BleedGopher
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per Saturday Down South:
The Big Ten adds Nebraska, Notre Dame, Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke
As the SEC grows stronger, the Big Ten can’t be outdone. Bring on the second super-conference. Notre Dame sees the value for its unilateral NBC deal diminishing. The ACC looks much less desirable. Business and common sense trump mutual wariness. Notre Dame joins the Big Ten. Nebraska hesitates a bit. Losing traditional rivals and recruiting ground access will be hard. The financial factor still wins out. The Big Ten still moves East. But, it goes farther south for a better cultural fit. Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke join the Big Ten.
The Big Ten can’t match the SEC’s excellence. But, college athletics is about branding power. In that respect, no conference can touch the Big Ten. Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame are three of the four biggest brands in college football. North Carolina and Duke are two of the three biggest in basketball. These aren’t broadcasting rights major entities can walk away from.
Where the deal nearly falls apart is organizing divisions. It’s near impossible to get balance. The B1G opts for four team pods. Teams play their three pod rivals every year. They play two teams in each other pod per year, alternating. Every team hits every opposing stadium within a four-year cycle. The pods look like this.
North: Mich, OSU, MSU, Minn
South: ND, NW, Ind, Pur
East: Penn St, UVA, Duke, UNC
West: Neb, Wisc, Iowa, Ill
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...-sec-big-ten-pac-12-form-3-super-conferences/
Go Gophers!!
The Big Ten adds Nebraska, Notre Dame, Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke
As the SEC grows stronger, the Big Ten can’t be outdone. Bring on the second super-conference. Notre Dame sees the value for its unilateral NBC deal diminishing. The ACC looks much less desirable. Business and common sense trump mutual wariness. Notre Dame joins the Big Ten. Nebraska hesitates a bit. Losing traditional rivals and recruiting ground access will be hard. The financial factor still wins out. The Big Ten still moves East. But, it goes farther south for a better cultural fit. Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke join the Big Ten.
The Big Ten can’t match the SEC’s excellence. But, college athletics is about branding power. In that respect, no conference can touch the Big Ten. Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame are three of the four biggest brands in college football. North Carolina and Duke are two of the three biggest in basketball. These aren’t broadcasting rights major entities can walk away from.
Where the deal nearly falls apart is organizing divisions. It’s near impossible to get balance. The B1G opts for four team pods. Teams play their three pod rivals every year. They play two teams in each other pod per year, alternating. Every team hits every opposing stadium within a four-year cycle. The pods look like this.
North: Mich, OSU, MSU, Minn
South: ND, NW, Ind, Pur
East: Penn St, UVA, Duke, UNC
West: Neb, Wisc, Iowa, Ill
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...-sec-big-ten-pac-12-form-3-super-conferences/
Go Gophers!!