Merged - Big 12 Aftermath Thread

After I posted that I googled top football TV ratings and found this interesting article that had some data. Iowa State was ranked 46th based on average TV viewers which, again, higher than what I expected. But that data is skewed by the opponents it plays. I wonder how well ISU will rank once Iowa (21st), Oklahoma (8th), and Texas (13th) fall off the schedule. They will be replacing those games with the likes of BYU (48th), Houston (52nd), UCF (60th), and Cincinnati (66th). My guess is those games will not be shown in prime TV slots or networks, which also contributes to the data.

Edit - BTW, UCLA is 32nd on that list.

Most of their viewership is probable in the first two minutes until people realize that they're not the Hawkeyes and change the channel.....
 
I hate Iowa State sports. I hate Iowa State fans. I do respect Iowa State's academic institution because it is really a top rate agricultural school. Despite my disdain for ISU, I really hope they aren't relegated to what becomes a mid major plus conference. I mean, I kind of do, but not really. I can't really articulate how I feel for them. I just know that if Michigan, PSU and OSU all threatened to bounce out of the Big Ten we'd be utterly screwed through no fault of our own and there's no cosmic justice in such an event playing out.

I feel bad for the author of that piece. You can see him oscillating in real time between various stages of grief. I can picture how we would feel if that happened to us. Ugh. The poor fella thinks Texas A&M will have sway in a decision regarding Texas. That just isn't true. The rest of the SEC would trade Texas for A&M straight up in a heartbeat. If they had to vote to remove A&M to get Texas, they would. The real question would be whether a consortium of other Texas schools wouldn't use their legislative powers through the state government to force the UT regents/trustees to stay in the Big 12. Baylor has a lot of sway in Texas. What if Bowlsby reached out Houston and SMU and offered them membership in the Big 12 conditioned on their ability to grease the legislative wheels and keep Texas? That seems more feasible than A&M doing anything to block a UT move. With NIL and all the money in Texas, they could resurrect the glory days of Texas college football. Surely that nostalgia play would carry some weight.

And I think the media rights issue he points to is overrated as well. Obviously, 2021 is already set. Say they move in 2022, that really just leaves the 2022, 2023 and 2024 football seasons (which drives the TV revenue) on the table. Maybe the move would be in 2023 as well. Furthermore, I'm sure the SEC could come up with some sort of "housewarming gift fee" which would totally NOT be TV money and concoct a way to screw the Big 12. I'd want to see the actual contract, not some sports reporter's interpretation of it.
Purdue is better than ISU Ag. In Extension they haven't really had pay raises in 10 years and hire really young people with no experience. Illinois Ag has really dropped as well. Purdue has always been cheap but keep up with the times better.
 
Anyone thinking of Iowa State to the Big Ten needs to understand basic division. Let us assume just for round number purposes that we add a 15th team other than ISU and that team is revenue neutral. Let us assume that after adding that 15th team, and just using round numbers that the total media revenue is $450 million.

Take 450/15. The result is 30 (the real number is higher, but I'm using 30 for ease).

You add Iowa State. The numerator in the equation has to get to at least 480 because 480/16=30. Iowa State adds 0 to BTN revenues. They don't afford any further negotiating leverage. You're basically left with 450/16, which is $28.125 million. It would cost every member school close to $2 million to add Iowa State. That is why it ain't freaking happening.

The more I think about this, the more I think that unless the B1G can land UCLA and USC, there's not a compelling reason to go to 16. Maybe a case can be made for KU and Colorado or Arizona and Arizona State. But those are it and the latter two pairings are scraping the bottom of what the B1G should ever consider. Outside of those, nothing is going to happen to the Big Ten.

The move for the B1G was to get Texas and Oklahoma. We got scooped. Unless USC and UCLA join, there's nothing that makes sense from a football perspective.
This was a great call. The thing I love about ok4p is the free education he provides...I then can just steal his takes and sound like a genius with my friends... Then later be like guys remember when I crushed my predictions about the big ten? That was awesome!...in other words..bump! Haha seriously though, well done!
 
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