"Super League"

[CoralSpringsCat]

Our Trustees are as pro athletics as any you'll find in the SEC or Big Ten. They're not going to accept some sort of Dark Age where athletics is de-emphasized.

I get the skepticism about Schill/Gragg, but they aren't making the big $ decisions that will get put to the Ryans and the rest of the Trustees.

And as @NUCat320 says, Schill knows the value in athletics as a differentiator for us. Oregon would have been left behind if it was the Oregon of the 80s or 90s.

Big Ten athletics is a huge competitive advantage for competing against Ivy League schools and the rest for students, some do want to attend schools where they can support top level FB/BB teams.

Other than Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, ND, and us, you don't find it in many places.

There is a group of our Trustees that are as pro athletics as any you'll find in the SEC or Big Ten.

Fixed it for you (FIFY)!

Certainly not all…not by a longshot.

 

[NUCat320]

You’d think. Ask Mario Cristobal about Schill.

I don’t know Mario Cristobal. What would he tell me?

He had a good reason to go to Miami, for what it’s worth. (Total coincidence that it was just published.)

Miami Hurricanes football coach Mario Cristobal got paid record amount in 2022

Miami football coach's pay in 2022 is the largest-ever, single-year amount for an athletics department employee on a tax form by a private university.

www.usatoday.com

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

I don’t know Mario Cristobal. What would he tell me?

He had a good reason to go to Miami, for what it’s worth. (Total coincidence that it was just published.)

Miami Hurricanes football coach Mario Cristobal got paid record amount in 2022

Miami football coach's pay in 2022 is the largest-ever, single-year amount for an athletics department employee on a tax form by a private university.

www.usatoday.com

He’d tell you that Schill doesn’t know/care about the value in athletics as a differentiator for a University.

 

[Sheffielder]

Our Trustees are as pro athletics as any you'll find in the SEC or Big Ten. They're not going to accept some sort of Dark Age where athletics is de-emphasized.

I get the skepticism about Schill/Gragg, but they aren't making the big $ decisions that will get put to the Ryans and the rest of the Trustees.

And as @NUCat320 says, Schill knows the value in athletics as a differentiator for us. Oregon would have been left behind if it was the Oregon of the 80s or 90s.

Big Ten athletics is a huge competitive advantage for competing against Ivy League schools and the rest for students, some do want to attend schools where they can support top level FB/BB teams.

Other than Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, ND, and us, you don't find it in many places.

@zeek55 i appreciate where you're coming from, but in Schill/Gragg I'm not so much talking about their desire or personal interests in seeing NU thrive athletically, but their prowess to hang in what would be shark-filled tank of administrators at other schools who understand it's kill-or-be-killed. I have zero confidence in these two to ensure NU makes the cut, whereas with their predecessors, I would have bet a lot that we WOULD.

 

[zeek55]

@zeek55 i appreciate where you're coming from, but in Schill/Gragg I'm not so much talking about their desire or personal interests in seeing NU thrive athletically, but their prowess to hang in what would be shark-filled tank of administrators at other schools who understand it's kill-or-be-killed. I have zero confidence in these two to ensure NU makes the cut, whereas with their predecessors, I would have bet a lot that we WOULD.

Here's what I'd say, you don't have to have any confidence in either of them.

I have faith in things holding together institutionally in terms of our relationships with Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, that stretch back 100+ years, etc. (or if we go the so-called "Magnolia League" route, with the other top privates that want to compete in D1 like Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, BC, Syracuse, etc.).

I can't imagine NU ever getting tossed out alone of the current Big Ten because there's little that would cause others from following us out the door. Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers would all be in the same position as us.

What is possible is that yes the top 20 schools may leave to create their own "big brand Super League". If that happens, there's nothing we can do because it'd be a decision by Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Penn State, USC, Texas, etc. to go do their own thing. We'd just have to go with the flow with either of our peer groups (Big Ten West programs left behind or private peers).

What I'm saying is basically that we'll be fine in any scenario.

The most important thing that we can do now is put our best foot forward. The Ryans ensuring that the stadium rebuild goes through was really integral to that. It's what I was most worried about when the fiasco happened last offseason, that the stadium rebuild plans might get halted. That was my biggest worry because that affects the long-term status of the program.

If we hadn't done the stadium rebuild and let's say the top brands leave the Big Ten/SEC, there's no way we're doing an $800 million stadium rebuild if we're looking at a reformed Big Ten (minus Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State) that pulls in 50% or less of the conference distributions that we see now. There's just no way the AD would be able to do that if we're pulling in $40-60 million less per year in revenue.

