Power 4 Athletic Director Predicts Bottom Schools Expelled

Will the Big Ten expel any lower tier schools like Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana or Rutgers? Big 12 Athletic Director Jaimie Pollard from Iowa State says yes! He feels the TV networks that are paying the Big Ten conference billions of dollars will want more competitive college football games and more ratings and revenue.
CONFERENCE CONTRACTION
We do not think Pollard is way off in his thinking but we don't think the lower performing teams in the Big Ten have anything to worry about. We will explain why. We will, however, tell you which teams DO need to worry about being left out as the Super Conferences continue to grow.
RUNNING BACK CONTROVERSY?
We have all heard of quarterback controversies. But do we have a running back controversy inside of Ohio State football? You might think so but it sounds like Ryan Day has peace inside his running backs room. Plus we list several benefits to having multiple starting running backs on hand.
Kel'el Ware had an awesome year at Indiana this season and he is quickly moving up the mock drafts ahead of next month's NBA draft. He explains how coach Mike Woodson and company are responsible for his rise.
And we report some sad news as Ohio State fired its softball coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly after 12 seasons.
POWER RANKINGS
Then we list our mid-week Power Rankings as we name which Big Ten college football schools lost the most players in the transfer portal. Don't worry. It is not all bad. But it is right here on Locked on Big Ten with Craig Shemon.
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#collegefootball #BigTen #expansion #contraction #SEC #Big12

[@tpatrickl9539]

PAC 12 essentially booted WSU and OSU. It wouldn’t be surprising to see relegation in the Big Ten or SEC.

[@d0ug121]

Any AD on the outside looking in would say this 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@detroitblack258]

It is about money.The money split up to fewer teams.

[@stevengarrison8107]

The Big Ten benefits far more from the combined research dollars than from any amount of TV money - and it isn't close. They aren't going to sacrifice the pound for the penny. The Big Ten isn't going anywhere. Pollard is just having more Hawkeye envy.

[@RagedContinuum]

no conference needed for research dollars

[@stevengarrison8107]

@@RagedContinuum you don't get it. The Big Ten is also a research consortium, where they all share the research dollars. Sure, each school can do research on their own, but they are far more lucrative if they combine all research dollars. That is part of why the Big Ten will only take in schools that are members of the AAU.

[@TheLAGopher]

Exactly. Besides how many other big brands are just sitting out there ready to be swapped in for B1G bottom feeders? Throwing anybody out under the existing tv contracts would be.bringing on massive lawsuits against the conference and the networks,. So the ACC situation will have already been resolved. That means the only likely source of replacement schools would be from the Big 12 or what’s left of the ACC.

[@RagedContinuum]

@@stevengarrison8107fair enough about the consortium - you made me look it up - I did see examples of partnerships among other schools extending beyond sport conferences, so that's the point I was making. Big Ten probably has the most involved partnership outside of ivy league perhaps

[@sc100ott]

I have always suggested the research/academic money played a substantial role in this, but I have never been clear as to how much. Do you have a source that lays out what that value is?

[@matthewgraber6930]

Issue though is some of the lowest rated schools in B10 football have some of the best basketball programs. I get football is the big money-maker but Basketball is important to the B10 too. Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana are not big football money-makers but their basketball programs are very big.

[@SurferRC]

Yeah but it takes basketball 4-5 years to make the money from 1 season in football

[@vegasgal777]

I’d love to see the B1G add FSU, Notre Dame, UNC, Virginia, Georgia Tech, & Stanford.

[@jansonroberts2616]

All those except for UNC are a real possibility, especially if ND ever joins a conference. UNC and Clemson will be #17 and 18 to the SEC if and when they leave the ACC.

[@richardbarber462]

On average, research grants in the Big Ten total ten times the annual revenue from football. $10 BILLION annually.

[@SurferRC]

Which has nothing to do with football or conference invites

[@powell4661]

@SurferRC the Big10 Academic Alliance and the Big10 Cancer Consortium share research, which is why AAU membership is so important. The shared research brings in more money than athletics.

[@dustinschlake6444]

The lawsuits would be in the billions

[@johnsettin7234]

More likely that there will be an unequal share of the football compensation. Thinking 2 tiers within the conference.

[@drewc8534]

The Big 10 and SEC are in a good place. No need to throw anyone out.

[@dantesinfernopurgatory7826]

Pollard is an AD of a conference on the outside looking in. No surprise most of these "stories" originate from there.

[@secretagentman2407]

It should happen anyways. Northwestern, Indiana, and Purdue offer nothing to the Big Ten to justify the amount of money they’ll receive through revenue sharing. Better to make room for the FSU, NC, Clemson, and Miami. Get into the southern market and the Big Ten becomes top dog.

