HedleyLamarr

Unless it was mentioned somewhere else....the Big Ten has picked their divisional names. Get this....a Legends Division and Leaders Division. I thee not. It's even more dumber than that "Atlantic" and "Coastal" thing the ACC has going on. Leaders: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin Legends: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Nebraska It even comes with a new logo: Oklahoma City Blunder!!!!!!!!

There is a precedent....

Dustin Byfuglien in a Thrashers sweater.

The Babe's going gangsta!

That's not entirely accurate... In discussions I've heard and seen in the media, it's been pointed out that Texas is looking to have what LSU has under the SEC, a third-tier form of network called "TigerVision". Essentially what it means is that ALL LSU games are televised live in some form or another. Through their contracts with the SEC, CBS has first "right of refusal" to broadcast a game, then ESPN, then if neither of those big boys exercise their option (say, for a home tilt against Colorwerx's alma mater N. Texas )then the game goes to TigerVision, which is a pay-per-view deal via cable, satellite, on-line, etc. However, this is only done within the borders of the state of Louisiana. Outside of the state, the same TigerVision games are only offered on ESPN Gameplan... obviously the devil is in the details... Georgia has the same thing when their game isn't picked up by CBS or one of the ESPN family of networks...a PPV game through CSS.

With the kind of money the SEC is raking in, I don't think Vanderbilt and Mississippi State will mind getting their asses kicked by Texas and Oklahoma when they're already getting routinely throttled by the likes of Alabama and Florida. Besides, there's no school I can think of that's annually weak in every sport.

The bolded part is correct. The SEC won't be expanding just for the sake of expanding....they'll only be expanding if the incoming school(s) will increase their revenue exponentially. Adding a Louisville, a Texas A&M, or a Virginia Tech doesn't do that. Adding a Texas or a Notre Dame, or to a lesser degree an Oklahoma, does. The SEC isn't scrambling to get a network. The conference already has 15-year deals...involving multi-billion dollars with each deal....with both CBS and ESPN. The SEC has CBS all to itself. Other than Notre Dame, no other school or conference has this distinction of having a basic TV channel to itself. The Big Ten shares ABC with the ACC and Big XII (and Pac-10, I believe). Also, with the deal ESPN has with the SEC, ESPN now has contractual rights to all SEC home events in every televised sport. The SEC doesn't need that conference network that the Big Ten has and the Pac-10 is creating. The Big Ten and Pac-10, along with all the other conferences, are well behind the SEC. The only way they can catch-up to the SEC is by expanding and creating these super-conferences. Texas and Oklahoma aren't going to decide with conference is best for them, just for the football competition aspect. They're going to go with the option that places them in the best financial situation in the long-term.

Money. A whole lot of money. Currently, the SEC has 15-year broadcasting deals with both CBS and ESPN that began this past season. To simplify just how big a deal CBS has...CBS's deal with the SEC involves bigger money than the deal CBS has with the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Also, ESPN owns the TV rights to all SEC home games in every sport. These two TV deals are the reason why the SEC doesn't need their version of the Big Ten Network, nor do they absolutely need to expand. The Pac-10 and the Big Ten are playing catch-up, and the only way they can do that is by expansion. The country is already fully-exposed to the SEC with these TV deals. The conference won't be expanding just for the sake of expanding...they'll only be making moves that will increase their revenue exponentially. Adding a Texas A&M or a Virginia Tech doesn't do this. Adding a Texas, or to a lesser degree an Oklahoma, does.

http://kentsterling.com/2010/06/10/big-ten-expansion-texas-and-texas-am-may-choose-big-ten/ http://www.kctv5.com/sports/23860558/detail.html If this is true... now I start to get worried. Can anyone say "Game Changer"? If I remember right, all this Big Ten expansion talk began because of a rumor of Texas possibly getting an invite. Of course, the Texas state legislature insists that Texas has a dance partner in any possible expansion/realignment....namely Texas A&M and possibly Texas Tech and Baylor. As for the SEC, getting Oklahoma is probably the biggest fish they could possibly get. Of course, Oklahoma State likely will want to stay with Oklahoma, and from a money aspect...you can't do much better than getting T. Boone Pickens in your conference.

Probably because you stole someone else's idea, and tried to pass it off as your own.....

If the Pac-10 does succeed in getting Texas and Oklahoma, I think the SEC will have to expand by at least two teams, if not the 16 that the Pac-10 and Big Ten are aiming for. Looking at the schools that would be "available" for expanding, the most likely candidates could include Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Kansas.....and Notre Dame. This is an arms race, and Notre Dame is the biggest fish out there. The SEC is adept at making decisions that have greatly benefitted the league. The SEC would love to gain Notre Dame, it's nationwide fanbase, and expose the league's product on another network. Can you imagine the SEC owning NBC, CBS, and getting the biggest contract ABC/ESPN will offer any conference?

The SEC could use a Kansas to enhance it's basketball prowess....

That sounds like a show on TLC. ...or an adult film.

The only reason the SEC will even consider expansion is if the Big Ten somehow gets Texas and Notre Dame to join their conference. The conference is already making a ton of money. The SEC doesn't gain all that much by adding Georgia Tech or Florida State, and has little interest in expanding outside the southeaster region.

If the Big Ten manages to get Texas, do they get to take Texas' former conference's name, too?

Though I understand your "Football belongs outside" angle, domes are meant to house other events, too. Building the Georgia Dome was the smartest decision the city of Atlanta ever made, and the revenue that's been generated because of the Dome has been astronomical. It has allowed Atlanta to host the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the Final Four, the SEC Football Championship, the ACC and SEC basketball tournaments, and other national and international events. It has also enhanced the quality of play and fan experience for NFL games and the Peach (now Chick-Fil-A) Bowl.

Didn't Barkley sign one of those one-day/one-game contracts with Philadelphia after he left Houston?

If Michigan and Ohio State were to play in opposite divisions, exactly why can't they keep their game at the end of the season?

I could see the Big Ten dividing their divisions like the ACC did: With no geographical ties at all. I would think that the conference would salivate over the chance of Michigan and Ohio State meeting in their conference championship game. Plus, there's so many rivalry games within the conference, they might need to resort to maintaining their rivalry games first, then deciding their divisions to where the most of these games are kept intact.

The Braves franchise has been playing since 1871, I believe.....