Is the B1G ignoring Oklahoma or not?

Maestro's picture
September 6, 2011 at 11:14a

So OU's President essentially "turned on the red light" regarding the future conference affiliation of the Sooners this past week.  Should the B1G get into the fray with Oklahoma? 

I say yes, and for that matter I think Kansas and Missouri should be strongly considered as well.

For what it's worth this is what I would like to see out of the inevitable march to 16 teams.

Add Pitt, a natural rival for Penn State that shores up the Pennsylvania market.

Add Kansas and Missouri.  These two are a package deal in my opinion that would solidify the addition of Nebraska by being long time Big 8 rivals.  A great rivalry that adds the St Louis and Kansas City markets to the conference fold.

Add Oklahoma.  Why let the Pac or the SEC take this huge fish without putting out some feelers to guage interest?


Nappy's picture

I tend to agree with most of this.

My ideal 4 would be:

Maryland-Could also be a natural rival for PSU and adds the Baltimore market

Va-Tech-Adds the DC market, style of football fits B1G, academics are excellent as well

Oklahoma-CFB blueblood, increases ratings with name alone, decent at bball

Ok St or Missouri-Im just meh on both teams but from a geographical standpoint it makes sense

Fan of bacon since 1981

Maestro's picture

The talk around Mizzou is that an SEC invite is in the works. Perhaps that is just talk, or posturing, but they are a natural fit with B1G. Rivals with Illinois, just south of Iowa and east of Nebraska. They immediately add the KC and St Louis markets to the conference. Not huge markets, but significant certainly.

vacuuming sucks

Buckeye in Athens's picture

With all of the talk about Texas/Ok/Ok St moving to the Pac-12, I worry that the B1G might be left behind in this round of expansion. The B1G cannot afford to lose on these schools, because it would make the Pac-12 (then 16) easily the most or second-most competitive conference. I hope Delany makes an aggresive push for at least Oklahoma. 

Is it Saturday Yet's picture

I would LOVE having Oklahoma to the B1G!  Sign me up.  Could care less about Ok St and the others, but would take Texas as well, in a heartbeat.  Get on this Delany!  Damn.  Someone have Wes call his people.  If we could somehow add Oklahoma and Texas to this  The fing money I'd drop to go see the away games there.  Maybe I don't want this to happen.

buckeyedude's picture

Forget about Texas. And Notre Dame. And please don't mention Rutgers!



btalbert25's picture

I go hard after Oklahoma.  With superconferences on the horizon, Notre Dame is probably going to have to join a conference eventually, and the B1G will be at the top of their list.  That adds 2 blue blood programs and increased footprint as well as increased advertising revenue.  That will give 14 teams with 6 HUGE programs.  After that, the conference can afford to try and add Rutgers or Syracuse(still don't think they'll deliver the New York market though) then make a push for Va Tech.  If expansion brings Nebraska, Oklahoma, Va Tech, and Notre Dame, there is no doubt which conference comes out on top.  That's a best case scenario.

For those dominoes all to fall though, Oklhoma is a HUGE program to go after.  Land them, and the conference is sitting pretty.  The 4 huge conferences will force a 4 team playoff to determine the champion, and if Notre Dame wants a shot to win the title, they'll have to be in a conference.  Even if Va Tech isn't a possibility, a conference that adds Oklahoma and Notre Dame, can afford 2 crappers to make the 15th and 16th teams.

Irricoir's picture

Here are some considerations. Oklahoma will not go anywhere with out Oklahoma State also, Texas will not go anywhere without Texas Tech. If we make a move on any of these 4 the chances are that we would have to take all 4. That means no room for Notre Dame in the future. That means no expansion toward the New York market that Delaney so desperately wants to tap. The population is immense there but he needs to realize that that region is not immersed into college football. It is a Pro town. The only place in this country that can pull off being both a pro town and college football lover is Texas. For this reason I would forego expanding east. We need to snatch the central south and stop the SEC's growth to the west and make them snatch up the cupcake ACC teams. This will also limit the Pac"whatever" from expanding east. Leave the Pac12 to gobble up Boise State and whomever is left in that area there, most likely Kansas and Missouri. Apparently there is something in both states legislature about the schools being separated from each other, in the case of Oklahoma and Texas schools. I wonder what makes A+M exempt from this legislature?


Maestro's picture

The first sentence might have been accurate in the past, but in the new world of the past few weeks (since TAMU decided to seceed) I don't think those rules apply anymore.

OU is being very aggressive on their own accord. Okie State be damned.

Texas Tech is an academic question mark that the likes of Stanford and Cal want nothing to do with as well. I see Tech ending up in the Mountain West eventually.

vacuuming sucks

Hoody Wayes's picture

Last week someone remarked that Jim Delany seemed strikingly quiet, of late. 

