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 Mike HlasHi, I'm Gazette/TheGazette.com sports columnist Mike Hlas. This is the Hlog. We will meet here, discuss things, and then go [...] |
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John Feinstein on Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany: Smart and ruthless
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany wields the power in college sports. He is smart. And he is ruthless. So says John Feinstein on his blog.
Now that seems harsh. It may also be 100 percent accurate. I’ll know soon enough. By sharing this, I run the risk of Delany calling the University of Iowa and ordering it to have my kneecaps broken.
Jim Delany
But I kid the commish.
Anyway, Feinstein, renowned sports author and columnist, wrote about Delany and possible Big Ten expansion in this blog post on Monday:
The other story of last week was the growing drumbeat on the issue of conference expansion in the NCAA. There have been almost as many meaningless words spoken and written on this subject as on the NFL draft. Here’s the deal: The Big Ten—unfortunately—holds all the cards here because of the success of The Big Ten TV network.
That means Jim Delany, the Big Ten commissioner, is wielding most of the power and
John Feinstein
influence right now. I can tell you two things about Delany: he’s smart and he’s ruthless. He could care less about anything other than what’s best for him—and, thus, his conference—which makes him a very good commissioner if not someone you would want to trust to tell you where the sun will rise tomorrow.
A lot of people sneered when he started The Big Ten network but it has, for all intents and purposes, made him the unofficial commissioner of college athletics. Why? Because the success of the network means that every Big Ten team takes home a check for $22 million at the end of every football season. No one else is making half of that, except for the SEC—which is the one conference Delany hasn’t talked (privately, he never says anything that has any meaning in public) about raiding.
Now, if the college presidents cared anything about doing the right thing, conference expansion wouldn’t even be an issue right now. There are already too many conferences that are too big because of the constant money grab going on. Sixteen Big East basketball teams? Twelve ACC football teams? That’s good for competition, for rivalries, for fans? There are Big East teams that don’t visit another Big East home court for two or three years at a time. Round-robin play, the fairest way to decide a championship in basketball? Gone from all the major conferences except the Pac-10. Every team playing every league team in football? Gone—except in The Big East, which is fighting for survival.
Now, Delany may want to make The Big Ten into The Big Sixteen. He may try to entice schools like Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, West Virginia (all Big East) and Missouri into his league. He’d love to add Notre Dame—which will NEVER give up its exclusive TV money from NBC—or Texas. If Delany goes on a raiding mission, the leagues raided have to try to raid themselves in order to survive. Why would someone like Syracuse leave The Big East? Again, do the math: $22 million vs. $7 million. Those numbers will trump tradition is any college president’s office any day. The same is true of the other candidates for expansion.
All of this, frankly, sucks. It is also bound to happen. Because he who has the checkbook has the power. And right now, unfortunately for college athletics, no one has a bigger checkbook than Jim Delany.
The biggest surprise in all this? Feinstein’s use of the word “sucks.” It seems that word is showing up more and more among people who should easily have a more eloquent term on the tip of their tongues.
As for the rest of it? The man is right.
Feinstein makes some great points regarding Delaney and the Big 10. I am somewhat confused as to why he thinks it "sucks". Did anybody criticize the other conferences like the Big East, the ACC, the Big 12 or even the SEC when they were going through their conference realignments and expansions? The Big 12 pretty much wiped out the old Southwest Conference. All that appeared to do was line the pockets of Texas and Oklahoma. I don't remember hearing that move "sucked". While all this movement in the other conferences was going on, all Delaney did was stand pat in terms of expansion, and position the Big 10 as the most lucrative conference in the nation. Now, it appears they can pretty much have their pick of the litter in terms of expansion. Does this "suck"? I don't think so. I think it is a stroke of genius on the part of Commissioner Delaney. I can hardly wait to see what he has up his sleeve next.
I find it funny that Feinstein references Notre Dame's "exclusive TV money from NBC" as the reason why they won't join the Big Ten. Hasn't it been repeated time and again this spring that Notre Dame would actually make MORE money from televised games as a member of the Big Ten than they currently do from NBC? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I've read in quite a few articles that Notre Dame's NBC contract isn't the cash cow it used to be and that Big Ten members make more.
Also, I agree with richfromiowa: I don't remember anyone (Feinstein especially) complaining when the other conferences expanded.
I think it would have been fair if Feinstein mentioned that the current BCS setup plays a huge role in this realignment frenzy. Getting teams into super conferences is a step, but the those conferences need to establish a fair schedule within and determine a true conference champion. Then as system such as the BCS can be established that would determine a national champion. I know this is far fetched, but a least Feinstein needs to acknowledge realignment is not just a money grab but an attempt to bring Independents under the conference tent.
Well, in all fairness, I would say that money is the reason for realignment, and things like bringing independents under the conference tent are just fringe benefits. Ie., I don't think Delany is sitting up at night worrying about the independents in the league, nor are decisions being made with the specific focus aimed at bringing them in.
Why? Because ultimately Delany isn't the one that makes the decision. College presidents do. The 12 presidents of the Big 10 schools (unless I'm mistaken, the University of Chicago is still technically a part of the Big 10 and has a vote; if I am then 11 schools) are the ones that vote on which schools are invited into the conference. And let's be real about this: what college president is going to care about independent schools, or about conference tents, or even about BCS championships? Presidents care about the bottom line and about their school. Ie., "How will adding this school to our conference help my budget and my program?"
That is why an academic fit is so important. The Big 10 schools share academic research. They want a school that will benefit this. And they want a school that will add revenue to their budgets, not take away from it.
There are many reasons and goals for expansion held by commissioners, fans, coaches, etc. But the reasons and goals that matter are those held by the ones that get to make the decision: the college presidents. And those reasons and goals can be summed up in 2 words: money and academics. Everything else is window dressing.
"Does this "suck"? I don't think so. I think it is a stroke of genius on the part of Commissioner Delaney. I can hardly wait to see what he has up his sleeve next. "
It's all a matter of perspective. If you're the commish of the Big East or the Big 12, then yea, this sucks. If you're a member of the Big 10 then it's pretty cool.
As they say, Delany might be an [pick your own expletive], but he's our [reuse the expletive].
I am a lifelong Big Ten fan, area resident, and alumnus/staff member at several conference institutions. I for one am ready to embrace expansion and welcome the newcomers, and it won't benefit me one dime. Of course this move by Jim Delaney is all about money and power, but for us fans, it's about staying relevant on the college athletics (read: football) landscape well into the future. Our signature football programs, Ohio State and Michigan, have not exactly made us proud in recent years. OSU had lost several high profile inter-conference and bowl games until this past January, and Michigan (my alma mater) has Rich Rod. Enough said about that. Meanwhile, the SEC has the last four National Champions and most of the prestige. Time to respond.
part of the reason the SEC has had the last 4 national champs is because the SEC is the media darling and gets all the votes, and they play the weakest schedule of any conference – hence, more 'artificial wins'. Florida and Alabama would have their guts handed to them on a regular basis if they were in the big ten. imagine them playing in the Midwest temperatures in November! they rarely leave the south!
Interesting responses, as usual.
As a selfish sportswriter, I hope the Big Ten super-sizes. It makes for more copy, hot-button stuff. Plus, I've seen East Lansing and West Lafayette enough for one lifetime. I'd welcome getting schools like Rutgers and Pitt into the rotation.
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