Delaney Adding Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers

[Rick Pigeons]

With each passing year this looks worse and worse. Somebody please tell me what these three schools add to our brand. Rutgers is an absolute laughing stock in terms of revenue generating sports programs, has apparently little in terms of resources and commitment and zero history. Maryland is the "southern" school which fits the old (I'm borrowing from the Electric Company or Sesame Street show) "one of these things is not like the other" mantra. And Nebraska. Mediocre academics, lost AAU status and the people who remember their relevancy as a national brand in football are dying off. They are Minnesota football with a flat campus and mediocre academics.

I know I'm venting but it's ridiculous. I have two Big Ten degrees (Iowa and Michigan), have a kid graduating from UW- Madison, a kid at Iowa and another kid down to Minnesota and UW and I love this conference. But man it hit me talking to my Badger son yesterday about their football schedule. This conference has two super powers, 3 or 4 decent teams and a bunch of horrid teams. So glad we diluted the conference even more with schools with middling academics and sports.

Rick ain't happy.

 

[markfromj]

They add money.

 

[Kabby]

They add money.

At least Nebraska is in B10 territory. The other 2 95% of the conference could care less about. Add that to the fact they are out on the far reaches with nothing in common with the rest of the conference. Kind of like West Virginia in the B12. What a joke.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Taking Nebraska over Missouri and Rutgers over anyone were monumental mistakes.

 

[CLONE1]

With each passing year this looks worse and worse. Somebody please tell me what these three schools add to our brand. Rutgers is an absolute laughing stock in terms of revenue generating sports programs, has apparently little in terms of resources and commitment and zero history. Maryland is the "southern" school which fits the old (I'm borrowing from the Electric Company or Sesame Street show) "one of these things is not like the other" mantra. And Nebraska. Mediocre academics, lost AAU status and the people who remember their relevancy as a national brand in football are dying off. They are Minnesota football with a flat campus and mediocre academics.

I know I'm venting but it's ridiculous. I have two Big Ten degrees (Iowa and Michigan), have a kid graduating from UW- Madison, a kid at Iowa and another kid down to Minnesota and UW and I love this conference. But man it hit me talking to my Badger son yesterday about their football schedule. This conference has two super powers, 3 or 4 decent teams and a bunch of horrid teams. So glad we diluted the conference even more with schools with middling academics and sports.

Rick ain't happy.

Agree but it's keeping a BIG team in the playoff every year given how easy the schedule is for the top team or two. I would hate to be an Iowa fan and have to watch these home games, even if they are easy wins.

 

[iclone]

I assumed that they added Nebraska so that BTN could refer to Tom Osborne as a Big 10 Legend and air old Husker games from the 70's, 80's, and 90's as Big 10 Classics.

 

[icwesthawk]

At least MD has basketball

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

Neb needs to be back playing the Iowa State's of the world. They've proven they can't compete with the Iowa's of the world.

 

[dekhawk]

IMHO - Maryland and Rutgers added major population areas to the BIG footprint. This added huge, rich recruiting bases, and TV $et$.. Yes cable TV is changing, but the BIG 10 network brings in huge $$$$. The SEC folks down here (and the other power 5 conferences) are very jealous of the BIG network and the $$ it brings in. Maryland and Rutgers are strong academic institutions

I have no problem with letting Nebraska "go back to where you from" - the soon to be gone Big 12.

 

[spiderland]

You have to admit, though, adding Nebby has definitely elevated the conference's stature in Ladies' Bowling...

 

[BigDelHawk]

At least MD has basketball

MD is upgrading their facilities, plus deep recruiting grounds. They are not going to be a pooch for long! What are they playing, their fifth string QB right now?

 

[Cougar63]

You have to admit, though, adding Nebby has definitely elevated the conference's stature in Ladies' Bowling...

Penn St already corners the market on Women's Volleyball, so I think you're right.

 

[High4illini]

Iowa clearly wasn't pulling its weight in CFB.

 

[bhawk24bob]

It was too much, too soon. I'm sure it will take decades to come out, but I'd be willing to bet that all 4 major conferences were expecting the B12 to be gone by now

 

[theIowaHawk]

Nebraska is a great fit in everything but academics.

Mizzou would have been a good fit as well.