The fact OU's Boren indicated more than one conference "expressed" interest, hints at a few possibilities. Maybe OK's timetable, suggests it and TX would join the B1G, if ND joins. Maybe ND is nervous about its independence, because all arrows point to the Longhorn Network deal being morphed into a super conference network - ending a trend toward independence others might find beguiling. So. maybe Boren's saying to Delany, "I'll give you a couple of weeks to bag the Irish or else." The B1G wants NYC and DC, too - Maryland's ugly unis, included.

To me, the B10 and the B12 (or parts, thereof) are a natural fit in the B1G plan. 

Maybe, the 16-team structure is more a fixation, than a final objective. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with 4 supers of 20 teams.

Anyone ready for the "Big 20?"

Irricoir's picture

Why do we stop there. Why not take over the entire football world, remove the NCAA and make things work the way we want them to? No more oversigning, we'll get the focus back on academics and treating all athletes like they are amateurs instead of semi pros. We will all joins our heads and hearts together and make decisions that benefit the whole. But what happens if two factions can't agree? then we shall appoint someone (Delaney) to make a decision, one influence to rule them all. This is the path to the dark side...All conferences should remain at 12. We will lose out on so many rivalries and so much tradition while leveraging for power.


buckeyedude's picture

I thought Missouri was the original target when the B1G came up with Nebraska. I know the B1G wants to expand east, but PLEASE don't say the word "Rutgers" and B1G in the same sentence. I think Kansas and Missouri especially, are a natural midwest fit with the B1G and Oklahoma would definitely be a coup.

Oh, and BTW, when Notre Dame comes crawling back to Delany & Co. on it's hands and knees, I hope he slams the door in their face.



Hoody Wayes's picture

Regarding ND, I agree. They've been very snooty. But, if the Irish come callin'...

BuckeyeSaab's picture

On 14 teams

East: Ohio St, Penn St, Mich, Mich St, Purdue, Indiana + Maryland (adds Balt/DC market)

West: Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska + Oklahoma (adds Okla-friggin-homa)

We get a nice "competitive balance" with 3/3 power programs without goofy geographical splits.

Screw ND.

I'm sorry for not being sorry.

741's picture

I don't understand the Maryland/Rutgers/Syracuse school of thought... There is no significant east coast college TV market as far as I can tell. (New Yorkers who care about college football are probaby already watching their team on TV - and the team is at least equally likely to be from the B1G/SEC/Pac-12 as it is the Big East or ACC.)

If the B1G gets Oklahoma and Notre Dame and it won't matter who else rounds the conference out to 16. There would be no bigger, more popular, competitive, and money-making conference than the B1G if those two join.

One side note regarding the Pac-12: Assuming most of us reading this blog are Ohioans, when was the last time you watched a Pac-12 conference game? They are on so damned late I'm convinced most of us in the eastern time zone can't be bothered to stay up and watch. I just can't see how there would be such a draw that Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech will all be compelled for financial reasons to go there. Just my $0.02 as a consumer of CFB content.

Maestro's picture

Totally agree with your last paragraph.  I have lived in the Central Time Zone most of my life actually, just 2 hours ahead of the West Coast, and I watch Pac night games very rarely.  They don't start until 9 or even 10 sometimes. 

vacuuming sucks

Hoody Wayes's picture

NYC is the #1 market: that's reason enough for the B1G to go there.

Your point about the PAC is outstanding. TX may be bound for the PAC, because ESPN facilitates its network, as well as the LHN. FOX impedes TX to the B1G, most likrely.

Recent readings of the Oklahoma blogs will tell you, Sooner fans are fed up with TX - feeling it overplayed its hand and that there's no end to its arrogance.

Hence, this comment from Bob Stoops:

I'm beginning to like the idea - more and more - of OK joining the B1G, even if it means them bringing OK ST. and MO, KS, along with them.

741's picture

I'd love for someone more knowledgable than me to show a link to data from Nielson (or whomever) that shows how many viewers in the New York metro area are watching college football, and what teams they are watching. (I feel like it's not Rutgers/Syracuse/Maryland that they are watching, as much as it is nationally televised games with "big" teams like Ohio State et al, but I can't prove it.)

VestedInterest's picture

The east coast market is a white elephant. Having spent a considerable amount of time living just outside of NYC, there was never the interest that exsists for pro teams. College ball was for those fly-over hicks that just didn't know any better. There were fans however, and those fans were fervent, but again, small in numbers. I was consistently amazed by the lack of interest and down right DIS interst by most of the natives.

Focus on Pitt and go no further east, let the Big East and ACC squabble over the scraps, football isn't their gig, it's basketball collge wise, and that's fine. I don't want to see the olive branch not extended where it needs to be and that is in the mid-west.

smith5568's picture

We are not ignoring Oklahoma, they are not a member of the American Association of Universities. The BIG is only interested in teams that are members of this prestigious (the 61 top research institutions) association. Research and academics is the name of the game. All BIG Universities are members, except Nebraska, who was kicked out this past May. So, the BIG is only interested in schools that are member institutions of the AAU.