Like I've said earlier, regardless of AD/President, we'd likely have been screwed over completely if all these changes happened 30-40 years ago. What potentially saves us now is that we've made the investments to compete while enjoying Big Ten revenues and shown that we can put together a strong group of programs from top to bottom including the primary revenue sports of FB/BB.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Here's what I'd say, you don't have to have any confidence in either of them.

I have faith in things holding together institutionally in terms of our relationships with Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, that stretch back 100+ years, etc. (or if we go the so-called "Magnolia League" route, with the other top privates that want to compete in D1 like Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, BC, Syracuse, etc.).

I can't imagine NU ever getting tossed out alone of the current Big Ten because there's little that would cause others from following us out the door. Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers would all be in the same position as us.

What is possible is that yes the top 20 schools may leave to create their own "big brand Super League". If that happens, there's nothing we can do because it'd be a decision by Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Penn State, USC, Texas, etc. to go do their own thing. We'd just have to go with the flow with either of our peer groups (Big Ten West programs left behind or private peers).

What I'm saying is basically that we'll be fine in any scenario.

The most important thing that we can do now is put our best foot forward. The Ryans ensuring that the stadium rebuild goes through was really integral to that. It's what I was most worried about when the fiasco happened last offseason, that the stadium rebuild plans might get halted. That was my biggest worry because that affects the long-term status of the program.

If we hadn't done the stadium rebuild and let's say the top brands leave the Big Ten/SEC, there's no way we're doing an $800 million stadium rebuild if we're looking at a reformed Big Ten (minus Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State) that pulls in 50% or less of the conference distributions that we see now. There's just no way the AD would be able to do that if we're pulling in $40-60 million less per year in revenue.

Like I've said earlier, regardless of AD/President, we'd likely have been screwed over completely if all these changes happened 30-40 years ago. What potentially saves us now is that we've made the investments to compete while enjoying Big Ten revenues and shown that we can put together a strong group of programs from top to bottom including the primary revenue sports of FB/BB.

This kind of thinking is what doomed the PAC-12.

 

[zeek55]

This kind of thinking is what doomed the PAC-12.

To an extent yes I can see that, but they also had such disastrous conference leadership for 20 years that they had 0 chance of ever staying together as Kliavkoff fumbled their TV deals (and it was Scott whose various messes led to that).

We're at least fortunate that Big Ten leadership (especially Delany) was always focused on maximizing TV money and has arguably been the best at it for 40 years (since big TV contracts started). We don't have to worry about that when the conference is on a glide path to paying out $100 million per school by end of decade.

 

[Sheffielder]

To an extent yes I can see that, but they also had such disastrous conference leadership for 20 years that they had 0 chance of ever staying together as Kliavkoff fumbled their TV deals (and it was Scott whose various messes led to that).

We're at least fortunate that Big Ten leadership (especially Delany) was always focused on maximizing TV money and has arguably been the best at it for 40 years (since big TV contracts started). We don't have to worry about that when the conference is on a glide path to paying out $100 million per school by end of decade.

I worry that the TV money won't always be there. Between cord cutting and ESPN talking with other broadcasting power brokers to do a single sports mega-streaming service (which would reduce competition), what has gotten the Big Ten and SEC to this point might gradually become less of a competitive advantage - this is where I worry the top X number of programs might decide to leave everyone else behind - but if the TV cash cow busts, there won't be enough to feed 80 mouths.

But to your point - I totally agree that regardless of what happens, NU will be okay. We definitely won't be the "one" program in the conference that gets left behind, and I've said elsewhere I'd be just fine if in 20 years we're just playing a modest 10-game regional schedule against a mix of MAC and former Big Ten programs - I would still buy my season tickets, make my donations, and subscribe to whatever platform is broadcasting games.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Big Ten athletics is a huge competitive advantage for competing against Ivy League schools and the rest for students, some do want to attend schools where they can support top level FB/BB teams.

Other than Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, ND, and us, you don't find it in many places.

This is true.
It is an advantage for attracting certain types of students - the ones who are brilliant but also like sports.

 

[zeek55]

This is true.
It is an advantage for attracting certain types of students - the ones who are brilliant but also like sports.

I can't get back into my 17-18 year old mind, but I'm pretty sure that the reason I chose NU over my other offers (JHU, UChicago among others) was that none of the others had "big time" sports to support. I visited JHU and UChicago as well as NU and there's just something about D1 facilities that makes a place seem so much bigger (and keep in mind this was before any of our modern buildout under Phillips). Just imagining the school not only being excellent at academics but also competing with Michigan or Ohio State on the field is extremely attractive to a prospective student. You get the best of both worlds, studying under elite professors with elite students but also supporting elite teams on Saturdays.