[@JohnDry]

So is Minnesota Wisconsin, or I'll. He used to be there, so he knows.

[@dantesinfernopurgatory7826]

@@JohnDry See stevengarrison8107's comment below... Bottom line - research and academics keep the lights on at universities. No research/academics - no university. No university, no college athletics.

[@the503creepout7]

i heard - North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, UConn, Indiana, UCLA, Syracuse, Kansas, & Gonzaga are all leaving their respective conferences to start a new one that is solely investing in basketball 😉

[@Ryan-vq5ur]

Never understood this talk about dropping “bottom tier teams”. Every conference will have bottom tier teams, It is mathematically impossible to have every team go 10-2 and in the national championship hunt every season. Kick out Rutgers and you’ll just have someone else averaging 5 wins a season.

[@MichaelSmith-xb5cp]

Every PAC team has won a Power championship this millennium, save for Arizona and UCLA(who had a couple shots). MORE than half the SEC has failed to win a SEC championship since the mid 70s. Georgia tech and Tulane hold 8 SEC championships currently, Seven modern SEC teams hold 8 SEC championships combined, or less (all-time). Not all BOTTOM is created equal.

[@kokobeatz7222]

I’ll give you a sub. Little tip tho. Talk about Nebraska more and you’ll have that 10k subs in no time.

[@jerichoreed22]

I'm guessing more that it will be a base pay, then incentives. For example, everybody gets a base $20 mil (or whatever), then depending on how your Foosball, Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball goes, you get a percentage for each. Foosball gets the lion's share, and that gets split for performance. Basketball gets a certain amount, gets split for performance, etc etc

[@ShiloStigen]

I don't think the bad football teams should get expelled, I think they should get relegated. I think a better model would be 6 conferences of 20 teams, with top 10 & bottom 10 divisions in each conference. At the end of the conference schedule, #9 of the top hosts #2 of the bottom, and #1 of the bottom hosts #10 of the top. Winners in top 10 next year, losers in bottom 10 next year. Conference games would be natural rivals and most of same division. This keeps all non-football conference programs, grants, and finances intact, while allowing all FB teams merit-based success. Close to the CST group model, but without favoritism.

[@billw5823]

This is what I have been saying for a while. Eventually the Big10 and SEC are going to have 24 teams and then look at the bottom layer of non football power teams and kick them out. All the talk about research, etc. has nothing to do with the split of football money. It's all about money from football and teams that aren't contributing will eventually get kicked out. Same in the SEC - Vandy, Missouri, Arkansas and even Texas A&M will end up on the chopping block. There are plenty of AAU academic schools around the country, that won't change but their conference affiliation will.

[@garyscott4847]

Doubt that would happen but I could see confrences requiring minimum investments in athletic programs as a condition of continuing membership.

[@jeffkilgore6320]

The University of Kansas has been an AAU member since 1909. We also play basketball and most recently, football. I wish we had been extended an invite.

[@dustinschlake6444]

Pollard doesnt understand that you still need lower level teams in a conference. Not everyone can have big slices of cake. These big boys still want 8 guaranteed wins and then 4 tough games

[@heartbreak25]

Only Big 12 and ACC folks engage in this talk about the P2 out of resentment. I'm a PSU alum but would fight like hell to ensure unity prevails in the B1G. There are so many ways schools llke Purdue and Northwestern are valuable to the conference. That includes boosting the value of my degree in the marketplace.

[@Knightowl1980]

No one looks at your degree and associates it with the athletics conference and other school,

[@heartbreak25]

@@Knightowl1980 Uh, AAU and B1G Academic Alliance status means more academic and research revenue to the schools. That money is invested to build the academic brand and reputation. That brand and reputation boosts the value of the degree when seeking opportunities and earnings as professionals and entrepreneurs. I can care less if Northwestern wins 1 game or 101 in football. Their job is to get me personally paid. Period. Being that they recently raised $6 billion from donors and alums in 6 months, they do a great job for what they're asked to do as a conference member. Playoffs, natties, and football fan perception don't pay my bills.

[@Knightowl1980]

@@heartbreak25 I know what it means. I’m just saying it’s not as big of a deal as you purport it to be.

[@heartbreak25]

@@Knightowl1980 It's a very big deal if the idea is for the B1G to kick out founding members. It's a very big deal to how the B1G schools pay their bills. It's a very big deal to the alums and donors who can afford to write six and seven figure checks without flinching. People outside the B1G telling us what does and doesn't matter to us is why we keep getting bigger and stronger without having to win like the SEC.

