2017 B1G Tournament to DC

[Seth53]

So they're going to hold it in DC in 2017. Big deal.
Nowhere did I read it's permanent.
Cripes, haters, give it a chance to see how it pans out.
Yeah, I can't drive from Durant to DC as easily as I did to Indy, but there's a ton of Hawk fans around that geographic who now will have the chance to attend.

What?....a 24-hour sports channel. It'll never fly!
What?....the B1G playing in a conference tournament?....it admonishes tradition.
What?....playing the wildly popular B1G conference tourney outside of Chicago? It'll alienate half the fan base.
What?....a dedicated sports channel for the B1G. Absurd.
What?....playing the B1G FB game indoors? It'll never last.
What?....a FB playoff? Terrible. It'll never expand past four teams if it lasts at all. BCS/polls/computers/homerism was/were just fine. Other bowls will become extinct. College FB needs to be different....yessirree!

 

[SpecialKHawk]

I just read an article in the Gazette that said there were 91,000 BT alumni in the Beltway. How many are in the Chicago metro area? (I do not know the answer to this question)

I think Delaney is a lot more interested in his short term legacy (this is not an oxymoron that follows) as a commissioner than the long term success of the BT as a premier conference. Our society is all about the "short term" along with the Dow, coaches' win/loss records, and politicians' approval ratings.

I have read a couple of comments on this thread that are critical of the BT network televising "minor" sports. One of the ongoing strengths of the BT is their support of non-revenue producing sports which provide opportunities for true amateur student athletes to gain scholarships and compete at a major college level.

I make no apologies for my stance as an elder statesman. Maybe you young folks should reinvent a tradition in the native American culture and begin to listen to your elders.

Jump in your car and drive around some of the major areas in Ohio, Michigan and even Pennsylvania among others and you will understand what they mean when they say rust-belt. It is really sad. If you think a better long-term strategy was staying pat in just the old MidWest then I have to hand it to you for being much smarter than those who study every avenue of this for a living.

We love the MidWest but it is definitely not trending up. The strategy employed by Delaney is to break the land lock by going east and eventually south establishing a presence in big areas.

Some laugh at Rutgers and Maryland but those folks typically see everything from the sports only lens ignoring the educational and more importantly the research dollars aspect which trumps sports dollars. Selections were made with both aspects in mind - markets and research.

Now to build an Eastern presence and show good will to new members is going to involve throwing them some bones like the DC tourney. That simple.

Has Iowa lost something with this? Of course but I would rather be on the inside than the outside looking in. In the meantime we get a pay check for showing up. We get to tap or further tap some Eastern recruiting areas so that is not all bad either.

I am not bothered in the least by this and plan on watching. Looking forward to new venues and match ups as well.

 

[Thawki]

You wanna know why I'm scurred, Tweetah? Because I remember a recent bubble, not the last one your boys in DC puffed up, but the one before that. It was built on a rapidly changing technological model. You know what every moron disconnected from reality said their business needed to do? Add eyeballs. Ludicrous IPO prices were based on "eyeballs." The market predictably crashed and Joe Prole who had his whole retirement sitting in the Janus 20 Fund paid the price. But by all means, you go right on and ahead and trust Sally Mason to assist in steering the course of Big Ten athletics!

So yeah, perhaps the Big Ten needs to be aggressive in marketing to new audiences. But Rutgers, in particular, adds virtually no new audience. I don't know if Maryland does. But I do know that just putting an Iowa-Wisconsin snoozefest basketball game on TV or hosting a tournament in DC isn't going to bring new fans save for some Maryland fans and the 63 Rutgers fans. You see, Tweetah, college sports fandom is passed down from generation to generation or associated with alumni status. I mean, are you funna turn into a Utah fan if they get shown on Fox Sports at midnight on a random Saturday night in October? Of course not.

This is has got to be the worst thought out post that I have seen in quite a while. You look at the tech bubble. It burst because it was based upon unique views of web pages. And because that was a bad business model for a company to bank long term financial success, you then infer that basing financial success in athletics, based upon increasing eyeballs, is also a bad idea.

There is a big difference, though. It is kind of hard to see for someone that is clueless, I guess, so I will spell it out for you. SPORTS DERIVES THEIR REVENUE FROM POPULARITY OF THEIR PRODUCT. THAT MEANS THE MORE PEOPLE THAT SEE IT THE MORE MONEY THEY MAKE OFF OF TCKETS, TV RIGHTS AND SALES OF APPAREL, ETC.

So, while that might not work in the tech scenario, it is the PERFECT model for sports. I guess you would be able to see that if you would take your head out of your backside.