He Said / He Said - The State of the Big Ten

With Maryland and Rutgers leaving their respective conferences to join the Big Ten Conference, the entire country ends up shaken. What conferences win from this move? What do we expect in the future? Much is unsure, and that's why we debate. In our latest version of "He Said / He Said" our collegiate sports experts Dellav and Dotson debate the future of the Big Ten with the latest conference realignment in college sports.


Dellav: 



Rutgers and Maryland ? Um...okay.... One word to describe my thoughts: Hilarious. Neither of these universities have been worth a crap in football for, well, forever.  

The B1G's moves are clearly driven out of desperation and anger that Notre Dame told them to buzz off...again...and it's even more in response to Pitt and Syracuse going to the ACC. ND to ACC was slap in the face to Big Ten.  

Midwestern demographics are dying and Big Ten will become less relevant in the years to come. Delaney's desperately trying to expand footprint into east coast but won't succeed with Maryland and Rutgers. It's so funny how Rutgers and Missouri were begging to get in just a year ago but the Big Ten thumbed their noses at them. Now they want previously passed over schools with open arms. 

Now I'm not saying that Big Ten is a bad conference or anything like that, because they are a very prestigious conference. I'm simply trying to say that the rich preppy boys in that conference finally realize they are a step (maybe 2 or 3) behind in the never ending carousel of NCAA conference realignment. 

Fellow blogger James Dotson tearing me to shreds in 3.....2.....1............Boom. 


Dotson:

...and boom goes the dynamite!

Other than the rich, preppy boy comment, I don't disagree too much with what Saint Dellav is saying here. Notre Dame to the ACC (part-time) hurts, the demographics was shot long ago with the addition of Nebraska in 2011 (or even of Penn State back in 1993), and both schools have been lack-luster to say the least.

But I need to say, though, that there is ONE HUGE REASON why the B1G wins with this expansion, and honestly Dellav you said it already.

Now, I mentioned in our State of the ACC post that the conference losing Maryland was a good thing because they aren't competitors. Similarly, Rutgers being solid-to-mediocre in football and a bottom-feeder in hoops could mean good new for the Big East.

..so how can this possibly be good for the B1G to pick up these teams?

Dellav said it: Eastern demographics.

The B1G has been a consistent #2-3 conference in football (behind SEC, battling annually with Pac-12 and Big 12) and a top three conference in hoops (with the Big East and ACC) annually. That's quite impressive seeing as the only really major city in the B1G region is Detroit. Much of the conference is inhabited with farmers. Other than the boys from the Motor City, very few city kids end up at B1G schools due to lack of exposure.

Now, insert Rutgers from New Brunswick, NJ. Now the Big Ten Network expands further eastward into New Jersey and into New York City. Also, insert Maryland, just ten miles from Washington, D.C. The number of high school athletes who will see B1G schools more and make the trip to B1G campuses as a result just skyrocketed. St. John's just lost one or two big recruits from within city limits each year. Georgetown will lose somebody from the D.C. area each year, too. And I'm not talking about the Hoyas losing a guy to Maryland or the Johnnies to Rutgers. I'm saying that, by seeing Michigan State vs. Indiana, a city kid from the Bronx might choose to go to one of those "Moo-U" campuses instead of a city university.

So Alex, you're exactly right: Jim Delaney is trying to expand the demographics eastward. It might not work in bringing more prestigious programs with high success rates, but it will bring more attention to the conference in key areas where it was lacking.

(Not to mention that both Rutgers and Maryland provide depth and success in some of the "lesser sports" including the Terps winning field hockey national championships the past two years)