Tribune's Case for Rutgers

jshawks said:
I could not be less excited about a team than I am about Rutgers. Unless they are part of a three team deal giving the conference 14 teams, but if Rutgers is the best the Big 10 can come up with then it is a fail.
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It's not a football thing, so don't look at it that way. The Big 10 isn't going to invite a team that's going to rocket to the top of the standings like Texas would. This is a money thing. Expanding the Big 10 has nothing to do with football or basketball or wrestling. Expanding into New Jersey would open the largest media market in the country, and get the BTN on basic cable in that market as opposed to the sports tier that it is on right now.

Add the fact that New Jersey has historically been a pretty fertile area for Iowa recruiting, and it's a win all the way around.
 
Would Rutgers give the Big Ten enough leverage to have the Big Ten Network added to expanded basic cable in the New Jersey and Manhattan area. I do not know if there would be a large enough interest to get the network in most households. Some states that live and breath Big Ten had a hard time getting the network picked up by most cable companies. The negotiaitons in New Jersey would have to be a better rate for the cable companies then around here. There are probably enough households that the reduced rate would still make a ton of money.
 
ShadasRevenge said:
It's not a football thing, so don't look at it that way. The Big 10 isn't going to invite a team that's going to rocket to the top of the standings like Texas would. This is a money thing. Expanding the Big 10 has nothing to do with football or basketball or wrestling. Expanding into New Jersey would open the largest media market in the country, and get the BTN on basic cable in that market as opposed to the sports tier that it is on right now.

Add the fact that New Jersey has historically been a pretty fertile area for Iowa recruiting, and it's a win all the way around.
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It is a money thing, and football just happens to be the avenue through which they have to travel to make that money. The conference is not looking to expand to improve academics, and while New Jersey is a large tv market, there is no fizzle or rich football tradition with Rutgers. Unlike in 93 when Penn State joined, Rutgers joining the conference does not improve the image of the Big 10 as a national powerhouse. It will be met nationally with a huge Yawwwwwwn. Rutger's will wind up another conference doormat, (which the Big 10 definitely does not need) and any short term boost in TV ratings we get will fade away as Rutgers struggles in a conference that they will never compete annually in for the championship. New York and New Jersey have too many other options for their entertainment than to watch a local team flounder year after year in a conference in which they cannot compete on a regular basis. This fact just simply leaves me cold towards Rutgers as a lone option. My preference would be to see Rutgers join with two other teams, preferably Nebraska and Mizzou, and then have a 14 team super conference. This would restore the Big 10 as the premier conference in the country and still get those Jersey TV's tuned in. We could also retain the name "Big 10 conference" as it would be a reference to how many states member schools reside in.
 
i wouldnt mind Rutgers, but I would like to see Missouri and Kansas come along with them. That would keep some rivalries, break into 3 huge markets (NJ/NY, KC, and STL) and keep the academic and athletic integrity
 
Hawk94 said:
Would Rutgers give the Big Ten enough leverage to have the Big Ten Network added to expanded basic cable in the New Jersey and Manhattan area. I do not know if there would be a large enough interest to get the network in most households. Some states that live and breath Big Ten had a hard time getting the network picked up by most cable companies. The negotiaitons in New Jersey would have to be a better rate for the cable companies then around here. There are probably enough households that the reduced rate would still make a ton of money.
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To answer your question - no. RuTTTgers (TTT means third tier toilet, which describes RuTTTgers academically) simply does not have enough fans in New York who could force the issue. It all boils down to price elasticity of demand. Most of the teams in the B10 right now have large rabid fan bases and will do or pay anything to see their teams play, they don't care if they have to essentially get the games on a "pay per view" type basis like the BTN, they will protest, boycott, jam the phone lines, whatever is necessary to get BTN. I have the utmost respect for the die-hardedness of many of the fan bases in the B10, and I pity the managements of cable companies that deprived Badger, Sparty, Buckeye or Wolverine fans of their God given right to watch their teams play on Saturdays when BTN came out.

RuTTTgers fans simply are not that rabid or numerous. Jim Delaney would go in to negotiate with the management of Time Warner NYC and they would laugh him out of their offices when he threatened them with "angry RuTTTgers fans jamming TWC's phone lines." If Delaney takes this gamble, he better have multiple long-term deals with Tri-State area cable companies in place before he signs because if he thinks he will see a replay of rabid fans being the BTN's biggest salesmen, I think he would be wrong in this case.
 
While there might not be enough Rutgers fans to force cable co's to add the BTN, there are enough Big Ten alums in the NY/NJ area added to rutgers fans that could make it happen...maybe.

I know they do not make the pulses race,but I still think it makes the most sense.
Adding Mo and Nebraska is possible I guess...but bottom line,you gotta go with the population. Iowa could dominate the west division in football and make the trip to Lucas Field an annual event...I like that.
 
I am not bent on the Big Ten expanding at all...buts its going to happen. What Rutgers would offer, if they were a stand alone, is a huge TV market, which means more revenue for Iowa's athletic department, plus you don't break up the traditions of the league as much as you would if you would add Texas & Texas A&M...make no mistake, if Texas comes, so does little brother...
 
Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa Iowa

(the ads on the page were PSU...can't be having that. )
 
JonDMiller said:
I am not bent on the Big Ten expanding at all...buts its going to happen. What Rutgers would offer, if they were a stand alone, is a huge TV market, which means more revenue for Iowa's athletic department, plus you don't break up the traditions of the league as much as you would if you would add Texas & Texas A&M...make no mistake, if Texas comes, so does little brother...
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John,
I think you are missing the point. Even by the Tribunes article the New York TV audience only cares about Rutgers when they win. So while being in the Big 10 definitely benefits Rutgers, it would only mean a short term gain in TV viewership for the conference. However, once the novelty wears off and Rutgers shows that it is in way over it's head then viewership will wane. Clearly this is a program that will rarely if ever see the upper tier of the Big 10, let alone a title. So what makes you think TV viewers in New York and New Jersey are the least bit interested in seeing a perennial conference cellar dweller when they have the Giants, Jets, Bills, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Islanders, Nets, Knicks, etc. The Big 10 does not need another doormat, we already have Indiana for that. The conference needs some star power! Bringing in Rutgers as a lone option would make the Big 10's expansion efforts a national joke. I personally think the conference can and should do better. If they want to make a big splash then make Rutger's part of a 3 team deal along with Nebraska and Mizzou. That would be an expansion worthy of the respect that the Big 10 conference commands.
 
Yes, but it would force ABC-TV New York to carry the late afternoon game on Saturdays instead of an ACC game or other game. Huge!
 
I'm really warming up to the idea of expansion. But I think if we do it we need to go big or go home. I'd rather see us add 3 teams than just one. Give me Rutgers and Pitt out east and add Mizzou or Nebby in the west (I'd rather see Nebby).
 
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