Cal and Stanford talking to ACC

We'll see if anything comes of this but it certainly sounds like a difficult marriage. Lots of travel with no financial upside. Probably the only reason it's ever being considered is the academic standing of those two universities.
 
haydensly said:
We'll see if anything comes of this but it certainly sounds like a difficult marriage. Lots of travel with no financial upside. Probably the only reason it's ever being considered is the academic standing of those two universities.
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Agree about the travel. Seems the Big Ten would be more of a fit as there would be five former Pac teams on the West Coast to schedule and play each year to help cut down on the travel.

The question is whether the B1G would want them at this point. The thought of Stanford playing with those hillbillies makes me chuckle.
 
There are no great solutions for the four that are left. The ACC is about to walk down a similar path when Clemson and Florida State and maybe other's bolt.

I would recommend that the commissioers of the ACC, Mountain West and the four leftovers of the Pac 12 get together. Form a megaconference with two largely autonomous divisions. Call it the Coastal Conference (wait, is there already such a thing?). Have an East Coast and a West Coast, with 10-12 teams each. In football, they only play in their division and just play a championship game for each division winner. They could do something similar with the non-revenue sports. In that way, they are not traveling across the country all the time. Its basically two conferences that have banded together to get better TV revenue, but largely they are not playing each other except in a conference championship game/match or a conference tourney. Other than that, they stay in their areas of the country. Its not great, but it will at least be something on par with the Big 12.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
There are no great solutions for the four that are left. The ACC is about to walk down a similar path when Clemson and Florida State and maybe other's bolt.

I would recommend that the commissioers of the ACC, Mountain West and the four leftovers of the Pac 12 get together. Form a megaconference with two largely autonomous divisions. Call it the Coastal Conference (wait, is there already such a thing?). Have an East Coast and a West Coast, with 10-12 teams each. In football, they only play in their division and just play a championship game for each division winner. They could do something similar with the non-revenue sports. In that way, they are not traveling across the country all the time. Its basically two conferences that have banded together to get better TV revenue, but largely they are not playing each other except in a conference championship game/match or a conference tourney. Other than that, they stay in their areas of the country. Its not great, but it will at least be something on par with the Big 12.
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I’ve listened to many You Tube videos lately (this happens when ypur retired) and what killed the Pac Ten was not having revenue contracts. It’s revenue contracts that ironically are holding the ACC together. There is very little that the remaining Pac Ten teams bring to the table in this regard, especially California. Stanford has considered being an independent (sorry you’re not Notre Dame). Speaking of Notre Dame I have seen where the ACC is claiming Notre Dame as one of their conference teams (due to basketball association), Yet for the most part most consider Notre Dame an Independent. If it wasn’t for their religious affiliation what would they really be in the world of athletics??? Then again where did the desperation play at the end of a game “Hail Mary” originate?
 
BigD said:
I’ve listened to many You Tube videos lately (this happens when ypur retired) and what killed the Pac Ten was not having revenue contracts. It’s revenue contracts that ironically are holding the ACC together. There is very little that the remaining Pac Ten teams bring to the table in this regard, especially California. Stanford has considered being an independent (sorry you’re not Notre Dame). Speaking of Notre Dame I have seen where the ACC is claiming Notre Dame as one of their conference teams (due to basketball association), Yet for the most part most consider Notre Dame an Independent. If it wasn’t for their religious affiliation what would they really be in the world of athletics??? Then again where did the desperation play at the end of a game “Hail Mary” originate?
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Roger Staubach originated the phrase "Hail Mary" in 1975 after a playoff game against the Vikings. He threw a desperation pass to Drew Pearson during the game. After the game, he was asked about the desperation heave. He said "I said a Hail Mary and threw the ball."
 
I am involved in academics at Iowa, so I am probably one of the few on here who actually get excited about the Big Ten Academic Alliance. I think adding Cal-Berkely and Stanford would be sweet. I would say, "Don't stop there!" and raid the ACC for Notre Dame, Duke, UNC, and either Virginia or Georgia Tech.

Academically, Iowa would be in the bottom 5 of this mega-alliance, but I think their ship would be lifted by the rising tide of that academic juggernaut.
 
CP87 said:
I am involved in academics at Iowa, so I am probably one of the few on here who actually get excited about the Big Ten Academic Alliance. I think adding Cal-Berkely and Stanford would be sweet. I would say, "Don't stop there!" and raid the ACC for Notre Dame, Duke, UNC, and either Virginia or Georgia Tech.

