2011 Big Ten Football

[Jimbo]

I grew up in the South, but I have lived in PA for the last 12 years, and thus am exposed to the "Penn State Nation" (unfortunately my oldest boy loves the Nittany Lions, and thus I'm forced to watch them). While they like being in the Big Ten, they don't equate it to being the et all of college football the way a team that's been in a conference forever, and wouldn't be devasted is Penn State went elsewhere. Penn State fans just don't identify with the Big Ten as the other teams that have been there longer. Sorta the way Salsa and the Miami people feel about the ACC.

Even this comment board I happened upon agrees:
Penn State comments: Nittany Nation still doesn't feel part of Big Ten family | PennLive.com

If I recall, Penn State wasn't doing all that great just before joining the Big 10, they played Ohio State and got beat, probably figured if they could join, they could play a better competitive schedule and win .... I really thought they thought they would waltz in the Big Ten and win every year.... that didn't happen.

 

[Derwin0]

If I recall, Penn State wasn't doing all that great just before joining the Big 10, they played Ohio State and got beat, probably figured if they could join, they could play a better competitive schedule and win .... I really thought they thought they would waltz in the Big Ten and win every year.... that didn't happen.

Maybe just before, but Penn St. was a perenial power as an independent, and won it's National Titles as such. That's probably why fans don't indentify as much with the Big Ten, as their glory days were as an independent.

Big Ten was a second choice anyway. JoePa wanted to form a new eastern league with Pitt, and got pissed when Pitt said no and joined up with the Big East instead. So JoePa later had Penn St. join the Big Ten (when all the big independents joined up with a conference), and still refuses to schedule Pitt on a regular basis.

"Contrary to what anyone tells you, the Big East tried to get us to go into it, just for basketball. I wanted an all-sports conference, but I couldn't quite swing it. We had to make up our minds because we were going to be left out in the cold unless we [joined a conference]. So we took a shot at the Big Ten. The Big Ten took us, and that was the end of it."

http://ncaabbs.com/archive/index.php/thread-314462.html

After only two years of existence as a conference formed specifically for men's basketball, football became an issue. Joe Paterno, head football coach and then Director of Athletics at Penn State, had been trying to put together an all-sports conference of the eastern Division IA independent schools. They included Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple. While our football fortunes would be well served through such an alignment, it would have been a step backward for men's basketball. To enter into such an alignment Syracuse and Boston College would have had to leave the BIG EAST. With the reluctance of B.C. and Syracuse to do so, Penn State then asked for membership in the BIG EAST. This was a turning point in the Conferences history. If Penn State was accepted, our football would be protected. If Penn State was rejected, B.C. and Syracuse might have no other option but to leave the BIG EAST, and join together with the other Eastern independents. To expand membership in The BIG EAST Conference six affirmative votes were necessary. The vote was 5-3. Instead of taking Penn State, we invited Pittsburgh as the ninth member. At that time Pittsburgh and Penn State were bitter rivals, and Pittsburgh was less than enamored with aligning itself with Penn State. Pitt's membership in the BIG EAST, along with B.C. and Syracuse, checkmated Penn State's eastern all-sports conference, and gave the Conference one more Division IA school. This football issue nearly caused the premature demise of the BIG EAST. Clearly, three schools in the BIG EAST had no concept of the importance of football, but the others realized that this decision not to invite Penn State would come back to haunt us. In fact, football would dictate every future consideration of membership expansion of our "basketball" conference.

 

[mccoyrj]

Big 10 to play nine conference games starting 2017

Anybody post this yet?

Big Ten will play nine conference games in football starting in 2017 - Campus Rivalry - USATODAY.com

"It gives us a clearer sense of conference," Delany told ESPN.com. "We don't expand to play each other less. We expand because we like to play the teams and the schools that are involved in the conference. It also gives a clearer sense of a champion by having more competition, not less.

 

[riffjim4069]

Anybody post this yet?

Big Ten will play nine conference games in football starting in 2017 - Campus Rivalry - USATODAY.com

Yes, I posted it yesterday - post#37. :

 

[Jimbo]

Maybe just before, but Penn St. was a perenial power as an independent, and won it's National Titles as such. That's probably why fans don't indentify as much with the Big Ten, as their glory days were as an independent.

Big Ten was a second choice anyway. JoePa wanted to form a new eastern league with Pitt, and got pissed when Pitt said no and joined up with the Big East instead. So JoePa later had Penn St. join the Big Ten (when all the big independents joined up with a conference), and still refuses to schedule Pitt on a regular basis.


NCAAbbs - Paterno blames Pitt for Eastern league failure

I remember that !

 

[riffjim4069]

Face of the NFL...it's Tom Brady

Over the weekend I was thinking if I the public had to put a face on the NFL which player would it be. That question was surprisingly easy to answer...it is still the Big Ten's (Michigan) Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

 

[yaz96]

Over the weekend I was thinking if I the public had to put a face on the NFL which player would it be. That question was surprisingly easy to answer...it is still the Big Ten's (Michigan) Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

How unfortunate.


