STrib: Gophers head to Big Ten media days amid the swirl of conference realignment chatter

BleedGopher

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per Randy:

When administrators, coaches, student-athletes and media members gathered in Indianapolis in July 2021 for Big Ten Football media days, a rumbling from the South was palpable in Lucas Oil Stadium. Reports emerged that Texas and Oklahoma were leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, giving the powerful league two more huge brands to attract TV viewers.

Here it is, a year later at Big Ten football's annual preseason gathering, and conference realignment is the dominant topic again, this time with the Big Ten a month removed from adding USC and UCLA. The Trojans and Bruins will start Big Ten play in the 2024-25 season. It was a clear response to the SEC's annexation, and it's whipped up speculation that there could be more to come from the soon-to-be 16-team league.

Is it finally the right time for Notre Dame to end its football independence and join the Midwest-based conference? Might North Carolina or Virginia be the Big Ten's next target, or would Stanford, Oregon or Washington be in the mix? And how much per year will each Big Ten school get from the new media rights deal that's expected to be completed in the near future: $90 million? $100 million? $120 million if Notre Dame bites?

Those questions are certain to be posed to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren during his Tuesday news conference, though the answers won't necessarily be concrete with so much to be determined.


Go Gophers!!
 




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