Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[Woody1968]

Florida State does have Jim Morrison as an alum.

 

[ChallengeMe]

Why is Florida State even being considered for B1G? Or being compared to Nebraska?

The Huskers have sold out their 86000 seat stadium for decades. FSU sold out TWO games (Clemson and Florida) this year. The other five games each had over 10,000 empty seats. And this for a top notch program. Florida State is NOT Nebraska.

I can see GT in the B1G; Atlanta being the capital of the south, still has a northern presence with hundreds of thousands of workers from the north (ie: B1G alumni) in the Atlanta area. Tallahassee is pure southern culture. How long before they get fed up with playing northern schools and split? They could never form a rival with a B1G team.

And FSU does not cover the state of Florida (as UF does) they cover the northern panhandle, with no large metro areas. The only B1G alumni in that area are old retirees.The BTN wouldn't pay off there.

 

[bassbuckeye07]

Why is Florida State even being considered for B1G? Or being compared to Nebraska?

The Huskers have sold out their 86000 seat stadium for decades. FSU sold out TWO games (Clemson and Florida) this year. The other five games each had over 10,000 empty seats. And this for a top notch program. Florida State is NOT Nebraska.

I can see GT in the B1G; Atlanta being the capital of the south, still has a northern presence with hundreds of thousands of workers from the north (ie: B1G alumni) in the Atlanta area. Tallahassee is pure southern culture. How long before they get fed up with playing northern schools and split? They could never form a rival with a B1G team.

And FSU does not cover the state of Florida (as UF does) they cover the northern panhandle, with no large metro areas. The only B1G alumni in that area are old retirees.The BTN wouldn't pay off there.

They are a land grant school with 32,000 enrolled and I'm pretty sure their alum go to work in....Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami etc

and then there is this

Among the notable graduates of Florida State University are fitness expert Richard Simmons and Spanx apparel line founder Sara Blakely

Boooooom! research that

 

[redguard117]

So by adding FSU we would lock up the old New York retiree market in Florida? By my estimate that gives us nearly half of the Florida population - SOLD!

 

[JBaney45]

Why is Florida State even being considered for B1G? Or being compared to Nebraska?

The Huskers have sold out their 86000 seat stadium for decades. FSU sold out TWO games (Clemson and Florida) this year. The other five games each had over 10,000 empty seats. And this for a top notch program. Florida State is NOT Nebraska.

I can see GT in the B1G; Atlanta being the capital of the south, still has a northern presence with hundreds of thousands of workers from the north (ie: B1G alumni) in the Atlanta area. Tallahassee is pure southern culture. How long before they get fed up with playing northern schools and split? They could never form a rival with a B1G team.

And FSU does not cover the state of Florida (as UF does) they cover the northern panhandle, with no large metro areas. The only B1G alumni in that area are old retirees.The BTN wouldn't pay off there.

How many empty seats at Rutgers and Maryland? FSU is not quite Nebraska sure but they are the best football option left on the board aside from the Domers.

Isn't the Big Ten's ploy to force entire states into carrying the Big Ten network? Maybe I'm dense but if Rutgers and Maryland are going to guarantee us NYC and DC then why can't FSU deliver Florida? All those old retirees from the midwest can push the cable companies into carrying the BTN :).

I do agree that from FSU's perspective it would be awkward, no natural rivalries etc, that is kind of their call to make whether they would rather go up north to the Big Ten or out west to the Big 12, obvious pros and cons to both.

 

[JBaney45]

Boooooom! research that

I'm afraid to google "Spanx apparel line" at work but it sounds promising

 

[Mike80]

This is NOT about football. It never has been. Sure it's been about TV sets to a certain extent, but with the shifting landscape in academics as well as athletics, the Big Ten Presidents are going to go for their best fit on the academic side first.

That leaves FSU out, and FSU isn't exactly a great option for football anyway.