I wanted to go to a top private that still had aspects of "Big State U" and Northwestern was the only one that did out of my final choices.

If I would be a 17-18 year old in 2026-2027 and I drove by the new RF/WR complex and saw the Fieldhouse (among all the other new buildings on campus), it'd be hard not to be impressed compared to what everyone else has.

I worry that the TV money won't always be there. Between cord cutting and ESPN talking with other broadcasting power brokers to do a single sports mega-streaming service (which would reduce competition), what has gotten the Big Ten and SEC to this point might gradually become less of a competitive advantage - this is where I worry the top X number of programs might decide to leave everyone else behind - but if the TV cash cow busts, there won't be enough to feed 80 mouths.

But to your point - I totally agree that regardless of what happens, NU will be okay. We definitely won't be the "one" program in the conference that gets left behind, and I've said elsewhere I'd be just fine if in 20 years we're just playing a modest 10-game regional schedule against a mix of MAC and former Big Ten programs - I would still buy my season tickets, make my donations, and subscribe to whatever platform is broadcasting games.

Agreed, the TV money not being there in the future (past 2030 nothing is guaranteed given that sports media may look so much different in a more fully post-cable world) is a real concern.

That + the possibility of real upheaval across the college sports landscape is why my biggest concern the past couple of years has been getting the stadium project across the finish line.

As I said above, getting the facilities spending finished before this decade finishes is a must, that way we don't need any major projects for athletics and can just have our donors focus on supplementing NIL programs once schools like ours are required to grant TV money to players that help bring it in (that day is coming soon).

There's just no way we'd be going in for a potentially $1 billion stadium spend in 2030-2035 if there was a chance of TV money falling significantly or the Big Ten breaking up or anything else, that's partially why getting it done now was so important.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

This thread should die, there is no remotely informed or prescient discussion of the future of college football in the original topic whatsoever.

 

[CMcCat]

Schill came from Oregon. He understands the power of a strong athletic department.

I think he understands the power of one single donor.

 

[CMcCat]

Here's what I'd say, you don't have to have any confidence in either of them.

I have faith in things holding together institutionally in terms of our relationships with Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, that stretch back 100+ years, etc. (or if we go the so-called "Magnolia League" route, with the other top privates that want to compete in D1 like Stanford, Duke, Vanderbilt, BC, Syracuse, etc.).

I can't imagine NU ever getting tossed out alone of the current Big Ten because there's little that would cause others from following us out the door. Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers would all be in the same position as us.

What is possible is that yes the top 20 schools may leave to create their own "big brand Super League". If that happens, there's nothing we can do because it'd be a decision by Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Penn State, USC, Texas, etc. to go do their own thing. We'd just have to go with the flow with either of our peer groups (Big Ten West programs left behind or private peers).

What I'm saying is basically that we'll be fine in any scenario.

The most important thing that we can do now is put our best foot forward. The Ryans ensuring that the stadium rebuild goes through was really integral to that. It's what I was most worried about when the fiasco happened last offseason, that the stadium rebuild plans might get halted. That was my biggest worry because that affects the long-term status of the program.

If we hadn't done the stadium rebuild and let's say the top brands leave the Big Ten/SEC, there's no way we're doing an $800 million stadium rebuild if we're looking at a reformed Big Ten (minus Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State) that pulls in 50% or less of the conference distributions that we see now. There's just no way the AD would be able to do that if we're pulling in $40-60 million less per year in revenue.

Like I've said earlier, regardless of AD/President, we'd likely have been screwed over completely if all these changes happened 30-40 years ago. What potentially saves us now is that we've made the investments to compete while enjoying Big Ten revenues and shown that we can put together a strong group of programs from top to bottom including the primary revenue sports of FB/BB.

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

 

[NUCat320]

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

Pat Ryan’s dream is a Dua Lipa show to open the venue. (Paddy Fitz had wanted Hunter Hayes.)

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

“There seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere”

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

Is this the burner account of Peter Barris or Bret Bielema?

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

Any conspiracy theory that ends with this line has at least a little credibility.

 

[CMcCat]

Any conspiracy theory that ends with this line has at least a little credibility.

Actually it comes from a pretty good source — the parent of three D1 athletes in non-revenue sports at a different university who sued that school after it dropped their sport and several others. This person claims a great deal of insight on big time college athletics from the discovery process.