[@roris5882]

The B1G bottom feeders will get better at football and basketball, the revenue generating sports, by default once the conference starts negotiating with their B1G Player Unions and paying their players their fair share of the revenue they generate, after the House Settlement. The conference player unions will most likely set a base pay for all their athletes in the revenue generating sports to pay them accordingly, since they all have different media contracts and generate different amounts of revenue. Plus the conferences can pay their players directly to bypass Title IX and employment laws.

[@nnonotnow]

Nebraska's won loss record has certainly been cyclical. I would argue for the last 10-15 years it's been in the basement but they are a brand name and their TV. Viewership always ranks in the top 25. And that's what these networks want. It's also one that's your football programs that makes a profit. It funds all the other sports at the University. So I don't think the huskers are going anywhere unless they continue on the path. They've done for the last 10 years and as you say that's not going to happen

[@tpatrickl9539]

Nebr has been mediocre since Colorado beat them 62-36. 2001, the day the big red music died. The huskers have been poorly managed. Greed killed a once decent program.

[@ThomasWoolum]

How long were they expelled for?

[@DavidKreitzer-ng2fe]

What a ridiculous statement by a clueless AD.

[@reconsoldier135]

If the SEC ever drops schools like Vanderbilt they will just lower the number of conference games they play to 7 so they can keep all their cupcakes on the schedule

[@elvangulley3210]

That's funny considering the s3c played more power teams than any other conference but hey we will still have those cake walk sec vs big 10 bowl games

[@roris5882]

​@@elvangulley3210 Every SEC team is usually overranked in the Top 25, going into every season, so they can claim every win was a good win against a ranked team and every loss was a good one. Then the winner raises in the rankings and the loser stays at the same ranking. SEC riggery at it's finest.

[@elvangulley3210]

@@roris5882 buy non sec teams can't prove those ranking wrong on the field

[@flman1478]

​@@elvangulley3210 You think your good so you played lame teams in the SEC that are ranked way to high. Because of that you can say that you lost to 3 top 20 teams😋😋😜😜

[@elvangulley3210]

@@flman1478 this coming from a big 10 fan is rich

[@Lfg117]

'24 Sparty cfb might be adding CB Minor, whom u know from IU, CB Hughes from LSU(not official yet[?]) and has signed NT Roberts (4☆, 6' 2" 310) from Oregon. j.Smith: rapidly proving he's the best roster-management and -development hc in '24 BigTen(18) cfb. 👀

[@mykofreder1682]

Northwestern, Nebraska, and Iowa have enrolments at or below 30K where most are over 50K, would be the 1st to go, because enrolment translates into fans of a team.

[@dijitul3]

That's a really bad take. If you actually think school enrollment remotely affects Nebraska selling out a 85k+ stadium for 40 years straight and bringing 20 - 35k fans to every road game or even Iowa's fan support, I have a Big10 caliber stadium on the UCLA campus to sell you...

[@johnkyler2851]

There are interesting points on both side. Let’s have this conversation after 4 years after things settle out. Some teams will improve and some will decline, so it get interesting from here on. Great time for CFP.

[@brotherted9212]

I’m kind of amazed at how you treated college basketball kind of like it had the fan base of fencing or curling.

[@LockedOnBIG10]

No idea what you are talking about.

[@SurferRC]

It makes 1/5 of what football does…

[@brotherted9212]

@@SurferRC More like 1/4th of what football does, a.k.a. 1/5th of the football-basketball total, but yeah.

[@RaunnHD]

As a Big 12 fan, I don't care that, we should be focusing on our own conference and growing it if need be. I love my conference because it futures so many different rivals in-state and out of state, unique cultural aspect when it comes to competitiveness, and everything is up for grabs now that OU and Texas are going to the SEC. If I had to throw my opinion out there about the Big 10, I think yall should stick together as a conference with everyone you have in there right and make additions from the ACC pending if schools start leaving to find a better conference of their choosing. Bottom schools or not, every school has important role in their power conference especially if they have a surprise year where they upset all the marquee and blue blood schools not just in football but in any of the other sports- it makes it all the more interesting especially if a game goes down to the wire (i.e. OT with OU and OSU in basketball 2023-2024 season, or Vanderbilt knocks off and ruins playoff for the powerhouses of football and basketball in the SEC). Just my 2 cents. Note: Watching games from the Big 10 and SEC are always interesting and explosive even when its not football (i.e. basketball, Volleyball and sometimes softball), changing one landscape just to fit one sport may not always be the best. I think it comes down to a matter of scheduling at the conference HQ to give everyone what they want to see which HQ never does.

[@jimmyjam5453]

I can really see the SEC doing it first...then the rest will follow the extra 💰💰💰💰💰

[@TMZtOO]

I'm thinking that the pointy head schools should form their own conference. i.e. Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Stanford, Notre Dame, ect.

