The B1G Money is Greener, but is the Competition?

[Jon Joseph]

No matter how big the media rabbit Commissioner Kliavkoff can pull out of the hat, UCLA and USC will be bringing down far more media money in the B1G than any Pac-10 team will be bringing home. But will the LA schools be playing better competition in the B1G than they faced for decades in the Pac-8/10/12? 

 

FOOTBALL - This is the sport that stirs the drink and brings in around 80% of an athletic department's annual revenues. In games played between the Pac and the B1G conferences the Pac has an overall winning record of 270-264-12. The Rose Bowl record also favors the Pac Conference with a record of 52-45-3.

 

The B1G has sent three-member teams to the college football playoff, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State with Ohio State making the playoff field 5 times with one championship (sigh) and an overall record of 3-4. The B1G's playoff record is 3-7. The Pac-12 has sent two teams to the playoff, Oregon and Washington with an overall record of 1-2. UCLA has not come close to making the playoff field. USC came close last season before being taken to the woodshed by Utah in the Pac-12 conference championship game.

 

Coming into the 2023 season, the Pac-12 will have five, Oregon, USC, Washington, Utah, and Oregon State ranked in the AP Poll preseason top 25 with UCLA certain to be among the other teams receiving votes. The B1G will have three teams, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State ranked and could have as many as five ranked if Iowa and Wisconsin slip into the top 25. 

 

When it comes to tradition, stadium size, fan interest, and famous football players, the B1G trumps the Pac-12 in every respect. The B1G schools have legions of alumni and alumnae and for the most part, the member schools play in the more heavily populated Eastern time zone. The B1G Network is a roaring success while the Pac-12 Network has withered on the vine. And over the years the B1G has sent far more players to the NFL. In terms of national interest, the B1G is hands down more recognized than the Pac-12. But will USC in particular find it easier to make the expanded playoff in the B1G than it would have had in the Pac-12? Likely not. And USC will no longer be the preeminent team in its conference. As for UCLA, traveling 26,000 miles in 2024 to play football speaks for itself.

 

There will be more eyeballs on the LA schools in the B1G but this will not ipso facto translate to more on-field success.

 

One record the Pac-12 has over the B1G. In 1962 Oregon State's Terry Baker won the Heisman Trophy and also played in the basketball tournament Final Four. No athlete other than Baker has accomplished this 'daily double.'

 

MEN'S BASKETBALL - Year after year the B1G sends far more teams to the NCAA basketball tournament but with no more success than the Pac-12. The last time a B1G team won a basketball title came in 2000 when Michigan State defeated Florida for the title. This is better than the Pac-12 that last won a basketball title in 1997 when Arizona defeated Kentucky in overtime.

 

In terms of fan interest, attendance, and eyes on the prize, the B1G is superior to the Pac-12 but will the LA schools have more on-court success in the B1G? And with the B1G conference champ game played in Chicago, Bruins, and Trojans fans will have to travel far further than the drive from southern California to Las Vegas.

 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - Down on The Farm the women are well aware that no B1G women's team has won a basketball title since 1999. The B1G is deep when it comes to women's basketball teams but this does not translate into championships.

 

SOFTBALL - In the final NCAA softball poll before the 2022/23 tournament the Pac-12 had four teams ranked before the B1G's best, Northwestern. This has been the case for the most part season after season.

 

TRACK + FIELD - The Pac-8/10/12 has been historically better than the B1G and has produced far more track and field Olympic athletes. The rich history of the Pac Conference goes back at least to Jesse Owens giving Adolph Hitler an in-your-face in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. So much for the Master Race whose athletes didn't come close to winning a race versus Jesse. 

 

Oregon - has an incredibly rich track and field tradition including - Steve Prefontaine, Raevny Rogers, Kenny Moore, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Rudy Chapa, Jerry Schumacher, Ashton Eaton, Kelly Blair LaBounty, Coach Bill Hayward, and some guy who competed for Bill by the name of Phil Knight. 

 

The Pac-12 in track and field laps the B1G.

 

GYMNASTICS - Another sport with many more Olympic athletes coming from the Pac-12. In 2023, no BIG team made the NCAA semifinals. Cal, USC, and Utah did so and this is typical of season after season.

 

MEN and WOMEN'S GOLF - It's been a long time since the Golden Bear roamed the fairways in Columbus. This sport comes up fairways and greens for the Pac-12 including a Natty authored by Casey Martin and the Ducks Men's golf team. Far more men and women professional golfers are Pac-12 alums than B1G alums.

 

ICE HOCKEY - Next Case.

 

Yes, the money is nice and it will spend, at least on facilities, administrative salaries, and coaches' salaries but how much of this money will filter down to athletes who are being asked to travel like professional athletes? Abd overall, the competition will not be better in the B1G than in the Pac-12 and in many cases, it will be far less competitive.