Academically, Iowa would be in the bottom 5 of this mega-alliance, but I think their ship would be lifted by the rising tide of that academic juggernaut.
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What are some examples of collaboration/benefits that you’ve seen on the academic side by BTAA members?

Honest question; I’m genuinely curious.

To me it’s intriguing that an association based on an athletic group would form on the academia/research side of things.

Sidebar…what would be a prediction on increased benefit you’d expect from Cal/Standord joining? Would it be strictly money?
 
CP87 said:
I am involved in academics at Iowa, so I am probably one of the few on here who actually get excited about the Big Ten Academic Alliance. I think adding Cal-Berkely and Stanford would be sweet. I would say, "Don't stop there!" and raid the ACC for Notre Dame, Duke, UNC, and either Virginia or Georgia Tech.

Academically, Iowa would be in the bottom 5 of this mega-alliance, but I think their ship would be lifted by the rising tide of that academic juggernaut.
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Yes, Stanford would seem like a natural fit and NW needs a bed mate in the conference. Another private school with high academic standards.

Just don't let Stanford bring their band.
 
Fryowa said:
What are some examples of collaboration/benefits that you’ve seen on the academic side by BTAA members?

Honest question; I’m genuinely curious.

To me it’s intriguing that an association based on an athletic group would form on the academia/research side of things.

Sidebar…what would be a prediction on increased benefit you’d expect from Cal/Standord joining? Would it be strictly money?
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There are many many research relationships between schools. Agreements to work on studies together, being incorporated into grants, having resources and data that can be used by other institutions, etc. etc.. In addition, many researchers may go to other universities and stay for some time working on projects or doing research. Researchers or PhD's who can bring in substantial grant money and it's almost a competition among them. Our previous principal investigator (Head over the entire research shibang) was known to bring in millions each year and was looked upon highly by his peers and the admin at the university.
 
Fryowa said:
What are some examples of collaboration/benefits that you’ve seen on the academic side by BTAA members?

Honest question; I’m genuinely curious.

To me it’s intriguing that an association based on an athletic group would form on the academia/research side of things.

Sidebar…what would be a prediction on increased benefit you’d expect from Cal/Standord joining? Would it be strictly money?
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I really don't know if it means anything or not. The story is that it will promote research collaborations and sharing of resources across institutions. I teach at Iowa and am not involved in research, so I cannot really comment on whether that pans out or not.

Who knows, maybe it is just a defense mechanism for me? SEC wins all the football titles, but I can say, "Oh yeah, let's compare research dollars between conferences!"
 
Secondarily, one might think that being involved with an elite academic conference would cause schools to "up their game" a bit. I am not really sure if that works out, however. Nebraska came in with a substantially lower academic rating than any of the other B1G alliance schools, and I am not sure if it has increased much. We shouldn't really cast too many stones, however, because Iowa is around the bottom of the conference as well. Depending on the ranking, they are usually fighting with MSU for the spot ahead of Nebraska (though there is a pretty sizable gape between Nebraska and the next schools). And also, school rankings are likely garbage.

I hadn't really put much thought into this until @Fryowa asked the question, but I really think much of this comes down to wanting to be associated with a strong academic conference so I can make excuses about B1G not winning national titles.
 
CP87 said:
Secondarily, one might think that being involved with an elite academic conference would cause schools to "up their game" a bit. I am not really sure if that works out, however. Nebraska came in with a substantially lower academic rating than any of the other B1G alliance schools, and I am not sure if it has increased much. We shouldn't really cast too many stones, however, because Iowa is around the bottom of the conference as well. Depending on the ranking, they are usually fighting with MSU for the spot ahead of Nebraska (though there is a pretty sizable gape between Nebraska and the next schools). And also, school rankings are likely garbage.

I hadn't really put much thought into this until @Fryowa asked the question, but I really think much of this comes down to wanting to be associated with a strong academic conference so I can make excuses about B1G not winning national titles.
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Many academic types have a near pathological infatuation with prestige, rankings, credentials, etc. Rankings of public institutions contain many elements that are simply a proxy for surrounding population. Because of that, schools like Iowa, 'Braska, Kansas, etc. are always going to be near the bottom. This pisses the academic types off to no end and because many of the academic types are heavily oversocialized politically correct types they have to create defense mechanisms to protect their egos of being affiliated with some "non-peer" institution. So in that regard you are totally correct about the Big Ten needing to go "academic" to cover up the utter lack of competitiveness in athletics.