[@Doc_Boots]

I am 100% for FSU to B1G and 100% against kicking any team out of a conference. Contraction is not a road to go down.

[@Angrygumballl]

The Big Ten is excellent in his versatility and authors way more than just football. They're winning in all fronts.

[@georgeforbes4875]

What are you getting by paying a school in Piscataway? Several million subscribers to the Big Ten Network through their forced basic cable package (because a team in Piscataway is in the B1G).

[@Angrygumballl]

Rutger is the birthplace of the game of football and between Philadelphia and New York.... What's your school got going for it? New Jersey's literally the most densely populated state in America and produces more out-of-state college graduates than any other state. The Big Ten is well rounded and sustainable. The SEC isn't sustainable because ESPN isn't. 😂

[@waynebennett745]

I'll say this AGAIN: just because your school doesn't do well in FB DOES NOT mean it isn't good in other sports (Kentucky basketball, Vandy baseball, etc.).

[@user-cr2sj8qs3n]

I can see northwestern/minnesota/purdue/rutgers maybe have to worry. But no indication inside big10 or sec doing this. Cause if this was a thing. Sec would have kicked vandy out yesterday already

[@kamala80]

I think you're wrong. I'm an SEC school alum and I can vision contraction or a required annual monetary investment in one's football program. Like it or not, college football is slowly becoming NFL Jr., and strength of schedule will become more and more important. We will come to a time where 3 or 4 loss teams will be in the playoffs due to schedule strength.

[@roris5882]

The House Settlement will force the B1G and SEC bottom feeders to spend just as much as everyone else in their conferences on their players from their revenue generating sports.

[@SurferRC]

We will have 3-4 loss teams in the playoff this year! The regular season is virtually meaningless

[@schlichter11]

If you are only looking at this thru the lens of Football dollars, then I guess, but in reality that isn't the point. Research dollars and partners is the point of the conference alliance. Secondarily sure, creating a national conference, ie coast to coast, has financial benefits but you don't get that by expelling football second schools. Also many of these original BigTen schools have 40k plus students per year, which translates into millions and millions of alumni also spread around the country that follow and contribute back to the schools and buys Big10 Network subscriptions. And then you also have basketball, which while not the cash cow that football is, is still the second most popular and second money making sport. So in those criteria, the schools you would jettison aren't the ones you might at first think.

[@adamklosterman8960]

If they do relegation id be perfectly ok with an SEC/B1G two conference championship. Have the bottom team from the SEC and the bottom team from the B1G play to see who stays. Bring the lower championship team up.

[@richardmorris8745]

24 or 32. The conference size will need to be divisible by 4 so there can be equal, manageable ,divisions

[@terencebaca1990]

It will be 32 + 2. Four divisions of 8 plus two independents within the Super League.

[@roris5882]

48 Team College Football Super League

[@eskymo-sb3nq]

Big ten is going to 20, FSU and ND will be the last two

[@Seoulhawk01]

This is what I have been saying for the last 5 years. We need to raise the schools at the bottom. My solution to this is pay the players, and setup a draft. Sounds crazy, but I think it could be done. The BigTen and SEC setup camps for high school players to come to and get evaluated. The player would have some control, for example they could say I want to go to a school within 200miles of my home. Then as the draft proceeds 200 becomes 400 and so on, or they have a selected degree that they qualify academically to register for that a school offers. There would still be an advantage of being drafted by a current top tier team, but this gives a smaller market school the opportunity with good management and coaching to compete. Think Green Bay, or Kansas City Chiefs.

[@josephjuno9555]

They should remember Northwestern Won the BIG10 fairly recently? So how wud they choose who gets the axe?

[@christhembones8244]

IF the Big 10 and SEC don’t kick irrelevant teams out then I predict a pro-rated pay scale for what they bring (or don’t bring) to the table unlike the big dogs.

[@chucky0034]

I think when the big merger comes , Yes perinial doormats in the BiG10 & SEC are getting the hook. It's been mentioned more than once regardless of being a charter member.

[@timgault6938]

This greed will lead to your downfall

[@brianb6924]

Nebraska only lost 8 players in the portal?! Matt Rhule is turning this program around. A top defensive unit, even with only 5 wins, tells you that the issues are on the offense. Too many turnovers. Great facilities, coaches, NIL, and fan support. If they can make the playoffs, Nebraska will be the place to go for recruiting.

[@flman1478]

Mich fan here, I'm pulling for Big Red. Loved to see Nebraska back to it's formal glory.

