The PAC 10 expansion groundswell

[myboynoah]

I am amazed at all the articles being written about this. You think you might have an understanding about something that is taking place and then all of sudden new information comes out and you have no idea who or what to believe.

Yeah, this has been crazy.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I am amazed at all the articles being written about this. You think you might have an understanding about something that is taking place and then all of sudden new information comes out and you have no idea who or what to believe.

Yeah, this has been crazy.

At this point all I want to know is if the Pie party is a "Cheer to the Victors" or a "Drown your Sorrows" party.

[Hot Lunch]

Yeah, this has been crazy.

It seriously has. College football fans and those sports writers are in a frenzy right now. It is crazy. You have sports writers from about 20 to 25 universities that could be affected by this that are trying to scoop in on some kind of breaking news.

[SeattleUte]

It looks like it will be Nebraska that puts the knife to the Big 12.

Done deal, then, eh?

[myboynoah]

It seriously has. College football fans and those sports writers are in a frenzy right now. It is crazy. You have sports writers from about 20 to 25 universities that could be affected by this that are trying to scoop in on some kind of breaking news.

It's really wild. Everyone is affected. There will be winners and losers, some winning big and others losing equally big. The whole state of Kansas is on suicide watch.

[myboynoah]

Done deal, then, eh?

If you believe that report. It sounds pretty solid, respected newspaper, established reporter close to the program, the conclusion of something that has been rumored for some time now, the Big 12 schools pressing Nebraska to commit, Osborne saying yesterday that this would all end soon.

Better than some fan site quoting sources from outside the area.

But we shall see.

[Blueintheface]

I'm predicting right now that no one knows shit. Who's with me?

[Hot Lunch]

I'm predicting right now that no one knows shit. Who's with me?

SU knows. He is just staying quiet on the subject.

[myboynoah]

Wilner makes some interesting points about Scott hiring Kevin Weiberg as Deputy Commissioner:

Pac-10 expansion: Should we have seen the (reported) Big 12 invites coming?

At the time, it seemed like a very shrewd move by commissioner Larry Scott — a rookie commish who was secure enough in his own shoes to hire a super-strong No. 2: Weiberg had been the Big 12 commissioner and was a key player in the Big Ten Network.

And looking back, it was indeed a very, very shrewd move — and perhaps much more.

Did Scott hire Weiberg knowing full well that he’d attempt to pluck half the Big 12, including Texas and Oklahoma?

Did he hire Weiberg because of that?

[Surfah]

The teams involved in these discussions have done the math. There are a lot of consultants and experts on payrolls right now. It might not make sense from the outside, but the people calling the shots know what they're doing and they definitely know what the projected finances are.

He specifically addressed this point and said that's bullshit. He said these teams are only doing the math now and sorting out how much it would cost all of these sports to travel all over the country in a superconference.

He said CAA has not finished its evaluation yet for the Pac-10 and is only now in the nitty gritty. He said the rumor mill though is what has these teams so jumpy and why things keep getting floated out there. Everything thus far has been reactionary. But the due diligence is far from done. At least according to Rovell.

[Surfah]

There's some bad info there. You can bet that with each state/team/new market the BTN gets through expansion, that those pay rates jump from a nickel to the current 88 cents as those areas move from having the BTN on a pay tier to basic cable. That's why Rutgers was the most appealing option early, but why Notre Dame is in the mix now, because the BTN would almost certainly wrangle inclusion on most basic cable packages nationally.

With more alumni in this country than any other conference (a guess, but given the undergrad enrollment numbers of some of these schools, I can't imagine which conference could have more), I don't think the BTN on basic cable is a tough sell, especially in NYC, Boston, Phoenix, Miami and Los Angeles.

I don't know the particulars of their contract. But according to Rovell that's what he said the case was. If you have a link to something I'd appreciate it because I am genuinely curious. But until then I am going to continue to believe the guy who writes for CNBC and ESPN. He also specifically used the example saying that it would take 18 Nebraska subscribers to give you what one subscriber in Pennsylvania gives you.

The BTN is already in 19 of the 20 largest media markets and nationally through DTV and Dish.

[myboynoah]

Kansas on the precipice.

Out In The Cold? Panic Officially Sets In At Kansas

And from talking to media sources in Kansas City today, presently the two dirtiest words in Lawrence are: Mountain. West.

[Mormon Red Death]

Kansas on the precipice.

Out In The Cold? Panic Officially Sets In At Kansas

Someone needs to let Kansas and KState know that if they come to the mtn west anyone anywhere in the country can see all their games with Direct TV. Here in Michigan there were 6 Kansas football games on National tv (two were on Versus!). I saw every Utah game. Are they going to get as much revenue as with the big 12? No but its not going to be as bad as you think.

[myboynoah]

Interesting vote over on ESPN.com:

ESPN.com Poll Results by State

Kansas and New Hampshire are the only strong hold outs. The Dakotas and Rhode Island are toss ups. The Nebraska voting is telling.

LOL. Kansas is now the only hold out.

[Surfah]

I still don't think anything big will happen. In fact I am kind of hoping it doesn't for several reasons, but my favorite right now is the fun it will be to see these teams have to get back into bed with each other when the dust settles. It's going to be like watching a reality show on VH1.