The Blue Board

Well, if the rumors end up being true, welcome to the B1G pterp!

After all these years, we may be conference rivals! Hard to believe haha.

Why wouldn't they go after Louisville instead of UConn???

We would still have Pitt, Cuse, BC, UVA and VT (and if the rumor is correct, UConn) still in the region in the ACC.

I said either earlier in this thread or in another that the B1G must feel bad for PSU because it is adding the two teams that we have dominated the most. Combined, we are 57-3-1 against MD and Rutgers. It's good for PSU to have a couple of Eastern schools that are in driving distance.

These are two terrible programs that we are adding that don't add much for the conference outside of money from the BTN. So I don't know how to feel about it. Nebraska was a homerun... this kind of feels like an intentional walk. We could have added these teams at anytime... why now? It certainly isn't going to do anything for our 1st tier contract negotiations. It's not going to do anything as far as competitiveness. All it does is advance the BTN (which I think the B1G will have a hell of a fight with the cable companies).

Blah.

The ACC isn't even worried about losing MD. What more do you need to know?

Louisville has a lot of upside, they get great fan support and have solid football and basketball. UConn is terrible. No football, small fanbase, no more Calhoun. Terrible.

Really? What is the concern?

The same reason you've been puffing your chest out about "all Maryland brings is TV money to the BTN", is the same reason the ACC would hate to lose this region. Not to mention, the chain reaction it could cause if other teams follow suit and start looking at other offers. The ACC doesn't want this to happen. At all.

So we can all agree that Maryland brings a huge and desirable market, plus the academic benefit to the B1G. Now let's talk competitively. In football, we bring nothing to the table immediately or the foreseeable future. I think the hope there is that the B1G would open up new recruiting opportunities (playing in the ACC isn't much of a pitch for football for elite recruits). Plus, the windfall of conference dollars would help with facilities and also bump recruiting from that aspect. In basketball, Maryland is on an upswing after a disappointing few seasons. We will instantly be competing in the top 5 of the conference for basketball. And even though no one cares about it, Maryland is also a national powerhouse in soccer, lacrosse and womens basketball (I know, I know).

I understand why many fan bases in the B1G wouldn't be excited about this... but to say we "bring nothing to the table" is just shortsighted ignorance from misinformed basement internet posters. Both sides have performed their due diligence and both want to see this happen. Knock it off.

Will this change things with FSU and the Big 12?

lol sweet another Illinois in the b1g

It's not the same at all. The BTN changes the value of Rutgers and MD because revenue is heavily based on the size of the local markets while the ACC's contract with ESPN (and the B1G's tier 1 contract) is based on national appeal. For the ACC, MD is not a big loss at all.

Now the intersting thing is the fight that will take place with the local cable companies in DC and NYC. The Big Ten had to fight a long, long time with Comcast just to secure $0.70 per subscriber for the Philly area (vs $1.10 that the BTN wanted). I think it's going to be a hell of a fight to secure a decent rate.

See my explanation above.

Do you know what conference has the biggest markets in the nation? The Big East. Yep.