[@Gh0stRider]

You may see a reduction in teams, but it will likely come because many schools will not be able to sustain paying players $20-$30mm per year. Those that can’t afford it may be forced into some other type of division.

[@roris5882]

If the B1G is generating $100M yearly, for each university, then $50M should go to each school's athletes, from their revenue generating sports, according because that's completely fair.

[@Gh0stRider]

@@roris5882 my understanding is the revenue sharing would have a cap with an eye to competitive balance. But we won’t know until a settlement actually takes place.

[@brodyh2895]

for a conference so rooted in history as the Big Ten, I really doubt they’d kick out schools like Illinois NW Purdue and Indiana just because of their football success. I do hope someday they go back to the original ten (or 11) but those aforementioned schools give a lot in other sports and have a historical reason to be there. TV networks want more games, not fewer. If you can get viewers, you want them, cutting teams only hurts everyone, there’s less TV to be aired and therefore less money to be made in total. As a G5 fan (Delaware) I don’t care about what the Big Ten does, in fact I hope they lose prestige over time and we can get to a spot where the P5 and G5 becomes more of a sports meritocracy and less of a race to the money that decides game results. But, I really can’t see the Big Ten getting rid of any of their teams, maybe the west coast teams, Rutgers and MD, but never their core original members.

[@matthewgraber6930]

Thing about kicking out Purdue, Indiana, and Illinois though is their basketball success. I get that football is the big money-maker but basketball is big too, especially in the B10. Those 3 schools are too important to basketball in that league

[@brodyh2895]

@@matthewgraber6930 I really don’t want the big ten to kick out any of their original members, I think they were one of the few perfect conferences of 10 teams (even Penn states addition made some sense), I just want the idea that every conference consists of good and bad teams to be understood broadly. we don’t need the G5 and P5 divide because on any given Saturday the G5 and even some FCS teams can throw a P5 team around. some teams and conferences are better than others but there’s really no reason why there should be a subdivision of a subdivision

[@cannon3267]

I think there will end up being 3 conferences, the B1G, the SEC, and the ALL OTHERS. it will be really embarrassing if the heisman winner comes out of the all others, but it's entirely possible

[@ramspencer5492]

It's they programs that are feeding the networks... The teams and conferences should grow a pair and refuse to be so maliable...

[@terryfox9344]

Up until a month or so ago, I would have said that the conferences would not dump schools. I had several very good reasons for believing that. However, television has been ruining college football for over 60 years. I now believe that it is very possible that television will do this, and they will replace "college football" with "minor league football". When they do that, I will find other things to do with my time. Before I went to college, I wasn't a college football fan. Perhaps I will return to being a high school football fan. I never watch football on TV anyway, so TV won't miss me, only the colleges will miss me. I should explain that I have been a long time season ticket holder to a minor league baseball team, and am currently on my 10th year of being a season ticket holder for a minor league soccer team. I love going to games and seeing the action as opposed to the sterile TV atmosphere.

[@mark8337]

Look, there is a Laffer curve. When it comes to wins and losses, in a closed system, it is a zero sum game. In other words, you need losers in order to feed the winners. For every win, there has to be a loss. The Big Ten does not want to only bring in and have the marquee football teams/programs because then the existing marquee teams will start losing themselves. So, no, you can only do so much regards to having marquee programs otherwise you canniblize each other.

[@roris5882]

The only schools they want to add have good TV ratings, so they usually have good revenue generating sports programs.

[@luddite4change449]

The football season would quickly become March Madness, and we don't really want to know what the TV rating for a March Madness losers bracket would look like.

[@arningad]

They can accomplish Team removal from a Conference through relegation/promotion. If someone is struggling, let them be relegated and give someone new (and more ambitious) a chance. MAC teams promoted to the B1G? Probably an unpopular concept in the athletically and academically snobbish B1G.

[@heartbreak25]

No. Northwestern isn't paying $800 million to rebuild their stadium to be relegated. It's not happening.

[@cecondlife]

This is such a "casual" topic

[@bwcbiz]

"Lower tier schools" raises the question of in which sport? Would you kick out a school weak in football that is a leader in basketball?

[@dougwatchesiowastate]

Not kicked out but a new conference with the top teams of both B1G and SEC will join together to make a super conference leaving the bottom feeders behind.

[@daveowens9849]

IU has a bunch of national championships in sports other than football. Sophomoric argument.

[@user-pq1xo7tj6e]

Congrats on winning national championships in sports that nobody cares about. Football is the ONLY sport that matters.

