Chip Shots: Don’t Kvetch. What’s Next?
August 12, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
Money is clearly what has led to the change in complexion among what was formerly known as the Power Five conferences in football.
These conferences are The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), The Big Ten (B1G), The Big XII, The Pacific 12 (PAC12), and the Southeast Conference (SEC).
The B1G and the SEC will likely be the two leagues among the current Power Five conferences who will have a great deal of distance between the two organizations and the next best league.
Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington will pile in with the other 14 teams comprising the B1G to make the total count 18 schools.
Money, mostly in the form of lucrative TV deals, got these universities where they’ve landed. No matter how much traditionalists bemoan the shift from familiar, regional rivalries to a conference now covering three of the four contiguous U.S. time zones, the deals are done.
Rather than cry over spilled milk let’s give thought to where B1G college football is headed.
The major networks carrying B1G action now own TV real estate beyond noon, 3:30 p.m. and less than a handful of prime-time games on a given week. The new B1G, if you’re on the West coast, now has meaningful games beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific time all the way until the folks on the Pacific coast turn off the lights for bedtime.
The problem with college football now is it’s still too regional to get big ratings in the College Football Playoff tournament. Will 2024 be the season we see four B1G and four SEC teams in the expanded field of twelve?
There is now a welcome geographic diversity in the B1G starting in the 2024 football season.
Folks from the West will get to experience the cold of Minnesota, and the “can’t get there from here” journey to Beaver Stadium when they battle Penn State. The Midwestern B1G schools will get at least one trip a year to better climes in California as well as dates in mild Seattle and Oregon.
Bruins, Ducks, Huskies, and Trojans will get to “jump around” in Camp Randall Stadium.
The conference will likely honor the traditional trophy games among the current and new conference members.
I’m also hoping an expanded conference where teams will play at ten conference games instead of nine, shaving off at least one more home game with the current regional mid-major fare. This year, the Ohio State home game selection had customarily beautiful weather dates to offset the excruciating boredom of watching Western Kentucky, and Youngstown State in the Shoe.
The Olympic sports will, on the other hand, be burdened with greater travel expenses and more travel time to venues so far away. Something tells me the network packages that will be afforded to the B1G will be enough o keep the budget afloat, but those athletes are going to feel the grind of logging greater miles.
Perhaps the B1G has set aside time to discuss - among the current and incoming athletic administrators – some logistical ideas to bundle some consecutive long-distance road games for baseball and softball (for example).
My uncle is a Buckeye alum who lives in Ann Arbor adjacent to the $168 million Stephen Ross Olympic Sports facility. He hasn’t heard a peep from the athletes - whom he encounters more frequently than you’d imagine - coming and going from the area.
You know, I haven’t heard a peep from them either, come to think of it.
I’ve heard some college coaches, and a bunch of everyday citizens and journalists kvetch about this expansion, though. Perhaps I’m not diving deeply enough into sports media to catch something an athlete is saying about all this.
If you’re an athlete who is playing college basketball, you’re going to find out a little more about how travel in the professional levels feels. Looking at a map will help you manage your expectations.
The question in my mind is whether the revenues from an increasingly lucrative network package will be enough to cover the expenses Olympic sports will incur for everything related to travel, or will fans be paying more to attend B1G football and basketball games.
No stone goes unturned when college sports is looking to expand its revenue stream, so I hope there is at least a happy medium.
Money is clearly what has led to the change in complexion among what was formerly known as the Power Five conferences in football.
These conferences are The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), The Big Ten (B1G), The Big XII, The Pacific 12 (PAC12), and the Southeast Conference (SEC).
The B1G and the SEC will likely be the two leagues among the current Power Five conferences who will have a great deal of distance between the two organizations and the next best league.
Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington will pile in with the other 14 teams comprising the B1G to make the total count 18 schools.
Money, mostly in the form of lucrative TV deals, got these universities where they’ve landed. No matter how much traditionalists bemoan the shift from familiar, regional rivalries to a conference now covering three of the four contiguous U.S. time zones, the deals are done.
Rather than cry over spilled milk let’s give thought to where B1G college football is headed.
The major networks carrying B1G action now own TV real estate beyond noon, 3:30 p.m. and less than a handful of prime-time games on a given week. The new B1G, if you’re on the West coast, now has meaningful games beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific time all the way until the folks on the Pacific coast turn off the lights for bedtime.
The problem with college football now is it’s still too regional to get big ratings in the College Football Playoff tournament. Will 2024 be the season we see four B1G and four SEC teams in the expanded field of twelve?
There is now a welcome geographic diversity in the B1G starting in the 2024 football season.
Folks from the West will get to experience the cold of Minnesota, and the “can’t get there from here” journey to Beaver Stadium when they battle Penn State. The Midwestern B1G schools will get at least one trip a year to better climes in California as well as dates in mild Seattle and Oregon.
Bruins, Ducks, Huskies, and Trojans will get to “jump around” in Camp Randall Stadium.
The conference will likely honor the traditional trophy games among the current and new conference members.
I’m also hoping an expanded conference where teams will play at ten conference games instead of nine, shaving off at least one more home game with the current regional mid-major fare. This year, the Ohio State home game selection had customarily beautiful weather dates to offset the excruciating boredom of watching Western Kentucky, and Youngstown State in the Shoe.
The Olympic sports will, on the other hand, be burdened with greater travel expenses and more travel time to venues so far away. Something tells me the network packages that will be afforded to the B1G will be enough o keep the budget afloat, but those athletes are going to feel the grind of logging greater miles.
Perhaps the B1G has set aside time to discuss - among the current and incoming athletic administrators – some logistical ideas to bundle some consecutive long-distance road games for baseball and softball (for example).
My uncle is a Buckeye alum who lives in Ann Arbor adjacent to the $168 million Stephen Ross Olympic Sports facility. He hasn’t heard a peep from the athletes - whom he encounters more frequently than you’d imagine - coming and going from the area.
You know, I haven’t heard a peep from them either, come to think of it.
I’ve heard some college coaches, and a bunch of everyday citizens and journalists kvetch about this expansion, though. Perhaps I’m not diving deeply enough into sports media to catch something an athlete is saying about all this.
If you’re an athlete who is playing college basketball, you’re going to find out a little more about how travel in the professional levels feels. Looking at a map will help you manage your expectations.
The question in my mind is whether the revenues from an increasingly lucrative network package will be enough to cover the expenses Olympic sports will incur for everything related to travel, or will fans be paying more to attend B1G football and basketball games.
No stone goes unturned when college sports is looking to expand its revenue stream, so I hope there is at least a happy medium.