, in football or basketball. The Bucks own the state, at least all but a small corner of it. Why would they share? There is no upside for OSU, as the talking heads would say.
UC won’t be in any reconfigured Big 10. It doesn’t have geography on its side for a move to the SEC. The ACC? Maybe. Beyond that, what?
It should be noted that the last time the Big East re-tooled, it included UC. But this is different. The notion of four, 16-team superconferences is not some vague idea. It’s a decent possibility, fueled by TV alliances and the naked need of the big schools for more power.
The Big 10 already has its own network. The Big 10 network gives each of its member schools $22 million a year. In the not too distant future, BTN could be in the basic cable package of more than one third of the nation’s homes.
The SEC has a similar monster deal with CBS and ESPN. What would the Big Ten Network’s haul be if it added the New York and Pittsburgh markets? How would the SEC do if it raided the Big 12 for Texas and/or Oklahoma?
Where does that leave Cincinnati? Playing at TCU on a Thursday night?
“It’s about the dollars (and) expanding your footprint,’’ said Thomas. The Ginormous 10-plus-6’s print would be historic. Or prehistoric. Any school leaving the Big East now would owe the conference $5 million and be obligated to stay in the league for 27 months. Theoretically, that would give the uninvited leftover schools time to regroup. Or to plot their own exit strategies.
“Interesting times, for sure,’’ Thomas said. Not necessarily in a good way.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100426/COL03/304260072/1062/SPT/Doc++UC+watches++waits+for+Big+Ten
