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The Quad: Big Ten Commissioner Says No Change Is Imminent

“Our position is our position,” Delany said. “I don’t think that moves in the SEC or the A.C.C. or Pac-10 or Big 12, haven’t, to date, created an environment that changes our position. We’re as comfortable as we could be. We’re cautious and conservative.”

Delany pointed out how long the Big Ten had remained at 11 universities — before expanding to 12 this year with the addition of Nebraska — and said he did not expect any imminent change, maintaining his stance of “quality over quantity.”

“We want to play each other more, not less,” he said. “We’re working hard through a successful transition of Nebraska. The fact that others have different ideas about size and the number of schools that you have doesn’t affect us. We are where we want to be and have been. I don’t think that Syracuse and Pitt movement, if it turns to be fact, changes our view of ourselves.”

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  • Anonymous

    If the Big 12 dissolves, those teams have to go somewhere. Delany can talk tough, but if the other big time conferences go to 14-16 teams, the Big 10 will not sit around with 12.  Notre Dame has long since past their championship caliber days, but as long as they have their NBC contract, they won’t join, even though they SHOULD. Missouri would be ok, Kansas would be pretty cool for basketball.    As far as geography I think the Big Ten should stick to the midwest area. It is silly TCU is joining the Big East, and as nice as it would be for the Big Ten to have Texas, they really should be in the SEC.

  • IUfanPurduePhD

    Would love to see Missouri and Notre Dame join.

  • Sal Amadeo

    Rutgers make sense both academically and athletics.  plus they would bring a major metropolitan viewing market

  • wmrobinson717

    I’ve never been to NYC, but do many people sport Rutgers gear?

  • jaywiz

    I couldn’t agree more with Delaney – for once. quality over quantity. Thats also more revenue for the BTN and in turn IU. I think 12 is the best number. The BIG is at a point where we can pick and choose schools. Don’t get trigger happy. We aren’t the big east, they are desperate, we aren’t.

  • jaywiz

    No, not really. They are academically strong, athletically weak. NYC is a pro sports town. period. It’s a good move on paper, bad move realistically.

  • Anonymous

    To me:

    +Expansion should be as much, or more, about academics than athletics.  You don’t want to affiliate with a poor school.  The Big-10 and the Pac-10 are the two best academic conferences in the country, aside from the Ivy.  I’m sure they’ll look to maintain that, though there are only 59 AAU members.

    +No football FBS-level football, not getting in.  Only 120 FBS (former D1-A) teams.

    +Sports is marketing for the university as a whole.  Duke, for example, has seperated itself in the past 20 years from other good schools like Davidson and Emory thanks to the higher profile basketball has given it.

    +Media markets and population centers must be a consideration.

    Seems to me that the Big10 should expand east or south as the midwest in general is decreasing in population (and likely wealth). 

    I think Maryland and Rutgers make sense (replace Rutgers with Virginia i@IUfanPurduePhD:disqus 

  • HoosierDavey

    Can’t see Maryland or Virginia leaving the ACC, especially since it is
    now loading up like it is.  As long as ND and Texas basically have their
    own networks for football, they won’t be going anywhere new.  Rutgers
    is a very un-sexy pick for most people, academic goodness or not.  I
    think the BI0 is wise to be picky and go big only.  Unless you can get
    ND to do the impossible or get an Oklahoma or someone
    like that, I’d stand pat.

  • JerryCT

    If a conference were able to land BOTH ND and UT they would be in the driver’s seat in college football in terms of money. Delaney sounds too smug to me . While I think the B10 can wait awhile to see how things transpire I would be talking to OK and ND, as a way to lure UT , and then OK & UT ASAP if they want to join. ND is too arrogant to act until they are forced to so the last 2 spots to get 16 may need to wait.

  • Bleeding Crimson

    Alex,
    How many conferences have their own network: i.e. Big Ten Network.  Also it would be nice to know how the monies are divided between the schools from the network?  One would assume evenly but as they advance in the tourney I would assume they get more.  Who pays who for the games, B1G Conf to the network or visversa?  This to me is the deciding factor as to whom Delany will or not add.  Just curious if you can enlighten us?

  • IUeconAlum

    I like “quality over quantity.” None of those teams are B1G teams. I don’t care what market they bring or how good their football team is. Just because everyone else is trying to make a buck doesn’t mean our conference should have the history and tradition watered down. All the B1G schools make more than enough money. Lets not get greedy and stay focused on what the B1G conference stands for.

  • HoosierDavey

    To the ACC…it was announced today

  • Anonymous

    We don’t have a dream of landing OK or TX. They are too geographically removed. They are going to the PAC 12 or SEC. Probably the former.

  • http://profiles.google.com/adadamso Andy Adamson

    NJ doesn’t even have their own market. North gets NYC, South gets Philly. Rutgers gets no play in either market. This move would make no sense.

