MD to Big 10

[Rob]

Apparently MD Regents did vote for apply for Big 10 membership. Announcement later today. I am devastated. I don't care about college football, and MD basketball belongs in the ACC. And what about all the Lacrosse titles MD has won -- Big 10 doesn't have lacrosse. And Field Hockey and Soccer -- with Notre Dame coming into the ACC, ACC soccer was only going to get better.

[sk8er1964]

MD?

ETA: Oh, wait. I see your location. Maryland?

[skipaway]

We'll miss MD in the ACC. Here's an interesting take on Lacrosse:

What May Happen

[Aaron W]

It doesn't sound like the Big Ten is likely to stop at the 2 additions, Maryland & Rutgers. While those two will be added first, the assumption is that the expansion won't stop until they have 16 rather than 14 schools. I'm thinking maybe Virginia, Virginia Tech, or UNC are possibilities. So there is a possibility in the future of having enough schools in the Big Ten to support lacrosse.

Whatever happens, I hope Maryland ends up in the same division as Ohio State. I want to see my Buckeyes in person at Byrd Stadium every other fall.

[Garden Kitty]

Phil Hersch's take on the Big 10 and lacrosse

[Rob]

The UNC athletic department actually turns a profit according to my Tar Heel booster friend. Same with Duke. So they don't have the sports budget crunch that would cause them to flee for greener pastures.

On the radio, one Terps fan was saying how great it would be for football to have Byrd Stadium games sold out. Somehow, I don't think the Terps really want the stadium sold out to Buckeye or Wolverine or Cornhusker fans.

[Fridge_Break]

I shudder to think what the Big Ten gymnastics championships are going to be like in a few years. It's already an all-day affair with having to do two sessions with 8 schools having teams (although I'm going this year ) Adding Maryland and Rutgers will force a three-session event, which...

[sk8er1964]

Having thought about this today, not liking it. The Big 10 is a midwest conference. It loses something taking in eastern colleges. This is not a slam on eastern colleges. I think they lose something going into a midwest conference. [/tradition curmudgeon]

[Debbie S]

...and MD basketball belongs in the ACC.

In one of the articles posted on The Sun's website earlier, there were comments from Gary Williams that the move would be a good one for MD b-ball, b/c the Big Ten is a stronger conference (i.e. more at-large bids to the NCAA tourney) and MD is overshadowed by Duke and UNC in the ACC. He also commented that the increased TV revenues will help all sports at MD (I guess we'll see about that).

[Rob]

Big 10 does get more bids, which is good so I will take that. But the ACC just plays a different kind of fastbreaking basketball than the Big 10 generally does. Plus, everyone argues about RPI, but the ACC has won more National championships than anyone else in the last dozen years so I have always questioned the traditional perceptions about stronger conferences. Since 2000, ACC has won 5 NCAA championships (3 different schools) to the Big 10's 1, the Big 12's 1, the Big East's 3, and the SEC's 3 (PAC 10 none) and equaled the Big 10 in championship game (5 appearances by 4 different schools each) and final four appearances.

And Gary Williams -- he is employed by the Big 10 Network and by MD so what is he going to say.

Plus, MD will be overshadowed by plenty of Big 10 teams if they don't field good teams. They weren't overshadowed by UNC in 2001 or by Duke or UNC in 2002 when they did field good teams. They don't have the traditional rival that Duke/UNC have in each other, but they won't have it in the Big 10 either. And not sure Big 10 status is going to help them recruit any better in basketball.

[Garden Kitty]

Per USA Today's twitter, this is hiting billboards across NJ tomorrow

[elka_sk8]

Sigh. I don't really get this. It sounds like it was a quick decision made by few people.

[Jem X]

Its all about the money, and the TV network. The Big 10 network is looking to get into the New York and East Coast market, and Rutgers will get them New York. Jim Delaney, the Big 10 commissioner, has been pretty good at getting his TV Network into new markets. Penn State got them close to New York, but Rutgers should get them into New York/New Jersey. Maryland also gets them further east and south. I do believe you are correct about the Big 10 wanting 16 teams, so that their football and basketball teams can both have two divisions of 8 teams, with a Big 10 championship game at the end of the conference season. Talk around this area (Illinois) had rumors of Missouri joining the Big 10, but I believe they just joined another conference. Ideally, Delaney would probably like to get a school from Texas into the Big 10 as that would open up a new TV market and get the Big 10 picked up by more cable networks, so they can collect more money. $$$.