It was announced on Wednesday that the Big Ten and Pac 12 will create a scheduling partnership for all sports beginning as early as next season. When two major conferences are able to converge on a large scale, there is synergy that the leadership on both sides see. It also shows that egos are not getting in the way, which will be good for business. What this partnership is also doing is shutting the door on conference expansion, at least as far as the Big Ten and Pac 12 are concerned.
photo credit: collegesportsinfo.com
So what happens now? Do the Big 12 and SEC make a similar partnership? What about the ACC and gulp…the Big East? The schools that are unhappy with the Big East need to focus their attention to finding a way into the Big 12 or ACC. Holding out hope for the Big Ten is not going to happen. Lucas had more of a chance of getting some from Maggie than Rutgers has getting a call back from Jim Delany. Now Rina (Winona Ryder) aka Chuck Neinas may be willing to put out. Okay enough with the movie analogies. It’s time for schools like Rutgers and Louisville to make the sell. I already gave Rutgers some ways to leverage the Pinstripe Bowl. Louisville has a great administration so they are probably figuring out ways into either the ACC or Big 12. They are going to make sure all scenarios are on the table.
UCONN needs to figure out the Boston College conundrum in order to secure a spot in the ACC. That move would make the most sense, but BC has been difficult. There aren’t too many people outside of the Big East offices who actually believe the new schools are good for the existing members. The basketball only members aren’t too pleased either. As wacky as the Big 12 has been the past 18 months, they still are more viable than the Big East. As strange as a membership into the Big 12 may be for Rutgers, it still would be worth their while to get an invitation. The existing Big East football members are not in a position of power. They have to create a compelling argument in order for the ACC or the Big 12 to open their doors. Otherwise they have to live with being in whatever strange conference they are currently in.
Ari Russell
It is amazing how much can change in the last 8 months. Back in September of 2011 the Big East seemed like it was going to be stripped apart and left for dead. The Big 12 seemed doomed when TU and OK were making serious strides to the PAC 12 with MIZZOU and TAMU destined to the SEC leaving ISU, Baylor, KU, KSU looking for new homes in lesser conferences like the Mountain West, Conference USA, or what is left of the Big Least after Syracuse and PITT bolted to the ACC.
Months later both conferences survived raids from the Big Ten, SEC, and the PAC 12. The Big 12 is now actually in great shape with the additions of TCU and WVU, on the verge of signing huge TV contracts, equal share of TV revenue for 1st and 2cd tier TV deals, extended the grant of rights to 13 years (no school would dare to leave now), a new commissioner, and the new B12-SEC bowl game starting in a few years. The Big 12 is now becoming a predator than prey with future expansion is on the horizon, mostly speaking future raids on the ACC (FSU and Clemson.)
For the Big East, the conference is on life support, when the Big 12, Big 10, and SEC start knocking on the doors of the ACC’s top football programs to join the new bound to happen 64 team, four sixteen team super conferences at the shot at the national title. When the ACC gets raided they are going to take what’s left of the Big East’s better schools and kill the conference. (Or possibility I could see a merger of both conferences to form a more stable basketball conference.)
For now the Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, and Pac 12 are the four big boy conferences and others like the ACC, Big East, MWC, MAC, Conference USA and others are going to be setting at the little kids table.
Very very nicely put…the other conferences are indeed like little kids at the table…for now anyway until the desperation results in a filtration of the stronger components in those conferences into one of the four to-be-superconferences. Thanks for your input Bart.