 

 

[HDuck]

Aside from the impression that the Pac will likely never have more than one Playoff participant due to the politics of team selection, did USC/UCLA have a choice when faced with "the money?"

 

Joel Klatt says USC, UCLA were ‘forced to leave’ for Big Ten to stay relevant - On3

WWW.ON3.COM

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[Jon Joseph]

H - USC, no. UCLA - depends on the Calimony payment? 26,000 miles of travel in 2024 and that's just for the football team.

[Charles Fischer]

On 7/4/2023 at 12:07 PM, HDuck said:

Aside from the impression that the Pac will likely never have more than one Playoff participant due to the politics of team selection, did USC/UCLA have a choice when faced with "the money?"

 

Joel Klatt says USC, UCLA were ‘forced to leave’ for Big Ten to stay relevant - On3

WWW.ON3.COM

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Of course the B1G-FOX Hack would write that.  Red meat for the haters!

[Charles Fischer]

Competition in the B1G?

 

Maryland

Rutgers

Illinois

Minnesota

Iowa

Nebraska

Northwestern

Purdue

Indiana

 

What’s not to like?

[Charles Fischer]

B1G Expertise on the 4th...

[HDuck]

Practically the entirety of sportswriters and pundits have focused solely on football.   Aside from a few finger pointers in Pac-12 territory, none of these folks wants to delve into what the change will be like for basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, soccer, etc.

 

That is a much ignored, under-covered, story and really don't understand why.  Yes, football is the "glamour" sport with the highest viewer quotient for new matchups; and, it is the moneyman driving the bus, but at some point you would think it would get some serious attention?

 

Likewise, the competition and notoriety aspect for athletes?  If you are a softball player considering UCLA, do you want to compete in a conference like the Big Ten, or where you can test your competitive posture in the Pac12.  I suppose men's basketball might think differently, but are they ready for the travel?

 

The evolution of the story for minor sports at the L.A. schools will be interesting.  Vindictively I hope no West Coast school helps them.

[Jon Joseph]

On 7/4/2023 at 3:33 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Competition in the B1G?

 

Maryland

Rutgers

Illinois

Minnesota

Iowa

Nebraska

Northwestern

Purdue

Indiana

 

What’s not to like?

Please, do not confuse the hype with FACTS!

[Rufus]

USC and UCLA can cut down on travel in non-conference games.  In most sports, they can complete a non-conference schedule without leaving the State of California.  Rather than traveling across the country for non-conference games, they will do so for conference games.  
 

I’m sure the B1G is working to make the travel aspect as efficient as possible.  Get the kinks worked out in 2024 and 2025 and then finish off their westward expansion.  Acclimate those schools to the conference and then raid the ACC.  This is the end game.  The only wildcard is Notre Dame. 

[David Marsh]

I browsed the article and I get so annoyed that it's all about games on primetime on east coast time. It seems to be a put down of the entire west coast..

 

Yes, there.are perception problems when west coast teams are always on after east coasters have gone to bed. 

 

I know for fans in the stadium 7pm start times suck... At home I kinda like them because I can do stuff during the day and then end my day with the ducks. 

 

And guess what... That's what it's like for east coasters at their primetime. 

 

Instead of bad mouthing how the pac-12 starts late ... Maybe these pundits should be saying "hey, the PAC starts late buts it's worth watching and staying up for" because it's called pac-12 after dark for a reason. It's a great product... 

 

It's just not an east coast product. 

[Jon Joseph]

Paul is safe and if not, he can double for Dumbo the Flying Elephant. 

[Haywarduck]

I have seen many people chase money, for money's sake. Most often it doesn't end well.

 

I would put the move the LA schools did in the same category. The move was poorly thought out, and based mostly on just wanting more. That type of thinking is more often than not the norm, too often anymore.

[Washington Waddler]

     The bigger the market, the more provincial the foaming-at-the-mouth media advocates become - nothing new there. Adding up hidden costs; however, are usually reserved for TBD time because they’re unknowable until then. Can’t help but think though that the purse strings people at both LA schools are getting just a bit nervous.

 

     Regarding the no-name brands that litter the B1G, my wife & I traveled to West Lafayette in 2008 for the Purdue game. As a non-con no counter, you couldn’t have asked for more: double overtime thriller with the Ducks pulling it out in the end (thank you Jarius Byrd & LaGarrette Blount).

 

      Aside from that, what I remember most is the utter lack of resonance - zero. We might as well have been playing in Bulgaria. Not sure we even spoke the same language. For a non-con, that’s fine; as a counter, not sure how the LA schools will react to feeling no sense of identifiable rivalry.