[MJS Blog] Marquette in the Big Ten?

[MJS_Says]

Marquette in the Big Ten?
               



Now that's either the dumbest thing you have heard or an enticing possibility.

               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/174791071.html
               

[Hards Alumni]

oh lord, not this again.

[reinko]

I swear, is he pumping these out for the extra revenue, I only have a handful of free articles left this month.

Yes, yes, I know how to get around it, but still, quantity does not equal quality.

[MUCrew]

I swear, is he pumping these out for the extra revenue, I only have a handful of free articles left this month.

Yes, yes, I know how to get around it, but still, quantity does not equal quality.

Yup.

[Dawson Rental]

You mean we'd have to let Bucky play us twice in a year?  Can boredom bring on injuries?

[The Lens]

I don't get what we could ever offer the Big Ten.  A huge revenue driver for the Big Ten is BTN.  Adding MU does nothing in that regard because they have our market covered.  And think about Big Ten expansion, it has been extremely measured and they have not strayed from their core.  Right now they are either the #1 or #2 conference in terms of off the field success.  They absolutely crush it, why mess with that success?

[Benny B]

There's a way to make MU-2-B? feasible for everyone.  I don't know why everyone is so fast to dismiss this.  MU isn't going to take any football money from the B?, and would add value to the conference as far as basketball goes.  There's a lot of compatibility with the Olympic sports already, and MU has the facilities/access to add women's hockey & men's hockey and/or baseball if it needed more sports.

But the bottom line is that the B? is made up of mostly blue-state flagship universities who don't want to be anywhere near anything to do with the Catholic Church.

[brewcity77]

Marquette doesn't bring the Milwaukee TV market, Wisconsin already has it. Marquette won't take football revenue, but also won't notably increase basketball revenue more than a conference with perennial Final Four contenders like MSU, tOSU, and (grudgingly) Indiana. Marquette doesn't improve the Big Ten's academic profile, and from a research perspective, probably hurts it. Marquette's private/Catholic profile doesn't come close to matching what most of the Big Ten schools represent.

There is no way to make this feasible for everyone. Seriously entertaining this ludicrous notion is on par with Lloyd Christmas' "So you're saying there's a chance...".

[chapman]

Now that's either the dumbest thing you have heard

He should have stopped here.

[bilsu]

The Big 10 would only do this, if they decided they had enough football teams and wanted to be a stronger basketball conference.  However, they would need another basketball team to come with MU. The New York market might make St. John's a candidate, but Villanova or DePaul fit in better geographically. However, DePaul recently has not been good in basketball and Villanova appears to be on a decline. Georgetown would be the best other basketball program to add and while the Washington DC area would be a good addition it does not really fit in the Big 10 geographic area. I think the Big East implodes when the ACC takes Georgetown as a basketball partner for Notre Dame. At that point the Big 10 will decide whether to pick up a couple of basketball schools or remain a football only school conference. I think they will strongly consider MU before they decide to remain pat. MU's real chance to join the Big 10 probably sailed when Notre Dame joined the ACC. The Big 10 not accepting Notre Dame as basketball only should be taken as a strong indication that they will not add any basketball only schools.

[real chili 83]

Yah, agree, it's even further away than being a longshot.  However.....

Would be kinda fun to get to trounce Bucky 2x per year.  And the Tanned One.  Also, might make the Effin Irish a tad bit jealous too.

And JayBee, St. Paul W, and a few other of us could see the team once a year at William(s) arena (spelled with Clem Haskin's pronunciation )!

[LAZER]

I think the Big Ten will eventually add Kansas to help boost its basketball profile and then pair them with another school (Rutgers? Louisville? Mizzou?)

[Thor]

Marquette will become a member after the University of Chicago is moved back up to a full member.

And I think the University of Chicago still has more Big Ten Football titles than Bucky.

[Dawson Rental]

I think the Big Ten will eventually add Kansas to help boost its basketball profile and then pair them with another school (Rutgers? Louisville? Mizzou?)

Louisville to the Big 10 will never happen, ever.

As outlandishly low as Marquette's chances are, they are better than Louisville's chances.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

There is no way to make this feasible for everyone. Seriously entertaining this ludicrous notion is on par with Lloyd Christmas' "So you're saying there's a chance...".

15 years ago, if you said MU would be in the Big Easy, people would have thought you were crazy.
10 years ago, Nebraska to the Big 10 seemed crazy.
5 years ago, if you said ND would end up in the ACC, people would've thought you were crazy.

There is a 90%+ chance of MU NOT going to the Big 10.

But, I wouldn't completely dismiss it. Schools are going to continue to look for revenue. If they think MU can add a significant amount, they will be considered. Believe that.