Look at some of the recent presidents of Iowa. Skorton bounced to Cornell. Mary Sue Coleman bounced to Michigan. Hunter Rawlings went to Cornell. There are very few Sandy Boyd types left who have immense loyalty to an organization like Iowa. The prof ranks are similar. Many people want that prestige.
 
ChosenChildren said:
Roger Staubach originated the phrase "Hail Mary" in 1975 after a playoff game against the Vikings. He threw a desperation pass to Drew Pearson during the game. After the game, he was asked about the desperation heave. He said "I said a Hail Mary and threw the ball."
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That's pretty funny! I wonder if he is Catholic. He sure the hell isn't Mormon............... That would be Danny White and Steve Young territory.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Yes, Stanford would seem like a natural fit and NW needs a bed mate in the conference. Another private school with high academic standards.

Just don't let Stanford bring their band.
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"Just don't let Stanford bring their band"
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
THIS

Plus it would bring great pleasure to stomp their asses in Kinnick!
 
BigD said:
"Just don't let Stanford bring their band"
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
THIS

Plus it would bring great pleasure to stomp their asses in Kinnick!
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If Standford ever plays at Kinnick I will demand an apology and struggle session for their bullshit at the Rose Bowl that would make Mao blush. And I would expect them to troll it, which I would admittedly respect.
 
BigD said:
I’ve listened to many You Tube videos lately (this happens when ypur retired) and what killed the Pac Ten was not having revenue contracts. It’s revenue contracts that ironically are holding the ACC together. There is very little that the remaining Pac Ten teams bring to the table in this regard, especially California. Stanford has considered being an independent (sorry you’re not Notre Dame). Speaking of Notre Dame I have seen where the ACC is claiming Notre Dame as one of their conference teams (due to basketball association), Yet for the most part most consider Notre Dame an Independent. If it wasn’t for their religious affiliation what would they really be in the world of athletics??? Then again where did the desperation play at the end of a game “Hail Mary” originate?
Click to expand...
I hope the Big 10 either finally absorbs Notre Dame now, or purges them from the relationship altogether. Right now, Notre Dame has its cake and eats it too. They can schedule and contract with TV as they wish, but they get the benefit of the Big Ten rivalry games like Michigan, MSU, Purdue and even some 1-off games with other teams in the conference. Why should they join the conference when they can pick and choose which games to play. That will become even more true with USC next year.

I would like the Big Ten to say to Notre Dame, join us, are we are done with you. Imagine if every Big10 schools stopped playing Notre Dame? They won't get much, if any, games out of the SEC. They don't want to play real non-con games. They could probably get a few games out of the Big 12, but who is left in that conference that is considered a Top 25 program on a regular basis? Will a game against Stanford mean much when it joins the Mountain West? They will be left to cobble together games from whatever is left of the ACC, plus the academy schools.

If there is any sense that the Big 10 will move to a 10-game conference schedule, watch Notre Dame hit the panic button on independence.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I hope the Big 10 either finally absorbs Notre Dame now, or purges them from the relationship altogether. Right now, Notre Dame has its cake and eats it too. They can schedule and contract with TV as they wish, but they get the benefit of the Big Ten rivalry games like Michigan, MSU, Purdue and even some 1-off games with other teams in the conference. Why should they join the conference when they can pick and choose which games to play. That will become even more true with USC next year.

I would like the Big Ten to say to Notre Dame, join us, are we are done with you. Imagine if every Big10 schools stopped playing Notre Dame? They won't get much, if any, games out of the SEC. They don't want to play real non-con games. They could probably get a few games out of the Big 12, but who is left in that conference that is considered a Top 25 program on a regular basis? Will a game against Stanford mean much when it joins the Mountain West? They will be left to cobble together games from whatever is left of the ACC, plus the academy schools.

If there is any sense that the Big 10 will move to a 10-game conference schedule, watch Notre Dame hit the panic button on independence.
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Slam dunk antitrust suit if the conference flat out refused to play ND. Now of course, the conference could theoretically go to a 10 game conference schedule and require all non-con games to be completed by the 3rd week of September unless they want to relinquish their bye week and if ND got jammed by that facially neutral rule so be it, but we couldn't just flat out tell them they are iced out.
 
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