SEC clearly has the best brand for football and the best teams. B1G may even have taken a backseat to the ACC in that regard with Clemson’s recent dominance.
Should Northwestern revisit joining the Ivy League?
- Thread starter FeralFelidae
- Start date
maybe NU should look into starting an all academic conference. Could add Vandy, Duke, Stanford, Virginia, Tulane, Rice and a couple of Ives.
They already won. They have TX and OU and we are pursuing Kansas. Hahahahahahaha
There is a possibility something similar to that may come to fruition. Not the Ivies as their football is too weak. But there’s a possibility.
I think OSU is already gone too. Why would they stay? The want to be included with the best teams.
Who said the Big Ten is pursuing Kansas.
The next round of expansion in the Big Ten will be about football TV money. And that means good ACC programs that move the needle; maybe a big combination of Clemson/FSU/UNC/UVa/Va Tech/Ga Tech or something like that.
Everybody just needs to relax; this isn't the end of the world. It's going to force the Big Ten to make a corresponding move though.
Hmmm…I don’t think old fashioned realignment rules apply in the age of open money. I see no reason for:
a) betting on the value of future television contracts (especially for a 2nd tier conference)
b) thinking that a rust belt conference will pull anybody ‘remote’ (read: from a place with no snow) and ‘big’ in, without jettisoning the B1G chaff
I could see ND, USC, PSU, WISC, NEB, MICH, MICH ST, IOWA, OREGON, CLEM, FSU et al forming another ‘major’ league. You end up with a two conference split of the ‘Junior NFL’, and the rest of the universities can recover from the football delirium and return to their primary academic missions.
Football at Northwestern can continue as a student activity. Anybody who still cares can watch the Cats play Chicago and Lake Forest College.
And I get my fall Saturdays back. Win win.
a) betting on the value of future television contracts (especially for a 2nd tier conference)
b) thinking that a rust belt conference will pull anybody ‘remote’ (read: from a place with no snow) and ‘big’ in, without jettisoning the B1G chaff
I could see ND, USC, PSU, WISC, NEB, MICH, MICH ST, IOWA, OREGON, CLEM, FSU et al forming another ‘major’ league. You end up with a two conference split of the ‘Junior NFL’, and the rest of the universities can recover from the football delirium and return to their primary academic missions.
Football at Northwestern can continue as a student activity. Anybody who still cares can watch the Cats play Chicago and Lake Forest College.
And I get my fall Saturdays back. Win win.
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"According to the 2021 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, all of the Big Ten schools but one rank within the top 100 best National Universities, which are schools that are often research-oriented and offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral programs."
Nebraska is ranked 133rd.
Kansas is ranked 124th, so it isnt impossible that Kansas would be allowed in, but it seems unlikely.
The SEC has Vandy, Georgia, Florida, Auburn and Texas A&M in the Top 100.
Kentucky, Mizzou, Arkansas, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Texas AM, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina are all outside the Top 100.
In other words, they would each be the worst school in the Big Ten if they replaced Nebraska.
Not to mention the fact that most SEC sports programs have earned dicey reputations.
Off the top of my head, I think Pittsburgh and Syracuse are more likely than Kansas, if anything happens to the Big Ten.
I agree. In its heyday the advantage of the Big 10 was demographics and money. The demographics now favor teams to the South and that will get bigger. While the Big still has money, the teams in the South do now as well.The future if the Big 10 is as a basketball conference in much the same way the Big East programs that were dominant Football programs up to the 1950’s had to transition to basketball in the 1980’s. In that scenario, bringing in Kansas makes sense.
OSU and PSU should leave the Big 10 and join the SEC or along with Notre Dame join the ACC.
I don’t understand why you (and others) wouldn’t watch them play Chicago or Lake Forest? We’re all still fans and alums. Why would we quit on the teams depending on who they play? We’ve always prided and set ourselves apart from the rest of the B1G BECAUSE of our academics. Now, if we do it, some would quit as a fan? That makes me sad.
If the big schools go and make a Super League of sorts I'd get it, but if they're going to stay in a conference, the Big Ten as is makes the most sense other than the SEC.
Lots of healthy middle tier programs to go alongside the big ones unlike the ACC and Pac-12 which don't have that (partially why they have such bad contracts).
If the games were still televised, I would probably still watch. I was just assuming that conditions would be like the old days, and getting NU coverage outside of Chicago would be nearly impossible.
Would I listen to the Cats play Lake Forest on the web? With a revolving student broadcast team as the only option?
Probably not. Though I would go see a game in person, if I were to find myself in Chicago at the right time.
I would hope (maybe wishful thinking?) that NU could build a pretty strong production team for the live streaming games. I’ve seen schools with far less resources put together real professional looking productions. I would be disappointed if NU didn’t.
Imagine our usual road crowd rolling into UChicago and just painting it purple. That would be cool. If the school wanted to, and I would expect them to do it (considering our facilities), they could create a juggernaut d3 team that would still be fun to watch.
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The only thing that could make me quit being a Northwestern football fan would be a Sandusky-type scandal where people were abusing people and our leadership covered it up.
Aside from that, I don’t care who we play. I’ll always bleed purple. Go Cats.
You actually managed to get me enthusiastic about the idea.
For what it is worth, “re-regionalization” of the game would make football a lot more interesting.
I said this the last time conferences were influx. This is working itself towards four 16 team super conferences. There will be an 8 team playoff between all the division champions.
actually it's your suggestion of who they would play that is sad.
The problem is money.
There's just not that many schools out there to justify 4 16 team conferences.