[bilsu]

I thought of one more reason for football schools to take some basketball schools and I think this reason would make the most sense. There has been some talk of the BCS conferences leaving the NCAA. They do this and they will not be playing in NCAA basketball tournament. They can have their own basketball tournament, but it risks being second fiddle to NCAA's tournament. Taking selective basketball schools along with them and they will send the NCAA tournament into oblivion.

[Benny B]

I thought of one more reason for football schools to take some basketball schools and I think this reason would make the most sense. There has been some talk of the BCS conferences leaving the NCAA. They do this and they will not be playing in NCAA basketball tournament. They can have their own basketball tournament, but it risks being second fiddle to NCAA's tournament. Taking selective basketball schools along with them and they will send the NCAA tournament into oblivion.

In this scenario, what happens to the Olympic sports?  Do they stay in the NCAA, or do they breakaway too?  Since participation in the O-sports varies from conference to conference (and even amongst schools within a conference), breaking away is easier said than done.

Yes, football drives the bus, and basketball is the co-pilot... but keep in mind who the passengers are -- the O-sports.  Make no mistake about it, Notre Dame's move to the ACC was not about money or prestige; it was primarily about ensuring quality competition for its O-sports.

[bilsu]

My assumption is that if you leave the NCAA you are leaving them for everything.

[Bocephys]

My assumption is that if you leave the NCAA you are leaving them for everything.

I agree, there's no way the NCAA allows them to leave on foot in the door.  In or out.

[asdfasdf]

When talking about conference expansion, everyone focuses on TV money and grabbing teams in cities with large populations. What happens when there are no more teams/markets to grab? Won't conferences then want to start grabbing schools that will help them provide quality programming on their network so that people actually watch the network?

For example: Common thought says that the B10 doesn't want Marquette because they already have the Milwaukee market via UW-Madison. Understandable. In 5 years once all the conferences have their own networks established in certain regions/cities, wouldn't it appeal to the B10 to scoop up a school like Marquette so that they can get more/better live sports programming, and charge more for  commercial time? I'm sure more people, including alumni of bigger B10 schools, would rather watch MU vs Mich State than Northwestern v Nebraska come NCAA BBall season. Having a school like MU would increase the # of good games to broadcast on their network, and they could get more money from commercial deals that way.

just a thought.

[bilsu]

The argument that the Big 10 already has the Milwaukee market is a valid one. However, I think they would want to protect that market. Not taking MU could result in MU being in Big 12 or ACC, which would give them a share of Milwaukee market. I suspect the Big 10 already realizes that they screwed up with Notre Dame. They wrongly assumed the ACC would not take them as a basketball only school. The Big 10 also missed out on Pitt and Syracuse. The Big 10 could have been the best basketball conference without hurting football, but they let the ACC take those teams out from right under their noses.

[Toolbox]

This will happen in 2015......or not.  Whatever.

[klyrish]

I really hope this doesn't happen. I already can't stand the entirety of the Big 10 as it is and being in the same conference as all those obnoxious Badgers fans would make me throw up my intestines.

[Dreadman24]

The argument that the Big 10 already has the Milwaukee market is a valid one. However, I think they would want to protect that market. Not taking MU could result in MU being in Big 12 or ACC, which would give them a share of Milwaukee market. I suspect the Big 10 already realizes that they screwed up with Notre Dame. They wrongly assumed the ACC would not take them as a basketball only school. The Big 10 also missed out on Pitt and Syracuse. The Big 10 could have been the best basketball conference without hurting football, but they let the ACC take those teams out from right under their noses.

Best post in this thread!

[GGGG]

The argument that the Big 10 already has the Milwaukee market is a valid one. However, I think they would want to protect that market. Not taking MU could result in MU being in Big 12 or ACC, which would give them a share of Milwaukee market. I suspect the Big 10 already realizes that they screwed up with Notre Dame. They wrongly assumed the ACC would not take them as a basketball only school. The Big 10 also missed out on Pitt and Syracuse. The Big 10 could have been the best basketball conference without hurting football, but they let the ACC take those teams out from right under their noses.

1. Who exactly would they be "protecting" the Milwaukee market from?  They already "share" it with the Big East and it doesn't bother them.

2. The Big Ten does not believe they screwed up with Notre Dame.  All or nothing has been their only option.  I can guaranty you that if they thought ND would opt out of the ACC and go to the B10 with a similar arrangement, the B10 would still not make the offer.

3. The Big Ten does not think they screwed up with Syracuse or Pitt.  Not big enough programs.


This will never, ever happen.  Ever.  Never.  Ever.  You simply do not understand the Big Ten's mindset.