Marc Morehouse, CR Gazette –
In the months since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, commissioner Jim Delany had been fond of mentioning “tectonic plates” when the subject of conference expansion came up.
It was his go-to line and why not? It sounded smart and funny. Who doesn’t want to sound smart and funny?
We all walk on tectonic plates and they move a little bit every day. The Big Ten’s plates did a backflip Monday and might have a cartwheel in mind later this week.
The University of Maryland will join the Big Ten and announce it during a 2 p.m. news conference today. The Big Ten has announced the press conferences. The Maryland Board of Regents vote wasn’t unanimous, but it passed and the Big Ten Council of Presidents accepted Maryland’s bid this morning.
Right now, no one has said anything about the $50 million exit fee the ACC passed this summer to handcuff schools to the league.
Rutgers is expected to follow the Terrapins and will announce its own move from the Big East to the Big Ten, possibly as early as Tuesday. A Scarlet Knights move would give the Big Ten 14 members. Rutgers’ Board of Governors is holding a regularly scheduled meeting Monday in New Brunswick, N.J.
Who knows? Maybe the tectonic plates are running a marathon. There are rumors out there about Georgia Tech making a move from the ACC, but nothing solid.
This move is about the Big Ten getting a foothold into eastern TV markets. According to this post by Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel, that could mean as much as $200 million annually on the high end.
From the post: “There are an estimated 15 million available households in the New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. markets. If the Big Ten Network got on basic cable in all those places, which is an enormous long shot, the per-household figure by the time Rutgers and Maryland joined the league would project in the neighborhood of $1.25 per month. That would equate to about $200 million per year.”
The Big Ten will, essentially, be betting on itself to drive TV demand in eastern markets that are largely professional sports markets. When Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska start showing up in Maryland and New Jersey on a regular basis, there will be buzz.
This will open up new recruiting fields for Big Ten schools. Iowa has been hitting New Jersey since Hayden Fry’s early years in the 1980s. Running back Ronnie Harmon and defensive end Leroy Smith came from New Jersey to help make Iowa a Rose Bowl contender. This season, Iowa has four players from Maryland and two from New Jersey on its roster.
When the Big Ten added Nebraska in 2010, the conference was split into the “Legends” and “Leaders” divisions. The goal was competitive balance, Delany said. Right now, the bluebloods are split with Michigan and Nebraska in the Legends and Ohio State and Penn State in the Leaders.
With two east coast schools joining, geography will likely be the guide this time around if the Big Ten does indeed reshuffle the divisions. That’ll probably be one of the big questions answered this afternoon. Remember, football is the only sport with divisions. Basketball is one open conference.
– The divisional alignment has leaked out of Maryland.
The change is minimal. Maryland and Rutgers will join the Leaders Division, with Illinois shifting over to the Legends.
Iowa is a five-hour drive from Illinois and the two schools haven’t played since 2008.
LEADERS
Penn State
Maryland
Rutgers
Ohio State
Indiana
Purdue
Wisconsin
LEADERS
Michigan
Nebraska
Iowa
Illinois
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
The historical conference heavyweights remain in separate corners. These schools could then settle into geographical rivalries that make sense.
Perhaps more Big Ten schools jump into the gear and apparel business with Under Armour, which is run by Maryland grad and former Terrapins special teams player Kevin Plank. Plank also could be the main fundraising gun behind raising the cash for the ACC exit for.
Expect the league to keep the name “Big Ten.” Delany has explained in the past that it carries a brand recognition that supersedes the conference’s head count.
More to come on this story.