Like why would the Pac-12 take any of these schools leftover in the Big 12? They're just extra mouths to feed that don't bring in proper revenue amounts to justify their addition.
Who is the ACC going to add, though I guess they could be at 15 with ND.
I've had a change of heart about the Ivy League and the major sports. Of course the Ivies have always excelled in certain interscholastic sports such as hockey, fencing, lacrosse, soccer. etc. And periodically in basketball. My graduate school, Penn has been a national power in both football and basketball within the latter half of the 20th century. So, why not? In the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries, the Ivies were the national sports leaders in major sports. Why did they band together and stop the trend toward the commercialization and professionalization of major sports. The answer should be obvious--Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, the Floridas, etc. Football factories posing as educational institutions. Interestingly, Northwestern, Stanford, Vanderbilt and a few other private, excellent academic institutions are proving the lie that great schools can't also field great major sports programs. I think the Ivies should once again invest in football and basketball. They have the resources to easily excel in these sports, without becoming "football or basketball factories" and demonstrate that great academic institutions can be the model for the institutions which pretend to be schools for athletes. This may be somewhat unfair, since attending school is better than not, and everyone deserves an education even if not being at a high academic level, however when a school is known more for than sports than academics, and athletes are short changed academically, that is not a good model. If the Ivies were to be not only the great academic institutions they are (although Harvard is slipping) but also set the example for excellence in major sports, this would solidify Northwestern's position as the model to be emulated in the B1G, which we are well on our way to doing on our own, however strength is in community. So, no, Northwestern should not join the Ivy League, but continue to be the model for them, as well as the B1G. It is a pretty strong position to be in.
Io_a may be the same boat as Northwestern soon. Nothing’s guaranteed, ***keye. Go back in your hole.
If you honestly think Iowa is going to be relegated to the D3 level, you are simply misinformed.
My buddy has your team still in either the top “superconference tier” or, at worst, in the new Big Ten. Check the other thread for details. I’m done with this.
The Ivy League will not adopt a semi-pro approach to athletics. But NU should not opt to join the Ivy League.
Per a previous post, if comp and bidding wars get out of hand ( which I think will happen pretty quickly until the market finds equipoise), NU should approach like-minded P5 institutions and see if there’s interest in forming a true college athletics conference with opportunities for NIL but within strict and narrow guidelines. This will turn off lots of recruits, but many others will understand the value proposition of the next 40 years and this will attract a decent level of talent. Other schools for this conference might be : Purdue, Stanford, Cal, Duke, BC, Vandy, Rice, Army, Navy, AF, among others. Tenable? Up for debate, but at least it’s an idea.
EDIT: Just read through the whole thread and saw WillyCat’s similar post. So, hmmmm, I’m not going to put this in the great minds think alike category, but….
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A conference as you describe would be akin to a d2 conference. The general college sports media would have little interest in it, as the super conference would dominate all media. That’s just the way it will be.
Plus, I’m not sure how you contain NIL within “strict and narrow guidelines.” I don’t think it’s possible.
Enough people watch college lacrosse for me to think that there is a fanbase large enough for ESPN to pick up this conference, but maybe games are on Thursday night? Re the “strict and narrow guidelines,” fair point: the devil is in the details. But, hey, this conference is populated by the best and brightest minds……
Ohio State would be nuts to leave the Big 10, which means I wouldn't be surprised if they did. If Penn State leaves, they can whine about the bad calls they get in the super conference. I enjoy your comments, but these schools decide to leave don't let the door hit you in the backside on the way out. I'll get back to actual college sports and let you semipro teams duke it out elsewhere.
The college sports media would follow this Athletic Conference much moreso than the Ivy League. And the quality of football still wouldn’t be much behind the SupEr Conference. Let’s not go to hyperbole.
PSU was in double secret talks with the ACC according to my buddy a few years ago. That’s the real reason why the B1G added Maryland and Rutgers, in addition to many more television eyes.
Personally, I would have “traded” them for Pitt, Maryland, and Virginia. But Delaney did what he did and we’re now banking on Rutgers fulfilling its potential.
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Just remember: we beat more SEC teams last year than Vanderbilt did.
Savage!
Seriously though, what do folks think about the following “Super Ivy” conference if the B1G collapses in the near future? What could we call this?
Northwestern
Boston College
Stanford
Virginia
Duke
Purdue
Illinois
Pitt
Army
Navy
The more time passes and I reflect, the more I think this OU/Texas move will eventually backfire on the SEC.
Sometimes the best play is to wait and see. I think that's what the B1G is going to do and any rash addition is going to result in a RU/Maryland meh move.
How would the SEC’s move possibly backfire if their main goals are to have the best brand of college football and make more money? Please explain.
(1) It's Texas. Texas' ego is the size of Texas. They ruin any conference they join. They were so intolerable trying to run the Big XII as their own personal fiefdom that Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado walked away. (Nebraska to Texas: "Hey, why don't you ditch this Longhorn Network thing so we can start up a Big XII network just like three other P5 conferences have done? That would make money for everyone in the conference." Texas: "No thanks, we don't care about making money for you.") Will Texas finally find a compatible home in the SEC? Don't bet money on it.
(2) Depending on what happens with the playoffs, it may actually make it much harder for OU or Texas to make the playoffs. It will certainly make it harder to win a conference championship, in all sports, not just football.
This.
Also, there's going to be unintended consequences. So far everyone is on the doom and gloom boat for all other conferences, painting the worst case scenarios for the B1G and SEC dominance 'till eternity. I just don't buy it. Doing something now does nothing for Northwestern.
We wait. Nothing we do now will top the move the SEC made. A better can be made in a few years.
Patience you padawan, patience.
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