College Football 2022: “Here’s a twenty, bury two.”

[dxmnkd316]

I thought that was AAU membership, which they have. What's the other?

That's the absolute bare minimum. It basically was a question of "What do you bring to the CIC?" Which is why Chicago was still a pseudo-member decades after they dumped sports.

Essentially if you aren't bringing in a net gain to the Big Ten Academic Alliance, don't even ask.

 

[unofan]

Oregon would be the largest departure from the oldest and most important qualifications for big ten membership maybe in the history of the conference

More so than Nebraska?

 

[dxmnkd316]

More so than Nebraska?

Medical center was still a part of it.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Medical center was still a part of it.

And then two Big Ten members voted them out of it.

 

[dxmnkd316]

And then two Big Ten members voted them out of it.

Because they lost the medical center as part of the rankings.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Because they lost the medical center as part of the rankings.

Right, but the vote happened within a year of Nebraska being admitted, and had been a possibility for a decade.

Oregon has AAU status, and that seems to be enough. If it was purely dollars based Washington and Stanford would’ve hitched a ride with USC and UCLA.

Regardless, this appears to be moving towards turbo speed. Reported that the Arizona regents will vote tonight and the Big XII could accept them as soon as tomorrow.

I could easily see UO, UW, and Stanford accepted while the Big Ten tries one more time to get ND to join, since they’d have almost all of their rivals in conference.

 

[MichVandal]

Seeing a headline that FSU is considering moving from the ACC due to payment distributions. To the SEC?

 

[Kepler]

while the Big Ten tries one more time to get ND to join, since they’d not have almost all of their rivals in conference.

Jesus Christ, just accept already. I get the whole Above It All, shtick, really I do, but we belong in a conference with USC and Michigan. That is the only thing that would make the appalling greed CFB since the 1980s finally deliver a pony under all the sh-t.

 

[MichVandal]

Jesus Christ, just accept already. I get the whole Above It All, shtick, really I do, but we belong in a conference with USC and Michigan. That is the only thing that would make the appalling greed CFB since the 1980s finally deliver a pony under all the sh-t.

Not a huge ND fan, but other than Navy, are there long term rivals that are not among the new B1G?

 

[Kepler]

Not a huge ND fan, but other than Navy, are there long term rivals that are not among the new B1G?

Our rivals ranked are:

1. Navy
2. USC
3. Purdue
4. Michigan

Then there have been strong period rivalries (Army, Michigan State, Miami, BC, Stanford) but none have persisted across a timeframe that makes any difference to Notre Dame.

I have understood our desire to remain Independent, but I'm afraid this is it. And assuming the question becomes not whether to join a conference but which to join, USC going to the Big Ten ended that. The ACC is a joke. We have only one potential conference home.

 

[MichVandal]

ND is already a member of the B1G. At least for this boards sport.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Not a huge ND fan, but other than Navy, are there long term rivals that are not among the new B1G?

There’s a couple in the ACC. Pitt is actually their fifth most played rival, but that doesn’t seem to get much attention these days. And they have a trophy game with BC.

If you want to count Army, that’s another, but they stopped playing them regularly in the 70s or 80s.

 

[Kepler]

ND is already a member of the B1G. At least for this boards sport.

I've never been clear how that works. Does it mean they already have cleared some of the hurdles for football? Is it just a matter of flipping the football TV contract toggle because they already are through with all the conference paperwork?

 

[Spartanforlife4]

I've never been clear how that works. Does it mean they already have cleared some of the hurdles for football? Is it just a matter of flipping the football TV contract toggle because they already are through with all the conference paperwork?

There is probably some clearance they already passed having the “gravitas” to be a member, but as far as actual contracts go I don’t think so. They still have their NBC contract for hockey. The playoffs are the only time BTN or Fox broadcasts from ND’s arena.

I would imagine the conversation went something like “You’re a like-minded school. We need another member. Your conference seems to hate you and you have to fly everywhere. Would you like to play here where you can bus to four schools and play three old conference foes?”

Much like the Johns Hopkins conversation probably went “You’re a like-minded school. In fact, you’re ranked above all of us. You have the most historic program in lacrosse. Would you like to join these schools dumping money into their programs and help us get an autobid? You even get to play your biggest rival Maryland.”

