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OBSERVATIONS ON
COLLEGE SPORTS
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Nuggets of Gold
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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By Adam Gold
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Adam Gold is
the host of the Morning Show (6-9 a.m.) on
620 the Buzz. |
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Epic shakeup could spawn new
league
By
Adam Gold
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
I recently sat down
with John Swofford, the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference,
to talk all things college sports. In this day and age, the topic of
expansion has to come up.
Swofford told me, with
regards to the Big Ten’s plans of expanding from its current, 11-school
membership, that every 7-10 years there are fairly drastic changes in the
college landscape.
Considering that the ACC
voted to expand seven summers ago by extending invitations to Miami and
Virginia Tech (and to Boston College a year later after a delay attributable
to political reasons), then Swofford’s timing is pretty sharp.
The Big Ten is poised to
drastically alter the college sports terrain with designs on making their
Big Ten Network one of the dominant revenue forces in college sports
history. In fact, it’s already arguably the biggest moneymaker this side of
the NCAA Basketball Tournament, generating in excess of $10 million per
school after just three years on the air.
The universities most
often associated with expansion plans, Nebraska and Missouri of the Big 12
and Rutgers of the Big East, would help to dramatically grow the reach and
coffers of the Big Ten Network. And, should the Big Ten opt for an even
greater growth spurt — to a 16-team Super Power the likes of which we
haven’t seen since the Cold War — it could turn the BTN into something akin
to ESPN-U or CBS College Sports.
I know what you’re
waiting for. You want to know why you, in Pirate Nation, should care what
the Big Ten’s plans have to do with East Carolina.
Other than, “I’m not
entirely sure,” I can only offer this guess:
The Bigger the move by
the Big Ten, the more likely it is that ECU can find itself in a much better
position with regards to a conference more suitable to the school’s needs.
Here’s how I envision a
new college world:
Let’s say the Big Ten
stops at 14 teams, using the three I’ve already mentioned. Even if no other
league opted to keep pace with (Big Ten commissioner) Jim Delany’s group,
the Big East would find itself needing to replace Rutgers. It would be nice
if that would open a door for the Pirates, but it’s far more likely that
fellow Conference USA members Memphis or Central Florida would get that
phone call.
However, if Notre Dame or
Syracuse or Pittsburgh saw the crumbling Big East handwriting on the wall
and sought out new football homes as I expect — the ACC perhaps — that would
open the possibility that a new eastern football alliance could be formed
out of the rubble this latest wave of expansion left behind.
Consider that West
Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and possibly Connecticut,
Memphis and Central Florida would all be looking for a league with a window
to the BCS.
Toss in Southern
Mississippi and East Carolina and that sounds like a pretty strong nine-team
conference every single bit as good as the Mountain West is TODAY. (The odds
that the MWC looks the same two years from now is like saying that Kirstie
Alley won’t lose and gain weight or Larry King won’t get married in that
time frame.)
It’s GOING to happen.
Three of those potential
partner schools have already played in a BCS game. Another — South Florida,
with Coach Whatshisname — is a popular choice to be the next upstart to
break through, while the others, including East Carolina, each have very
strong, if not burgeoning, football traditions.
Heck, it could even be
called “The Big East” since the logos are all printed up. For that matter,
add Temple and the “Big Ten” might also be appropriate.
Then, if the new league
chose to do basketball and non-revenue sports in some more familiar package
and not invite the Pirates to be a part of that, East Carolina could
approach the Colonial Athletic Association or the Big South about playing
all of their other sports in either of those leagues.
The bottom line is that
the next wave of conference explosion is incredibly unpredictable. We don’t
know how bold the Big Ten is going to be in growing its TV reach.
But I would expect that
the office of the East Carolina Director of Athletics has been a very busy
place in the last six months. Terry Holland is a smart guy — he knows what’s
about to happen could be seismic.
East Carolina
deserves a better home than Conference USA. The university's fans
deserve it; the players and coaches deserve it; and the community has
worked hard for it. Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium will be 50,000-seat ready for
it in the fall.
Maybe the Big Ten, in a
roundabout way, will aid in making that facility one of the gridiron venues
of a bold new conference.
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E-MAIL ADAM GOLD
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05/22/2010 02:40:35 AM |