[@joshuasnyder837]

More teams means more revenue and money for big ten

[@campaaronapollo]

Illinois would be first on the chopping block if the Big Ten started expelling schools based on poor football performance or poor overall athletic department performance, followed by Rutgers. Illinois is perennially either barely bowl eligible or bowl ineligible except for a few decent seasons here and there over the past few decades. Northwestern isn't going to be kicked out of the Big Ten as long as the Big Ten Network is still a thing (I'm guessing a lot of the people who work on Big Ten Network productions are Northwestern grads), and kicking Nebraska out would end the Big Ten's claim on being the best volleyball conference in America.

[@LockedOnBIG10]

Wasn’t Illinois football good two years ago and basketball and baseball were great this year? Why bounce them out?

[@powell4661]

Vandy funds a great hospital with their money. Something Texass would most likely not have otherwise

[@rickrobitaille5590]

It’s all about tv ratings and good games get good ratings!

[@hectorestrada3764]

Only if your not the B1G due to the research dollars that are shared between the universities. I’m an FSU fan and I would rather be part of the Big10 due to the second revenue source in research. All the other conferences rely on sports and nothing else

[@user-nm6py3bd6h]

All the teams should refuse to play if this happens and they can take their money and TV home.

[@telloboi]

Rutgers been on CBS, NBC and BTN

[@calistoatriano9258]

And the B1G will say, there are other networks. We have the B1G network and WE drive THIS bus.

[@ericlofroos2405]

So, you really want the bottom tier teams in the Big Ten over FSU, Clemson, and possibly Notre Dame? Like it or not there will be 2 power conferences, just like the NFL. There will also be a lower tier conference, and another conference under that one. That would make ALL the conferences much more competitive and interesting. Trust me, it’s coming whether we like, it or not!

[@wallacerose7499]

I’m rooting against very school in B10 except Big Blue , After the way the coaches whined about Michigan & the commissioner boycotted them at the Championship Game, i wish they would leave conference!

[@flman1478]

Michigan fan...we got 99 problems but OSU ain't one.😎😎

[@hectorestrada3764]

I would think the B1G wouldn’t do that because from what I understand and a large part of why I would like FSU to join the B1G is because they share in research dollars which is much more valuable for schools. The SEC cannot compete because some of those schools are the equivalent of crayon eaters certification unions.

[@jansonroberts2616]

Wanna talk about not competing? FSU is 3rd out of the 3 power schools academically in their own state. That’s some certified crayon eating reality right there. Just say you don’t like the SEC and you’d be more respected than trying to pass off FSU as an elite school. LOL. Laughable. Stick to athletics, FSU is better at it.

[@hectorestrada3764]

@@jansonroberts2616 I’m m not trying to pass FSU off as an elite academic school. I would like for them to increase their academic status by all means but what I am addressing is that for all the talk of SEC dominance and FSU’s value to other conferences. I don’t want FSU in the SEC so that we don’t give ESPN another dime, I would rather FSU secure a position in the B1G than the SEC because while everyone is struggling for dollars with the football distributions, I would rather FSU also have the research money available as well. In regard to academic standards - Arkansas, ole miss, Mississippi state, Auburn dont strike me as a bastions of football or academic value. They are just the paid fodder of the SEC so that the top teams in the conference get their “W’s” in. Every conference has them but in the SEC, it just means more.

[@SurferRC]

Its about views and fsu brings the most by a wide gap

[@BlorbusUnimax]

big ten is about tradition, the original schools arent going anywhere, but i think getting rid of nebraska would be good, except that is 2 senate votes right there, big ten should get colorado

[@alexd481]

The best outcome for the B1G, would have been a merger with the PAC 12. Have two divisions of 12, with an 11 game conference schedule, with the Rose Bowl as the conference title game. Had those two conferences merged, the combined conference would have dominated economically. The decline of the Pac 12 hurts the B1G rather than helping it.

[@chrisjones46Q]

I mean, that's basically what happened. It's just the B1G wasn't ready to invite everyone just yet. But it's just a matter of time before Stanford and Cal join. And then Utah, Colorado and the Arizona schools. They're all bound for the B1G at some point. The Big 12 and ACC are just very temporary homes until the B1G is ready.

[@jakehostetler775]

When they say bottom tier they mean low tv ratings so I don’t believe Nebraska is down there. Yet atleast

[@mark8337]

No way. Big Ten not that classless.

[@roris5882]

...yet. So the bottom feeders better start taking their revenue generating sports more seriously. They can no longer just allow themselves to be annual punching bags to pocket the revenue. They are soon going to be forced to start paying their players out of the revenue they generate for them. So they might as well start taking recruiting more seriously.

[@SurferRC]

@@roris5882nah they will just pocket the cash and jeep taking L’s

[@kentoler5396]

If this is all about business then yes the teams that have not produced in the past ten years will be gone. No choice but to get the biggest and brightest teams in America that people will tune into watch.