That he's from Michigan, that is.


Good thing is, 95% of the public doesn't know that.

 

[mdonnelly]

Over the weekend I was thinking if I the public had to put a face on the NFL which player would it be. That question was surprisingly easy to answer...it is still the Big Ten's (Michigan) Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

For better of for worse, it's been Bret Favre from S. Mississippi for the last 15 years, not Tom Brady.

 

[Jimbo]

Face of the NFL ?

Manning and Brady .... Both are the first ones you generally think of.

 

[riffjim4069]

For better of for worse, it's been Bret Favre from S. Mississippi for the last 15 years, not Tom Brady.

Perhaps if we were talking about Brett Farve's penis or the NFL prior to 2005. Manning is a somewhat close but the past 5+ years it's been Tom Brady: he's got the wins, he's got the records, he's got the fan support, he's got the cutsie looks, and he has dated all the babes. If you have a put a face on the NFL it's going to be Tom Brady.

 

[riffjim4069]

Six Players Named to Hendricks Award Watch List

Source

"Six Big Ten student-athletes were named to the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation's top defensive end. The Big Ten and ACC were the only conferences to feature more than four standouts among the honorees. Big Ten players on the watch list are Iowa's Broderick Binns, Michigan's Ryan Van Bergen, Nebraska's Cameron Meredith, Northwestern Vince Browne, Ohio State's Nathan Williams and Penn State's Jack Crawford. The Hendricks Award has honored the country's top defensive end since 2002 and Michigan's LaMarr Woodley earned the trophy in 2006."

Personally, I am really looking forward to Michigan "finding" their defense this season now that we've shed Rich "Defense? What's That?" Rodriguez.

 

[riffjim4069]

Countdown to Kickoff is only 23 days

 

[king3pj]

Countdown to Kickoff is only 23 days

I can't wait for my Fighting Irish to play my home state Michigan and Michigan State teams in the second and third weeks of the season. Those two games are the highlight of my college football season every year. I have all my friends over who are fans of those teams and let the back and forth trash talking fly. I wish they would have just joined the Big Ten during the expansions last year.

 

[riffjim4069]

...I wish they would have just joined the Big Ten during the expansions last year.

Me too! Notre Dame has always been my 2nd favorite team. I just cannot stand watching them on NBC.

 

[Jimbo]

I can't wait for my Fighting Irish to play my home state Michigan and Michigan State teams in the second and third weeks of the season. Those two games are the highlight of my college football season every year. I have all my friends over who are fans of those teams and let the back and forth trash talking fly. I wish they would have just joined the Big Ten during the expansions last year.

Notre Dame thinks they are Toooo GOOOD for the Big Ten.

 

[riffjim4069]

Notre Dame thinks they are Toooo GOOOD for the Big Ten.

They just don't want to share their television revenue (the NBC gravy train) with the Big Ten.

 

[Jimbo]

They just don't want to share their television revenue (the NBC gravy train) with the Big Ten.

Ummm, I would think that the Big Ten Television rights pays a whole lot more than NBC .

 

[riffjim4069]

Ummm, I would think that the Big Ten Television rights pays a whole lot more than NBC .

Absolutely, but they have to be divided between 12-teams whereas Notre Dame keeps all their NBC revenue. Trust me...if Notre Dame would have been with the Big Ten years ago if it helped pad their coffers.

 

[Jimbo]

Absolutely, but they have to be divided between 12-teams whereas Notre Dame keeps all their NBC revenue. Trust me...if Notre Dame would have been with the Big Ten years ago if it helped pad their coffers.

I don't know, I think the Big Ten has a lot to offer other than money ....
I don't have the numbers for either the NBC/ND contract or the money that the Big Ten doles out, but you gotta think if you have 2 teams going to a BCS game each year, that has to make the money situation sway in the Big tens favor over the money ND makes by themselves.
Also you take the other 4-5 schools that also go to bowl games that also pay ... of course that money all get dived up to.

 

[Derwin0]

I don't know, I think the Big Ten has a lot to offer other than money ....
I don't have the numbers for either the NBC/ND contract or the money that the Big Ten doles out, but you gotta think if you have 2 teams going to a BCS game each year, that has to make the money situation sway in the Big tens favor over the money ND makes by themselves.
Also you take the other 4-5 schools that also go to bowl games that also pay ... of course that money all get dived up to.

But Notre Dame gets BCS money all to itself every single year. It's portion is higher than any team in any conference that gets 2 teams in.

Notre Dame gets $6 million/yr (no matter if it gets into a BCS game or not)
BCS conferences get $17 million for 1 team, and $6 million for a 2nd.
Big Ten basically gets $23 million, split 12 ways that is just under $2 million. Under a 3rd of what Notre Dame gets.

Not to mention, Notre Dame is part of the non-BCS Big East Bowl System, so gets a portion of that as well (and being split 9 ways, soon to be 10, is more than the non-BCS Big Ten which is now split 12 ways). As well as a portion of the Big East basketball monies.

So why would Notre Dame want to join the Big Ten again? Definately not for money.