 

[jlb1705]

I'm afraid to google "Spanx apparel line" at work but it sounds promising

It's not.

They're girdles.

 

[bassbuckeye07]

This is NOT about football. It never has been. Sure it's been about TV sets to a certain extent, but with the shifting landscape in academics as well as athletics, the Big Ten Presidents are going to go for their best fit on the academic side first.

That leaves FSU out, and FSU isn't exactly a great option for football anyway.

Come on, how is this not about football?....they are called athletic conferences not academic conferences and before you start in about the CIC and all that..... how much research money does that really bring in as a percentage for a University like Ohio State<

not much...lets stop acting like this is some attempt to take over the world as a research consortium


Its about TV and football...the CIC advantages are a byproduct

 

[JBaney45]

Come on, how is this not about football?....they are called athletic conferences not academic conferences and before you start in about the CIC and all that..... how much research money does that really bring in as a percentage for a University like Ohio State<

not much...lets stop acting like this is some attempt to take over the world as a research consortium


Its about TV and football...the CIC advantages are a byproduct

I have to stop and point out here that the CIC doesn't actively go out and solicit research money. When they report that their member schools brought in such and such amount of dollars, that was done by each individual school on its own and then added up.

Academics are obviously the #1 mission of a university, nobody is debating that. However we are talking about an athletic conference..to ignore the need to improve our athletic brand namely on the football field is losing the plot.

 

[Mike80]

If it were about football only they would have taken Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and KState along with Nebraska, but they didn't.

But keep on kidding yourselves guys. You all are playing checkers while Delaney and the Big Ten Presidents are playing Chess.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

If it were about football only they would have taken Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and KState along with Nebraska, but they didn't.

But keep on kidding yourselves guys. You all are playing checkers while Delaney and the Big Ten Presidents are playing Chess.

But if it was ONLY about academics, they wouldn't have taken Nebraska, either.

There are a whole slew of factors involved. Some are more important than others, but I think it's a bit foolhardy to write-off any one factor as being completely irrelevant.

Each university offers a unique blend of academics, athletics, exposure, location, culture, cash, etc. You can't have all of those assets in spades. It is all about finding an acceptable composition.

What exactly is an acceptable composition? Beats me.

 

[Muck]

I have to stop and point out here that the CIC doesn't actively go out and solicit research money.

Congresscritters from States with CIC members and who happen to be on committees responsible for distributing research funds are big fans of the term quid pro quo.

Want to know why Ohio State sometimes is awarded money over schools like Texas? Because Senators in TSUN, Indiana, Illinois and/or Wisconsin pushed for it.

Its about TV and football...the CIC advantages are a byproduct

Really it's about long term demographics.

The commissioner of the Big Ten wasn't lying when he repeatedly talked about it.

But if it was ONLY about academics, they wouldn't have taken Nebraska, either.

There is a bar that has to be met. Nebraska barely cleared that bar (before tripping over it after admission). If a school does not meet the minimum standard of said bar they will not get in.

 

[Mike80]

But if it was ONLY about academics, they wouldn't have taken Nebraska, either.

There are a whole slew of factors involved. Some are more important than others, but I think it's a bit foolhardy to write-off any one factor as being completely irrelevant.

Each university offers a unique blend of academics, athletics, exposure, location, culture, cash, etc. You can't have all of those assets in spades. It is all about finding an acceptable composition.

What exactly is an acceptable composition? Beats me.

It could be one of those spinning dart boards or something, the thing is the Big Ten Presidents are the ones controlling who is on the wheel....

 

[Woody1968]

Really it's about long term demographics.

The commissioner of the Big Ten wasn't lying when he repeatedly said that.



There is a bar that has to be met. Nebraska barely cleared that bar (before tripping over it after admission). If a school does not meet the minimum standard of said bar they will not get in.

To be fair, they didn't trip over it. Their academic reputation didn't go down. The AAU decided they no longer would count certain research programs. Nebraska can't really be faulted for losing membership.