 

[Slappy Pappy]

Nebraska is a great fit in everything but academics.

Mizzou would have been a good fit as well.

Nebraska was a better fit in the B12 with ISU and the Kansas teams. Watch, Bowlsby and Tejas will try to pull them back to replace Oklahoma when they leave at the end of the current grants of rights in 5-6 years.

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

Nebraska was a better fit in the B12 with ISU and the Kansas teams. Watch, Bowlsby and Tejas will try to pull them back to replace Oklahoma when they leave at the end of the current grants of rights in 5-6 years.

They should go back. Tail between their legs and all.

 

[GPRHAWK]

Taking Nebraska over Missouri and Rutgers over anyone were monumental mistakes.

University of Missouri is a mess right now and they're football program is even worse than Nebraska's right now. They bring in the KC and St. Louis tv markets but they offer little else.

 

[hknation]

They add money.

Primarily:
* Medical teaching hospitals, like the rest of the B1G
* Like other B1G schools, they bring in millions of $$$ in research grants, a life-blood for the B1G
Secondly:
* TV's for sports on B1G network equates to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
* expanded recruiting footprint

It is not all about football.

 

[RIGHTWINGHAWK]

B1G should have added Mizzou and Kansas when they acquired the Cornhuskers

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

B1G should have added Mizzou and Kansas when they acquired the Cornhuskers

Mizzu & Colorado State. Skip right over the crappy state of Neb.

 

[VodkaSam]

They should go back. Tail between their legs and all.

Yeah, definitely not worthy of being a Legend, or is it Leader?....I forget which one we were in.

 

[Mohawkeye]

University of Missouri is a mess right now and they're football program is even worse than Nebraska's right now. They bring in the KC and St. Louis tv markets but they offer little else.

And what does Nebraska offer? Missouri football is down but overall has been stronger than Nebraska since the realignments. Missouri provides TVs and recruits. Nebraska? Nothing but ancient history.

 

[IAHWKGUY]

Neb needs to be back playing the Iowa State's of the world. They've proven they can't compete with the Iowa's of the world.

So you are unhappy that Iowa has had success against Nebby?

Would you be happier if Nebby beat us more frequently?

 

[Tajbay]

Rutgers is an absolute laughing stock in terms of revenue generating sports programs, has apparently little in terms of resources and commitment and zero history.

 

[ketelmeister]

Nebraska lost their recruiting base in Texas when the left the Big 12, Mizzou lost their biggest rivals, KU and KSU, plus the Big 12 hoop tourney in KC. Even Colorado is hurting. Changing conferences is not always the answer.

 

[Tajbay]

Rick, I agree with much of your post but I take umbrage with "zero history". Rutgers is the birthplace of college football and, as a program, they are 37th in total victories. With the exception of the Terry Shea experiment in the late 1990's, Rutgers has been more than respectable. And hoops? What do you have against the 2004 NIT runner-ups? Save the Ryan Center on the campus of Rhode Island, you will not find a better atmosphere for college basketball than the RAC. 8K screaming Scarlet Knight fans making the same noise as a 757.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Nebraska lost their recruiting base in Texas when the left the Big 12, Mizzou lost their biggest rivals, KU and KSU, plus the Big 12 hoop tourney in KC. Even Colorado is hurting. Changing conferences is not always the answer.

I don't get all these references to "losing fertile recruiting grounds in Texas" for either Nebraska or Oklahoma. When both these teams were powers back in the Big 8 they had no conference presence in Texas, yet were able to thrive. Truth is when Nebraska football was at its best they were getting top recruits from New Jersey. You know who has a presence in Jersey? The Big Ten.

The bottom line is that people just say this stuff because it is an easy crutch. The problem with Nebraska is they made some bad coaching hires, plain and simple. They've still pulled in good recruiting classes by the "star" ratings because they are Nebraska and do have history. The issue is the coaches aren't good at developing the players they bring in and then are poor at using them on gamedays (X's & O's).

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

So you are unhappy that Iowa has had success against Nebby?

Would you be happier if Nebby beat us more frequently?

What in the hell does this post mean? Where did it come from?

 

[IAHWKGUY]

What in the hell does this post mean? Where did it come from?