  • http://profiles.google.com/adadamso Andy Adamson

    While I agree with Delany in principle, he has to look at the big picture. If the Big 10 doesn’t get these teams from the dissolving big conferences, one of the other BCS conferences will. It doesn’t seem necessary now, but in a few months (or maybe even weeks) when all hell breaks loose with realignment, the Big 10 could lose out big time if it doesn’t pounce on the floaters. 

    Realistically, I think adding Mizzou and Kansas would be smart moves both geographically and athletically. MU is solid in both football and basketball, while KU’s excellence in hoops far outweighs their shortcomings on the gridiron.

  • Anonymous

    “None of those teams are B1G teams?”  What is a BIG 10 team?  The football is terrible and has been for a number of years.  OSU would play a BIG 10 schedule with one out of conference game against good competition (usually lose) and fill their remaining schedule with Ivy Tech and Art Instruction School.  They lose 1 or perhaps go undefeated and are invited to the championship game where the consistently embarrassed the BIG 10 as well as themselves.   
    BIG 10 Basketball is average at best.  Apparently you have been watching way too much BIG 10 network TV to believe they are special. They are not.  I am an IU fan, but a realistic one.

  • Anonymous

    I would like to see the Big 10 add Kansas and Louisville.  Louisville would be a great fit.

  • IUeconAlum

    You sir are not an IU fan. You sound like a fan of one of those schools that is being left out to dry. The B1G is special.

  • IUeconAlum

    Louisville? You must be a cards fan. They are definitely not a representable B1G school. They are actually one of the worst academically of those getting screwed by their conference. I earned a masters degree there, I lived there, and we both know Louisville is nothing like any of the B1G schools.

  • IUeconAlum

    The B1G is not losing out on anything. They have 12 solids teams, 10 of which have been around nearly 100 years.

  • Anonymous

    I most certainly am an IU fan (and grad). However, the Big 10 is not special, saying it does not make it true.

  • Anonymous

    The reason Maryland or Virginia would leave is that the ACC may disappear.  The BigTen and SEC dwarf the ACC in revenue and schools like Clemson might jump to the SEC.  I think there’s a reason the conference looked hard at Maryland last time. 

    Personally, I’d like for the conference lay claim to having all the elite public universities in the country outside of California by picking up Virginia.

  • Anonymous

    I should have added:  These are all universities first and foremost, not sports franchises.  Academics and research funding will like be the biggest factor. 

  • Anonymous

    I was a Cards fan this past Saturday.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t think it would make sense for the Big 10 to take both Missouri and Kansas because they are redundant in terms of major markets they bring. Missouri is the better choice because they bring both the St. Louis and the Kansas City markets, whereas Kansas only really brings Kansas City.

  • Anonymous

    Your point about which direction to expand is the key. All census info shows that population has shifted from the midwest to the Sun Belt, so getting more eyes on you in the South is a key when it comes to recruiting and expanding your TV revenue.

    To that point, I think the Big 10 should direct their focus on whether there is an opportunity to expand southward. One school I would quietly contact would be Vanderbilt. It may be a longshot to get them to leave the SEC, but I believe that they are the only school that might consider it because of their focus on academics and the fact that they are located in the northern reaches of the conference. That puts them reasonably close to the current Big 10 footprint. Add that to the fact that they have always been a bit of an odd fit with many of the other SEC schools because they are private and academically strong. Think of them as Northwestern South. They would bring the Nashville market, which would be a great addition, and they don’t put too much strain on anyone’s travel budget.

  • So_Cal_Hoosier

    Is there anything to suggest that Maryland or Virginia is even looking at leaving the ACC? Both of those teams have been in the conference since its creation in 1953. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that the ACC was alive and well, especially after adding both Pitt and Syracuse today (both of those add pretty big revenue markets).

  • So_Cal_Hoosier

    I personally would be a lot more excited to add Kansas basketball to the schedule over Missouri football. But I do see that you have a point about the markets that they would bring. Do you know one has an edge over the other academically?

  • http://www.insidethehall.com/ Alex Bozich

    Louisville is not a member of the American Association of Universities. That makes it extremely unlikely they’d ever be considered.

  • http://www.insidethehall.com/ Alex Bozich

    At this point, only the Big Ten and Texas have their own networks. I can’t speak to specifics on how the money is divided, but this should give you a pretty nice idea of how lucrative the Big Ten Network is: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/illini/article_d924c1e4-ffb5-5889-83e9-3dd0c31ed301.html

  • So_Cal_Hoosier

    You’re right in the sense that Big 10 football may not be playing at the elite level that the SEC is, but we easily can match the quality of other conferences such as the ACC, Big East, and PAC-12 and possibly the Big-12. Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, (now arguably Nebraska too) and Ohio State are consistently top 25 teams in football and are considered elite programs. Michigan State, and Iowa really aren’t that far behind them either.

    But B1G basketball is average at best? That’s where you argument turns into a joke sir. 