[@morefiction3264]

Im which sports. Based on what metrics

[@charlesdepenti6128]

Scare tactics. Nothing more.

[@traxiii]

At some point College Football needs to remove itself from "Conferences" and let all the schools non-football sports go back to a smaller more regional alignment. Then let "Big Time Football" do their own deal, with the top 64 or so teams split into two conferences like the NFL and outsiders able to earn their way in with performance like Premier League Soccer.

[@powell4661]

This Georgia man doesn't my SEC throwing out anyone and the only team I want invited is UNC.

[@matthewwolff3729]

An Iowa state ad prediction ain't worth buffalo shit on a wooden nickel. They're in a second tier conference and a traditional bottom feeder themselves. I'm not even gonna finish watching this video.

[@TheLaron2006]

So why is the big 12 is worried about us big ten people he needs to take a chill pill

[@danielrhodes7594]

If you are only talking football, then for the Big 10 would that be Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska? Those are the 5 bottom from last year, or would you put Rutgers and Maryland in there and keep Nebraska and Michigan State? If you are looking at Basketball then the bottom schools for last year it would be Michigan, Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State! I don't see how they would drop out the bottom members as it is different for different sports.

[@DannyBadyna-kt5uc]

Nothing here. Michigan fans would call This a “nothing burger”

[@curtismn31]

I think this new television contract if a school does not invest in their sports they should be kicked out. That’s what the money is for Not for anything else.

[@asinc79]

Too afraid to use the term Relegated?

[@stephenbahrmarbles]

Remove the bottom 4 and it’s 2 to 3 less wins per year for the big boys. That’s bad for their post season chances. Keep all teams , every year has different results anyways.

[@SurferRC]

This is wxactky what all the conferences have been saying for years. Every conference has bottom feeders! People act like the bottom of the b10 and sec would be better in other conferences but it’s just not true

[@user-po1ql5fo6s]

13:27

[@SurferRC]

A relegation system would be ideal tbh

[@user-po1ql5fo6s]

Big 10 all the way watch your back

[@alvajjoe]

do what they do with futbol in Europe. promotion and relegation

[@terencebaca1990]

2027 Phase 1 of the ESPN Super League w/ unequal revenue sharing: - Florida State - Clemson - Miami - North Carolina - Virginia - Stanford - Cal - Notre Dame Future 34-team CFB/ESPN Super League w/ regional conferences and unequal revenue sharing that strongly favors the 8 most valuable CFB blueblood schools: Pacific Conference - USC - UCLA - Oregon - Washington - Cal - Stanford - ASU - Utah Big 8 Conference - Texas - Oklahoma - Texas A&M - Nebraska - Colorado - Missouri - LSU - Arkansas South Coast Conference - Alabama - Georgia - Tennessee - South Carolina - Florida - Florida State - Miami - Ole Miss Atlantic Conference - Ohio State - Michigan - Penn State - Wisconsin - Iowa - Maryland - North Carolina - Virginia Independent - Notre Dame - Clemson or Auburn

[@roris5882]

Where's Rutgers and Minnesota? Each conference should probably expand by 1 more team or a new conference should be created. There should be a separate Midwest or Great Lakes Conference for the B1G schools and ND.

[@terencebaca1990]

@@roris5882 I don’t believe an 8 team Midwest Division would be included in the Super League. I could be completely wrong. ESPN will crunch the numbers to determine if that division would increase the yearly payout for the other schools in the league. The decision will be made at that point. It’s all about the money.

[@roris5882]

@@terencebaca1990 Why is ESPN in charge? They are horrible at their jobs. Fox, CBS, and NBC are better.

[@roris5882]

45 or 48 Teams is better because the Super League can then expand into all the populated regions of the country. They need to plan ahead for the growth of certain programs once they are receiving the same base pay everyone else is, but without expanding too much where it is dilutive.

[@terencebaca1990]

@@roris5882 It’s going to be interesting to see where the line is drawn on number of teams in the Super League. The experts will crunch the numbers to determine the correct number. Too many teams becomes dilutive and makes the league unstable. It’s the reason why the NFL has limited its league to 32 teams max.

[@tompeterson3774]

Why do you think the PAC12 was dissolved?

[@roris5882]

Poor management

[@SurferRC]

No access to the 4 team invitational

[@davidfloyd9134]

Pollard is right

[@roris5882]

ISU ain't gonna make it...

[@josephross7936]

Football needs to be its own thing & go back 10-12 teams got all other sports

[@Tonehawkdawg]

Vanderbilt.

[@GuloGulo420]

Bye msu, Indiana, Nebraska, Rutgers and Illinois!!

