Finally, someone else is on board with the Big Ten stepping up to the plate, adding a 12th team and a championship game. Personally, I think the ‘co-champion’ scenario that we have had many of the past 10 years is ridiculous and it is time we step up to the plate like the SEC and Big 12 and have a true conference champion (note: Penn State was ‘co-champions’ with Ohio State in 2005 & 2008, even though we beat them head to head both years).
Now, one can argue that a championship game may decrease our chances of getting two teams into the BCS or may knock someone out of a BCS national championship game if an upset occurs in the game, but in order to increase our overall respect nationwide this is the right move. Can you imagine the excitement and draw for a conference championship in a city like Chicago, I live in Atlanta and trust me, this is something you will want to attend.
Paterno has been for a playoff, the addition of a 12th team and a conference championship game for years, but now it looks like another patriarch within the conference is too, Barry Alvarez.
Let’s hope that the university presidents, athletic directors and conference commissioner start listening to these two men who really know what is best for the conference when it comes to football (hey, maybe we will even get Mr. Vest on-board soon).
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From the universities perspective, the most important benefit of adding a 12th team is the revenue from a championship game. For the fans, it’s about having a typical college football schedule by adding a bye week and having the regular season end at the beginning of December rather than the middle of November. Even the thought of a 12th team has to get the brain cells pumping over who they would extend an invitation to. The cleanest addition would be Notre Dame because they don’t have a conference affiliation for football. However, I don’t see the Big 10 making that offer again to have it denied a second time. The second option is to go conference raiding. The most likely victim are the Big East, ACC, and Big 12. Nothing against the CUSA or MAC, but none of those schools add a notable addition. The Big East has several schools that fit in well regionally (Pitt, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Rutgers). The issue with any Big East school is that they’ve been through this before with the ACC. Many of these schools feel so much pride for sticking together to rebuild the conference, not to mention the hefty fee for leaving that was imposed post the BC, VA Tech, and Miami departure that I don’t see a Big East school moving to the Big 10. The ACC has 2 schools that would make sense academically and regionally (BC and Maryland). BC just went through the conference switch and would not be interested in going through that again, which leaves Maryland. Traditionalists for the Terps would hate to see them leave the ACC because of the basketball rivalries. But the Terps BBall rivalries mainly include Duke. With the exception of their run at the start of the century, MD has not been back on the basketball map of significance for some time. Migrating to the Big 10 would put Maryland basketball at the top of the Big 10 in their off years. For the Big 10, this would open up the MD, VA, and DC areas to recruiting. Bad for PSU, since they’ve tapped this market for years, but good for the rest of the conference. Not to mention adding a TV market like DC to the Big Ten. The long shot here is to go Midwest and raid the Big 12. The only candidate there is a team like Missouri. But they aren’t going to add a huge TV market like the Terps would. Time will tell, and my inclination is that the Big Ten will not add a 12th team this year. I hope I’m wrong, but the conference has always had the stance of not changing what isn’t broken. Hopefully, Alvarez and Paterno can sway them to think otherwise.
Thanks for the post ‘Mizpahking’ and like the outside the box thinking with Maryland, but I just don’t see it happening.
At the end of the day, it all about money, when you take into account TV contracts, bowl alliances and two Big Ten teams getting into the BCS (which has happened 9 of the past 12 years), each of the 11 schools today gets $22.6 million annually. So adding a 12th team, you have to generate at least another $22.6 million, just to ‘break even’. So the conference championship game would make about $14 million (which is what the SEC game rings up; hopefully not the $5 million that the ACC game brings in). So now you need another $8.6 million ($22.6M minus $14M). Will Missouri, Iowa St, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse or Cincy bring in that kind of contribution, I just don’t think so.
If the Big Ten is going to add a 12th team, it is going to take a big splash type team…..and since I really hope they don’t ask Notre Dame again, who would that be?????