  • Hoosiers1111

    Delany is 100% right.  From the money standpoint (which is really what drives everything), does it really add that much to add a Missouri and Rutgers for example?  In the article Alex linked in the comments, it indicated that Illinois received $22m in payout last year, primarily from TV revenue.  If everyone received the same amount (not sure if that’s true or not, but I know it is at least pretty close to even), then Rutgers and Missouri would have to bring in an additional $44m per year in order for the payouts to be the same as the prior year.  If they were to only bring in another $30m then the payouts to each team would actually be less than the prior year.

    There is really no need to expand beyond 12 unless they want to.  They have enough to have a football title game and they have 12 quality academic and athletic institutions.  It doesn’t matter if all the other conferences increase to 16 apiece.  Just having 16 teams doesn’t ensure more money.

  • Anonymous

    Kentucky? Kansas? proves football isn’t god?  Missouri seems like a nice fit… I get the idea the geography of it all has almost zero significance. 

    I’m in on Kentucky and Missouri… Iowa State??? Kansas???

  • Anonymous

    I’m guessing the SEC will probably try and steal football schools from the ACC.  The lost revenue would make staying in the ACC signficantly less appealing.

  • HoosierDadE

    Just my two cents (or 1 cent)…if you are thinking about Kansas, you will have to add K State also…same w/ Texas, you will have to take Tech…

    The board of regents in these states are strict and will always have to take both schools.  Thus if you are thinking Kansas and Notre Dame, think of another school because it will be Kansas and Notre Dame and K State…

    just my thoughts

  • Anonymous

    I like Kansas for basketball as well, but Football is the real driver (money maker) in these decisions.  You won’t see Kansas in the B1G.

  • Anonymous

    Big East looks like it’s done for and so is the Big 12.  Our best choices from the Big East (Pitt and Rutgers) are likely both ACC bound, so for further expansion we’ll have to look elsewhere.  I’d say Missouri and Notre Dame if we were just bringing in two more teams.  Of course, Notre Dame could just as easily continue to stay independent, so I don’t know who my second choice would be.

  • Jeff24son

    rutgers market grows each and every year. their weakness was always their basketball program but the addition of mike rice and his recent recruiting success for them has added a large increase in their bball fan base. 

  • Anonymous

    I don’t see anyone bolting the ACC.

  • Anonymous

    Not to mention the fact that it doesn’t really broaden the market, as much of Louisville is already an IU market.  

  • Anonymous

    I think Iowa St. is the same argument as Louisville—the Big 10 is already in that market and wouldn’t be covering any new ground.

    Missouri, Kansas, Kansas St. and Rutgers seem the most logical but none of those really trips my trigger.

    It’s a year or two past what would make it interesting, but how ironic would it be to add Texas Tech?

  • Anonymous

    Ironic yes seems like a deep longshot… Id have to think Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky get into some larger markets…

  • HoosierDavey

    With all the ACC schools agreeing to a $20 million penalty for leaving, I don’t see any ACC school making a beeline for the SEC or the B10.  It would essentially cost them an entire year of TV revenue.

  • HoosierDavey

    Is West Virginia an AAU school?  They might have more interest in the
    SEC, but that may be another possibility for the B10 if they are AAU

  • B-Town 88

    Vandy makes sense.  The academics of several of the SEC schools has to bother them (Florida is probably bother also, but they are too much aligned with the other football schools in the SEC to leave).  ND has to see the writing on the wall that their days as an independant are numbered and they will need a better affiliation for basketball if the big east crumbles.  A Vandy and ND addition would fit nicely.

  • BillnVA

    No, WVU is not in.  Here is the link with the AAU schools.

    http://www.aau.edu/about/article.aspx?id=5474

    Realistically, if you limit the search to schools just on this list, you are left with these potential fits - 
    Missouri
    Kansas
    Iowa State
    Rutgers

    I leave Texas off the list because they’ll do their own thing, and it won’t be the B10 (which I’m fine with).

    If I had to pick 2, I would grab Kansas and Rutgers.  But I’m fine with staying at 12.

  • Anonymous

    I think they will eventually.  The ACC is becoming a second-tier conference:

    Average BigTen school’s revenue dwarfs that of average ACC school:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/02/24/acc-football-not-cash-cow-like-sec-and-big-ten/

    The ACC buyout is “chump change” for SEC,BigTen:  http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-09-18/acc-begins-seismic-shift-sec-and-big-ten-will-finish-it

    I don’t think these are things that will impact schools in the next couple of years…but over a decade or two?

  • harry hoosier

    Mizzou is an AAU member… do not know about Kansas though.  Mizzou’s journalism school is one of the best.

  • IUfanPurduePhD

    “deep longshot” … love it.

  • 888

    Just tell him to wait till next year when IU and Michigan will be loaded. MSU and OSU are contenders nationaly every year. How average will the conference be then. Michigan and IU are here to stay. Michigan has a great shot at getting McGary.Look out if they do could ruin alot of our dreams of titles.

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