Let's be clear about this announcement: It is 100% about the big bucks they'll be getting from this deal. UCLA athletics has been swimming in debt. This is a life-saver for their programs.
B1G about to have a "surprise" expansion.
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The teams that are not in those conferences will now be the ones getting paid to play the Big 10 and SEC schools. Unless there is an agreement that you only play "non conference" games against SEC schools as a Big 10 member. Otherwise you are still scheduling games against "lesser" schools from "lesser" conferences. I still see USC and UCLA playing Pac-12 and Mountain West schools. Yes, they will make more money to offset much more travel in the Big 10 but fans will not want to travel to the midwest and mideast all year long. Players families will want games that are close. Coaches will not want to travel an extra day every other week to go to Rutgers, etc.
I know this is strictly about money, reputation, and the market USC and UCLA represent but between the two of them they have won exactly one PAC championship the last 11 years. Utah, Oregon, and Washington are probably perdy bitter about this development, and rightfully so.
It all depends on how the Powers-that-Be set it up.
If this SEC-B1G alliance materializes, I could see the three games outside of your division would be:
1 game against anybody of the schools choosing;
1 game against an SEC opponent; and
1 game against a cross-over B1G East opponent.
Given that scenario, most schools are going to play a patsy versus scheduling a Utah or a Colorado or a Florida State, yadda, yadda, yadda.
In consideration of schools like Stanford and Washington (and the AZ schools) are they left holding the bag or is this a case on knowing looks being cast their way, like, ok guys you on board? I would think they'd be a valuable asset to whatever conference they'd be a part of.
For myself I think adding the LA schools is rad and gnarly.
For myself I think adding the LA schools is rad and gnarly.
i listen to some sports stations outa nashville. there's one of the guys on it saying that he's thinking that notre dame will be declaring a move to the big10 within a couple weeks - regardless of the current contracts that they have since it's been shown that no contract is fully binding
With the addition of the LA schools, the Big Ten now has a stronghold in each of the nation's Top Four TV markets. For a sports league, that's pretty damn impressive.
I don't think the musical chairs has stopped....yet. But it's getting pretty damn close to some programs being left out.
I think Stanford would be an excellent addition if Notre Dame joins (and trust me, its going to become increasingly hard financially for the Irish to play their independent game.) Ultimately, I could see both the SEC and the B1G adding two more each and expand to 18 teams....and maaaaaaaybe 20 -- but that's it. So however you wanna slice and dice it, there are going to be some decent CFB programs who are going to be left out in the tier-two cold.
In my humble opinion, the recent moves by the SEC and the B1G means the whole "Power 5" Conferences dynamic we've grown accustomed to has radically shifted overnight.
With this move, there are now two superconferences --- every everybody else.
Nothing any of the other conferences can do is going to give them the clout that the Big Two have. So any school who is not already in one of these two conference is going to be hoping and praying they can still join one of them or their programs will soon be relegated to second tier status.
Sorry to continue this non-stop posting but this stuff is fascinating to me. I think the SEC and B1G will use its clout to push for even bigger TV deals for themselves by creating their own Big Dawg alliance and declaring their own national championship playoff and inter-conference bowl games.
If this happens -- and I'm convinced it will -- there will be a tremendous push by all the other schools in all the other conferences to be a part of this new Big Boy CFB League by being invited to either the SEC or the B1G.
So depending on whether these two superconferences each expand by two or more....here's my off-the-cuff reaction to which programs have the best chances of getting invites:
The "Sure Thing" List: Notre Dame (B1G) and Clemson (SEC)
The "Good Shot" List: Stanford (B1G) and Florida State (SEC)
The "Might still have a Shot" List: North Carolina, Virginia, Texas Tech, Cal
The "Longshot Possibility" List: Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona St., Virginia Tech, Miami, Iowa State, Pitt
If this happens -- and I'm convinced it will -- there will be a tremendous push by all the other schools in all the other conferences to be a part of this new Big Boy CFB League by being invited to either the SEC or the B1G.
So depending on whether these two superconferences each expand by two or more....here's my off-the-cuff reaction to which programs have the best chances of getting invites:
The "Sure Thing" List: Notre Dame (B1G) and Clemson (SEC)
The "Good Shot" List: Stanford (B1G) and Florida State (SEC)
The "Might still have a Shot" List: North Carolina, Virginia, Texas Tech, Cal
The "Longshot Possibility" List: Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona St., Virginia Tech, Miami, Iowa State, Pitt
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No apology needed Doc.. It's why we have this board - for us older (mind you I said "older" and not "old".. there's a difference 
) to rant on about the given subject of this thread. I'm bouncing around ideas as well as for what more dominoes may fall. Oregon is a -get- for some conference and given that physical location is now out the window, who knows where they may end up.
) to rant on about the given subject of this thread. I'm bouncing around ideas as well as for what more dominoes may fall. Oregon is a -get- for some conference and given that physical location is now out the window, who knows where they may end up.
I'll say it like this. Some of the original members of the Big 10 have got to be feeling like they hit the lottery these days. Did you ever think you would see the day when Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, and Northwestern would be with the "in" crowd of college football and traditional (and some relatively new) powers like Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Miami would be looking for a soft landing? Strange days indeed.
Trev says more change is coming and that it will be uncomfortable.
'Additional change is coming': Nebraska A.D. says realignment only part of work ahead
'Additional change is coming': Nebraska A.D. says realignment only part of work ahead
Let's be clear.......this is a BIG deal. Take the pun if you want it........it plays either way.
I frequent a UCF board and one of the posters there made some breathless comment about those Pac 12 teams joining the Big XII and got a response something along the lines of: does it even matter anymore? This summer's super confererence reallignment means that UCF is still gonna be chasing an invite to primetime.
The thing i thought was Trev's most interesting quote in the article you linked was when he said that expanding the conference yet again to add the two LA universities represents "more of a beginning than an end."
