B1G expansion to 18 teams rumor

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

Take this for what it's worth. A rumor (for now). 

I'm aware that a very small percent of people here are subbed at Rivals. bluevod is a poster that is thought to be someone inside the athletic department. 

Some people even believe that he is Jim Hackett. Sounds crazy, right?

UPDATE: We're gonna need a bigger logo.....

 

@umichWD I heard that may go 18 nine in each division. That would only allow 1 cross over game.

— Bluevod (@Bluevodreal) January 6, 2016

Hearing B10 expansion rumors again.BTN TV deal up in 2016 with projection in first year 2017 of being roughly 44m per school. B12 in panic

— Bluevod (@Bluevodreal) January 6, 2016

@maizenblu I've heard Ok but not Kansas. Need big TV viewer market. Texas would be ideal plus a team in DC market and/ or Atlanta.

— Bluevod (@Bluevodreal) January 6, 2016

@maizenblu told it is not doing as well as they hoped. But Texas may see the writing on the wall and jump. B12 may be a house of cards.

— Bluevod (@Bluevodreal) January 6, 2016

 

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Yeoman

January 6th, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^

and put the original nine back together.

Big Core:

  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Northwestern
  • Ohio State
  • Purdue
  • Wisconsin

Big Peripheral:

  • Georgia Tech
  • Maryland
  • Michigan State
  • Nebraska
  • Oklahoma
  • Penn State
  • Rutgers
  • Texas
  • UCLA (I kid, but as long as we're locking down big media markets...)

Anybody have a problem with this? I think I like it better than what we have now.

Joined: 06/08/2011

MGoPoints: 21391

funkywolve

January 6th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^

The Big 12 and ACC aren't really regional.  ACC goes from Boston to Miami.  They might both be on the East Coast but that's 1500 miles, which is just about the same distance from Boston to Kansas City.  Throw in ND when it comes to basketball and that's not much of a 'regional' conference.

Big 12 stretches from Lubbock to Morgantown.

When the Pac-12 added Utah and Colorado, they went from being a west coast conference to the west coast and rocky mountains.

Joined: 10/08/2008

MGoPoints: 20262

Madonna

January 6th, 2016 at 12:21 AM ^

Nebraska is also the only school to be expelled from the AAU. I read about it and it seemed they were penalised for being heavy on agricultural research, which sounded unfair, if not grossly elitist. The actual procedural circumstances were shady too.

Joined: 11/29/2014

MGoPoints: 944

East German Judge

January 5th, 2016 at 9:02 PM ^

I am not sure that Texas would want to join as they have their own network and don't they have some preferential share or percentages in the Big 12?  I do not think they would go for being on the same footing as Rutgers and Purdue.

Joined: 10/05/2014

MGoPoints: 190893

UofM626

January 5th, 2016 at 9:02 PM ^

Both need to go to the other side as that side is weak to be honest and a Oklahoma and Texas or Oklahoma and Oklahoma St would even it up a lot

Joined: 01/02/2012

MGoPoints: 3443

UMxWolverines

January 5th, 2016 at 9:12 PM ^

Why would some of you want Oklahoma? We already have OSU and MSU to compete with in this conference. Adding Oklahoma is just making it harder to recruit and win the B1G which is already harder without shared titles. 

I'm glad we went to 9 conference games finally but that still means we only play three teams from the other division. Adding two more teams means two. Then what's the point of being in the conference if you only play half the teams basically? 

edit: 18 teams instead of 16...with one crossover game. Pointless.

Joined: 03/01/2009

MGoPoints: 65560

bj dickey

January 5th, 2016 at 10:34 PM ^

From a purely athletic perspective it is very similar to Nebraska. Great football tradition and good hoops. From a broader perspective it would allow UT to have a traditional rival ane leave neither geographically isolated. Still, I don't see it without Missouri or Kansas to B1G. While UT Joining could trump AAU membership (OU) I would be skeptical. It would be bery cool for UT and OU to join the West and UNC and UVA to East.

Joined: 10/03/2014

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ypsituckyboy

January 5th, 2016 at 10:02 PM ^

He's the Ms. Cleo of the Rivals board. Says things to intice but just vague enough so that he's not really saying anything at all. Aside from the Harbaugh hire (which was basically a 50/50 shot at getting right late in the process), he's never actually predicted anything outside of "good things coming". Never says anything remotely specific.