Sorry, didn’t mean to offend, It’s not just you Rocky, but I hear that same argument used repeatedly as to a reason Nebby doesn’t belong in the BIG and we should have never brought them over. That since Iowa has had success against them, as evidence they aren’t what they used to be.

So my question in response, is would you be happier with Delaney’s decision to bring them over, if they were dominating the BIG West including Iowa? It just seems like a weird reason to be disappointed in their addition.

For me personally it’s been a positive reason. This series has been fun to watch and the games have mostly been competitive and the series is what 3-3 since they joined the BIG (granted we should have never lost in 2014 and won the last 4 straight).

 

[Iowa Hog]

With each passing year this looks worse and worse. Somebody please tell me what these three schools add to our brand. Rutgers is an absolute laughing stock in terms of revenue generating sports programs, has apparently little in terms of resources and commitment and zero history. Maryland is the "southern" school which fits the old (I'm borrowing from the Electric Company or Sesame Street show) "one of these things is not like the other" mantra. And Nebraska. Mediocre academics, lost AAU status and the people who remember their relevancy as a national brand in football are dying off. They are Minnesota football with a flat campus and mediocre academics.

I know I'm venting but it's ridiculous. I have two Big Ten degrees (Iowa and Michigan), have a kid graduating from UW- Madison, a kid at Iowa and another kid down to Minnesota and UW and I love this conference. But man it hit me talking to my Badger son yesterday about their football schedule. This conference has two super powers, 3 or 4 decent teams and a bunch of horrid teams. So glad we diluted the conference even more with schools with middling academics and sports.

Rick ain't happy.

Delaney basically has schedule Iowa future football schedules away from the old Big Ten , rarely do we play Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. We are
in a league with the new teams added to the conference from the East Division. This scheduling makes adding these teams worse than it should be.

 

[millhawk]

Nebraska is a great fit in everything but academics.

Mizzou would have been a good fit as well.

After all that garbage that went on in Mizzou a few years ago. The sec can have them.

 

[mpfeiler]

TV market money!

 

[ichawk24]

 

[Rick Pigeons]

Tv market money.....I would speculate that Delaney than overreached because 1. The new society doesn't watch sports on tv and 2) they ain't watching Rutgers football.

RU was a laughable mistake. It has weakened the brand. Nebraska better get their shitt together.

 

[El Simbolo]

Agree but it's keeping a BIG team in the playoff every year given how easy the schedule is for the top team or two. I would hate to be an Iowa fan and have to watch these home games, even if they are easy wins.

At least we don’t have to pay to watch KU come “play football” in our stadium every other year

 

[And1Hawk]

Missouri is laughable as an addition. After that deal that went down there are reports that their enrollment has plummeted and they are 'renting out' dorms now. Not to mention their football program is in the tank again as it was before Pinkel and basketball had to hire a cheater to pull it out of the abyss. No thanks.

 

[Hawkeye3087]

The Big 10 is just dumping money in Iowa City right now. Could it be more? Could the competition be better? Maybe....... but what they've done is pretty incredible.

 

[AuroraHawk]

Tv market money.....I would speculate that Delaney than overreached because 1. The new society doesn't watch sports on tv and 2) they ain't watching Rutgers football.

RU was a laughable mistake. It has weakened the brand. Nebraska better get their shitt together.

Last I read, BTN gets $6.00 per year per cable/satellite subscription. Adding Rutgers and Maryland to the footprint puts BTN on the base package of all cable/satellite subscriptions in those highly populous areas. Go to Nielsen and look at the number of TV households and multiply by $6. http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/...evision/2016-2017-nielsen-local-dma-ranks.pdf

Like it or not, the Maryland and Rutgers markets add huge $$$ to the BTN coffers which translates to better revenue for all B1G schools. Hell, between NYC and D.C., there are 10 million TV households. Des Moines' market brings 433,000.

Overreach? Hardly. Massive successful cash grab and that is what it was all about. Iowa's athletic coffers have never been more full and that has a lot to do with expansion.

 

[Psyclone]

Last I read, BTN gets $6.00 per year per cable/satellite subscription.

Per What You Pay For Sports, the average rate inside and outside of the Big 10 market is $0.39 per month ($4.68 per year). Homes within Big Ten states, including New York and Maryland, pay $1.00/month ($12 per year).