Conference realignment thread

[ysuindy]

The news of Syracuse and Pitt moving to the ACC will keep the whole conference realignment merry-go-round going and may increase the chance that YSU's affiliation is affected.

From a football perspective, I don't see much happening to the MVFC.  I think the only way that YSU is impacted from a football perspective is when the day comes that the really big boys decide to take their ball away from the NCAA and tell the big time football wannabes to hit the road.  Now what the prospect of 4 16-team superconferences does to the our blood money games, remains to be seen.

I think the breakup of the Big East could have an impact on the Horizon League.  If enough of the Big East football playing schools bolt for the ACC to cause the demise of the Big East,  the basketball realignment that is sure to follow "could" have an impact.

Logically Butler would seem to be attractive if schools like Marquette and DePaul are looking for new affiliation.  While Butler basketball certainly is attractive, I don't know if they have the cash to put all of their sports on the big boy level.  I suspect Butler's ability to raise the athletic budget up to the levels needed to participate at the level are similar to the challenges YSU has in trying to just get to the MAC level. 

Going to be interesting to watch.  We should try to use this thread to post any articles that get down to the Horizon League level of discussion.

[ysuindy]

The view from a UWM blog - with the requisite swipe of YSU

http://pantheru.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/pitt-syracuse-the-next-dominos-then/

[guinpen]

Hurts me to say it, but until we prove otherwise, cracks like this can be expected.

[Wick250]

The reason we are all in uncharted waters is the fact that this is the first time that the very existence of the NCAA as we know it is threatened by the big boys and their television money.  Will they bolt from the NCAA, form those super conferences for all sports, and start to pay their players "stipends?"  Or will they simply wrest concessions from the NCAA but stay within the organization?

My prediction for YSU is that in five years we will still be affiliated with two conferences: football only as a member of a restructured CAA and everything else in the Horizon League, which will have lost Butler but nobody else.  Milwaukee fans are delusional if they think that their institution is attractive to the big boys.

[ysuindy]

Lots of data here - an interesting read - and a sobering one for lots of schools who might think they matter

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/the-geography-of-college-football-fans-and-realignment-chaos/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nyt%2Frss%2FSports+%28NYT+%3E+Sports%29&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimessports

[guinpen]

The reason we are all in uncharted waters is the fact that this is the first time that the very existence of the NCAA as we know it is threatened by the big boys and their television money.  Will they bolt from the NCAA, form those super conferences for all sports, and start to pay their players "stipends?"  Or will they simply wrest concessions from the NCAA but stay within the organization?

My prediction for YSU is that in five years we will still be affiliated with two conferences: football only as a member of a restructured CAA and everything else in the Horizon League, which will have lost Butler but nobody else.  Milwaukee fans are delusional if they think that their institution is attractive to the big boys.

I agree that it is only a matter of time before we will see 64 teams 4 16 team leagues, starting their own party. And yes no NCAA means they can pay the players, which means that all the rest of the schools in the country will have a talent drop off.

And yes Milwaukee fans really must be delusional.

[ysuindy]

Valpo's AD thinks the Horizon League is solid as is

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/7793291-556/mark-lazerus-horizon-league-content-to-skip-conference-chaos.html

[ysuindy]

Quotes from Butler A.D. and Horizon League commissioner

http://blogs.indystar.com/butler/2011/09/23/realignment-butler-waiting-watching/

[ysuindy]

Interview with Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone

http://www.horizonleague.org/video.html?id=4448

I have not had a chance to listen yet - realignment is a topic that is supposed to be discussed.

[ysuindy]

Will conference realignment cause the blood money games to go away?  The Indy Star discusses in a pair of articles from today

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110929/SPORTS0603/109290370/Are-money-games-going-away-?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110929/SPORTS0603/109290369/Ball-State-latest-beneficiary-college-football-money-games-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

There is a table in the paper that I couldn't find on-line.

Ball State's money games:

2011 Oklahoma $900k
2010  Iowa   $800k
2009 Auburn $800k
2007 Nebraska $725k
2005 Iowa $400k
2005 Auburn $400k

The story discusses Indiana State getting $450k for opening at Penn State.  Kent State got $1.2 million from Alabama, breaking their $425k contract with Purdue, who then paid Middle Tennessee $850k (The $425k they were going to pay Kent plus the $425 Kent paid Purdue).  MTSU made out best in that deal.

[Pizza]

The reason we are all in uncharted waters is the fact that this is the first time that the very existence of the NCAA as we know it is threatened by the big boys and their television money.  Will they bolt from the NCAA, form those super conferences for all sports, and start to pay their players "stipends?"  Or will they simply wrest concessions from the NCAA but stay within the organization?

My prediction for YSU is that in five years we will still be affiliated with two conferences: football only as a member of a restructured CAA and everything else in the Horizon League, which will have lost Butler but nobody else.  Milwaukee fans are delusional if they think that their institution is attractive to the big boys.

I agree that it is only a matter of time before we will see 64 teams 4 16 team leagues, starting their own party. And yes no NCAA means they can pay the players, which means that all the rest of the schools in the country will have a talent drop off.

And yes Milwaukee fans really must be delusional.

I don't know that there will be much of a talent level drop off for 1-A schools (65-112) and 1AA schools. The best players will still go to the top 64 like they already are doing. A few hundred bucks a month won't change that much. Sure a dirt poor kid may decide to ride the bench for 4 years to get an extra $258/mo for 9 months. But that would be very shortsighted.

Most kids want to play football. Not be tackling dummies for 4 years. Trust me, $258 dollars/month is NOT worth the price to be a 4th team lineman at OSU vs being a starter at Kent State (mid major) or YSU (1-AA).