But don't you dare criticize him there or you'll get blasted. Hilarious the number of Karesh-like followers over on that board.

Joined: 06/22/2009

MGoPoints: 30512

LSAClassOf2000

January 5th, 2016 at 9:52 PM ^

Granted, I don't really buy the idea of 18 teams in the conference as something that would have serious traction, at least not until Delany appears at my front door to correct me in person, but I couldn't imagine keeping the divisional rules as-is when it comes to conference play with a conference that large. Playing most of the teams in the other division once per decade just seems absurd somehow (not that it isn't sort of absurd with 14 right now). 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130783

Bodogblog

January 5th, 2016 at 9:09 PM ^

Texas in the B1G West and Georgia Tech in the East. If they're going to do anything. Academics maintained and I get to take that quick flight to Atlanta every year to see Michigan Oct/Nov.

Joined: 06/08/2010

MGoPoints: 26674

Monkey House

January 5th, 2016 at 9:13 PM ^

people can talk how college sports is better than the NFL, in my opinion this stuff makes my love for the NFL game grow deeper. college was unique in its traditions and such, those days are all but dead.

Joined: 09/05/2014

MGoPoints: 43844

stephenrjking

January 5th, 2016 at 10:23 PM ^

"Get off my lawn" is uncharitable here. This isn't just a weird uniform or something, it is an actual extension of an already undesirable structure. Michigan is simply not playing old conference rivals like Minnesota or Iowa very often at all; they've become more like an occasional non-conference rival. 

And adding more to this is a legit concern. And surely you are not the only one who is reluctant for things to move this way.

Joined: 03/15/2012

MGoPoints: 20144031

Perkis-Size Me

January 5th, 2016 at 9:16 PM ^

This is a load of garbage until proven otherwise. 18 would just be downright obnoxious, and only one crossover game? If the conference was ever really balanced, you'd have no way of ever knowing who your best team really was.

The only expansion news I really want to hear about is Delaney admitting he made a mistake and kicking Rutgers out of the conference.

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 106179

ppudge

January 5th, 2016 at 9:16 PM ^

I'd rather drop 4 than add 4. But I'd settle for just booting Maryland and Rutgers. No more, please. Pretty soon we'll be having bowl games against conference opponents because there will only be 2 or 3 enormous conferences!

Joined: 10/19/2008

MGoPoints: 11467

Njia

January 5th, 2016 at 9:17 PM ^

And Ess Eee Cee, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, etc.

Let's just all line up under the B1G and whoever wins out wins the NC. It'll all be on five BTN each weekend; no more ESPN is just icing on the cake.

There. Settled.

Joined: 09/15/2009

MGoPoints: 35773

baorao

January 5th, 2016 at 9:18 PM ^

if they basically went to 1, maybe 2 non conference games. wouldn't be enough crossover to really be a true conference, but with the conference championship being a de facto playoff game, any dilution would be limited.

Joined: 08/08/2008

MGoPoints: 1075

bj dickey

January 5th, 2016 at 9:18 PM ^

It's a given that conference expansion is coming. Inevitable in fact. I would love to see oklahoma and Texas. However I doubt oklahoma will be invited in the end, unless we're talking about adding 4 teams. As some will remember, oklahoma is not a part of the aau. Nebraska was when they joined. Rutgers and Maryland were and are. Though the big 12 is weak, the acc is probably the weakest presently when combining their tv deal, which may collapse soon, and the Luke warm allegiance of some of the more traditional members after adding ND as part time, and Louisville. FSU and Clemson are natural fits with the SEC. I think the B1G will focus on the acc to find the next two or three members of the conference. That may mean ga tech, but more likely UNC and UVA, at least as the first two. If one or more acc members are ready to bolt that conference will fall apart. Georgia tech could be a possibility as well, but for aau and conference competition one would expect to see adjoining states first. For these reasons tech and Texas are probably not as likely. Notre dame would be forced to join a conference at that point, and could look to the B1G or if the big 12 still existed, attempt an acc type deal

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