 

[Kepler]

There is probably some clearance they already passed having the “gravitas” to be a member, but as far as actual contracts go I don’t think so. They still have their NBC contract for hockey. The playoffs are the only time BTN or Fox broadcasts from ND’s arena.

I would imagine the conversation went something like “You’re a like-minded school. We need another member. Your conference seems to hate you and you have to fly everywhere. Would you like to play here where you can bus to four schools and play three old conference foes?”

Much like the Johns Hopkins conversation probably went “You’re a like-minded school. In fact, you’re ranked above all of us. You have the most historic program in lacrosse. Would you like to join these schools dumping money into their programs and help us get an autobid? You even get to play your biggest rival Maryland.”

This all makes so much sense to me that of course they won't just do the obvious thing.

My worry is we will get up on our arrogant high horse and demand special compensation inside the conference TV contract, and the Big Ten will, rightly, tell us to go pound a crucifix.

 

[MichVandal]

This all makes so much sense to me that of course they won't just do the obvious thing.

My worry is we will get up on our arrogant high horse and demand special compensation inside the conference TV contract, and the Big Ten will, rightly, tell us to go pound a crucifix.

That would confuse me. They had a great deal at one time, but the B1G juggernaut surpassed that. Then there’s the research agreement that is much higher than that. ND is a relatively small school, so I don’t know their research budget. Still, if it’s like either of my alma maters, it’s considerably higher. So the school should remember they are more than a football school.

 

[Kepler]

So the school should remember they are more than a football school.

Notre Dame's pretension is:

The University of Paris : The Dark Ages :: Notre Dame : The Secular Humanist Age

Football and football money are just means to that end.

They are playing for way bigger stakes than the FBS or a research grant. They actually believe that Lewis' trilemma tripe. They're serious as a Torquemada thumbscrew.

 

[dxmnkd316]

If it was purely dollars based Washington and Stanford would’ve hitched a ride with USC and UCLA.

Of course it isn't only based on R&D dollars. But if Washington and Stanford both thought they could shithole-conference-backdoor their way into playoffs and/or control the conference like Texas did in the Big 12, that would have absolutely factored into their decision to apply or not.

Fact is, Stanford and Washington are far, far better schools than USC both in terms of athletics and research. If they had applied to the Big Ten, they would have been welcomed with open arms.

All of that said, research is king. Big Ten schools often get more in NSF research alone every year than the entire athletic conference distributes amongst members. Academics is king and the regents of the vast majority of schools in the Big Ten understand that. Athletics is a feather in the hat that can help attract people to a more complete package of a school.

 

[dxmnkd316]

ND is already a member of the B1G. At least for this boards sport.

An affiliate member is a galactic difference in terms of benefits compared to a full membership. TV revenue, academic cooperation, etc.

But Notre Dame is and always has been the crown jewel the conference has sought that defies nearly all guidelines the Big Ten has in place for membership. They would be almost certainly accepted unanimously by every board of regents in the conference.

 

[French Rage]

Of course it isn't only based on R&D dollars. But if Washington and Stanford both thought they could ****hole-conference-backdoor their way into playoffs and/or control the conference like Texas did in the Big 12, that would have absolutely factored into their decision to apply or not.

Fact is, Stanford and Washington are far, far better schools than USC both in terms of athletics and research. If they had applied to the Big Ten, they would have been welcomed with open arms.

All of that said, research is king. Big Ten schools often get more in NSF research alone every year than the entire athletic conference distributes amongst members. Academics is king and the regents of the vast majority of schools in the Big Ten understand that. Athletics is a feather in the hat that can help attract people to a more complete package of a school.

USC is 3rd overall in total team championships, so don't sell them too short there.

Overall fact is, I don't think Stanford or Washington would have ever felt the Pac-12 was holding them back enough that they absolutely had to blow up college sports on the west coast to win a title. And of course by title, we mean football, at the sacrifice of all other sports. But USC feels it is their god-given right to always be a top 5 team in football and were more than willing to throw everything else out to have maybe a 10% better chance of making the playoffs each year.

And I'm not saying that Stanford or Washington won't follow suit now that the dominoes are falling. The other choice is to basically become a I-AA school, and both have sunk too much money into their facilities over the years to allow for that.