[@sodapopkidd]

Please stop giving Pollard airtime. He knows nothing.

[@user-rn2ys4ed6y]

I agree that the Big Ten and SEC are not going to kick out schools to make room for other schools. It's unnecessary because they can absorb pretty much any schools worth having without doing internal damage, and in any case there's no need to have every single game be one superpower vs. another. I would point out one thing: we not only used to have a Power 5, but not many years ago we had a Power 6, including the Big East with Miami and Virginia Tech. Personally, I grew up with--and often am nostalgic for--the days of regional conferences of 8-10 members each, but CFB has gone national, thanks to television, and there's no going back. The Power 2 will continue to pull away from the rest, bringing along some ACC and Big XII members, as well as Notre Dame, and effectively create their own top-tier division. And all those left in the current FBS will be OK because, while they won't be getting the big bucks, they also won't have to spend a lot to compete with the others at their level. The game and the fans will adjust just fine.

[@A1Googler]

Pollard is stupid. This is stupid. No, Pollard is not a Big Ten guy. A stop at Maryland and Wisconson as an associate or deputy does not make one knowledgeable of COPC nor vested in Big Ten inner workings. No, the Big Ten is not kicking out teams. Our revenue sharing model is there to support those teams because those matchups matter to Big Ten Country, not NBC or Fox. COPC will not be voting to kickout teams. But if a teams decides to leave because they think $100 mil per year can be gained as an independent, have at it. Foolish. And no, we will not be merging with the SEC or growing to some "super league" nonsense. This is dumbing down and trializing how and why the Big Ten has expanded over the years and gained TV $$$. 1. We expanded arounded Penn State in response to ACC moves and population shifts. 2. We offered a lifeline to Nebraska because of Big 12 issues and brand/TV impact. We did not poach. 3. We offered a lifeline to 4 Pac12 schools, big brands yes, that we ALREADY HAD LONG HISTORY WITH, not just anybody. None of these moves were made an the expense of tradition or rivalries. None of these moves neglected traditional Big Ten matchups - the things that got us to this point of being worth so much $$$. So now we are going to speculate about throwing that away because some guy on the outside looking in or NBC does not value a match with Purdue?! Nonsense. I watch those games because they are Big Ten matchups and the history.

[@stevemoserify]

some dude using "we" calls other people stupid, hahahaha, great stuff

[@jsmiles17]

Preach! It's annoying to hear all the speculating opinions and everyone forgetting how the Big10 got to this position.

[@roris5882]

B1G + SEC = 48 Team Super League

[@TenaciousStudent]

Pollard has no idea what he is talking about. It is part wishful thinking and another part trying to troll in state rival Iowa. The "bottom tier" programs won't be kicked out as they are foundational schools in the conference. Also, the big boys need teams they can get a sure win from. If all of the elite teams form a super league, some of those fanbases will be pretty sad every year as a new bottom is formed. It would be counterproductive to everything they want to do. If they decide to do that experiment, they are dumb with zero foresight.

[@roris5882]

The Hawkeyes would obviously be involved in a 40 to 50 team college football Super League because they are one of the 20 most valuable brands. They are the Pittsburgh Steelers of the B1G.

[@TenaciousStudent]

@@roris5882 I never heard the number he was talking about. A Big XII podcast used the number 20 for teams with stipulations of winning titles to get in. Iowa wouldn't make that cut.

[@roris5882]

@@TenaciousStudent Yeah, that was ridiculous because obviously a 20 team league doesn't even make sense. It sounded like they were purposely starting the conversation with a failed plan from the get go.

[@TenaciousStudent]

@@roris5882 There is a lot of that going around. These Elite teams will never break off and form their own "super league". If they did, one of them will become the new doormat of college football. I don't think any of those entitled fanbases will have that. The NFL already exists, people don't want the college version of it pre-NFL. If it does happen, I'm not watching. If those teams like Iowa and Iowa State still play, that'll be more like the college football we all know and love. The viewers will revert back to their fanbases.

[@bobgustin7254]

The shoe I'm listening for is the B1G dropping AAU affiliation. That's a Rubicon.

[@eddihaskell]

LOL! That is certainly NOT happening. Academics come first for the BIG. No conference has as many AAU memebers as the BIG (17 out of 18). In contract, the next highest conference, the Ivy Leaque, only has 8.

[@bobgustin7254]

@@eddihaskell the 18th (Nebraska) is murky as well. The AAU booted them because of the location of their medical center.

[@DuckRon626]

So, something like that big upset of Ohio State by Purdue of few years ago would just become a thing of the past? If so, that is a sad thing. I hate that college football is becoming more like the NFL. Every day I hear someone drawing that comparison and I really hate it.