I am shocked there has been no media attention to the Learfield IMG angle. It seems to obvious as a motivation and explains so much of NU’s behavior which is otherwise confounding.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Actually it comes from a pretty good source — the parent of three D1 athletes in non-revenue sports at a different university who sued that school after it dropped their sport and several others. This person claims a great deal of insight on big time college athletics from the discovery process.

I am shocked there has been no media attention to the Learfield IMG angle. It seems to obvious as a motivation and explains so much of NU’s behavior which is otherwise confounding.

I was only reacting to the way your theory was scoffed at. I'm open to any possibilities.

"Follow the money" is the easiest way to figure out what is happening and why.

 

[TheC]

He’d tell you that Schill doesn’t know/care about the value in athletics as a differentiator for a University.

Then he won't be around for long. The half-life on university presidents is already pretty short, but especially if they start doing things that the university community (board, faculty, students) see as harmful, such as ignoring the key role of athletics. If he is as bad as everyone here thinks, the guy won't be in charge for more than a couple more years.

 

[Sheffielder]

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

I wouldn't go quite this "deep state" and I think it depends on who you ask...like is Northwestern only interested in making money? Are you asking a French Lit professor or the VP for Finance? I absolutely agree there are influential forces in play who were/are only interested in the new stadium as a concert venue, but if we agree for example that it wouldn't have gotten done without Pat Ryan, I'm not convinced that was his main or ancillary goal.

On your other question of why no one has covered the Learfield angle, I'd say there are two main answers for this:

1. It's Northwestern. No one is really all that interested for more than a minute in what we're doing, including when it comes to building a brand new Big Ten stadium. And for those parties who don't want the attention, there's plenty of stadium ruckus around the Bears and the White Sox to keep the Chicago media busy.

2. Find me 10 people on this message board who know Learfield or our business relationship with them, or their legacy business relationships.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Then he won't be around for long. The half-life on university presidents is already pretty short, but especially if they start doing things that the university community (board, faculty, students) see as harmful, such as ignoring the key role of athletics. If he is as bad as everyone here thinks, the guy won't be in charge for more than a couple more years.

A lot of damage can be done in a couple of years.

 

[Katatonic]

The Super League proposal has gotten way more attention here and by college football podcasts than it deserves.

The reason the details got leaked when it did (after the conferences went ahead with the new payout split for the playoffs) was b/c it was a failed proposal.

Neither the B1G or SEC had any interest in it (why would they?) and those behind the SL couldn't even get a meeting with Yormark.

Phillips (due to the more precarious position of the ACC) did meet with them, but it was only a one time prelim meeting.

Giving the football factories an even bigger financial advantage than they already have is the wrong way to go.

The NFL is the most successful professional league in the US due to having the closest thing to financial parity, which gives hope to every fanbase.

Sure, programs like dOSU, UM and PSU will continue to hold an economic edge over most other programs, but sharing the TV revenue equally gives the other programs hope (where Purdue has been able to pull off an upset over dOSU a couple of times).

As I have stated before, the one concession the smaller programs should probably give is to reward the schools in the PO, a bonus for each round before the rest the payout is distributed equitably among the conference members (just a teams which make the playoffs in the professional leagues make more $ than teams which don't make it).

It seems pretty inevitable that the Big 2 will end up with the premier programs in the ACC (and possibly the Domers), so why would they even think of not only unwinding the aggregation of power/revenue they have accomplished the past few seasons, but breaking apart the B1G and SEC into unrecognizable and disparate divisions in a SL?

Please. The stadium project is primarily intended to create a performance venue, privately owned outside of Chicago city limits, that enables performing artists represented by Learfield IMG to bypass Chicago union fees and city taxes. This is why NU went to the mat to ensure some number of concerts, knowing that number will grow dramatically over time (see Wrigley Field) and generate a significant new funding stream.

It is secondarily an athletic venue, downsized from its predecessor, to host football games for NU’s post-NIL team which competes far away from the NFL-affiliated super conference before smaller crowds and, in our rosiest possible future, as part of a reconstituted BIG Ten comprised of all those members exiled from the broadcast and gambling driven pro minor leagues.

This was not devised by Gragg or Schill. They might not even be aware that it is the plan.

The new stadium plan actually reminds me a bit of Tottenham Stadium, home of the Tottenham Hotspurs in North London.

They actually get quite a bit of their revenue from concerts, etc, including an NFL game every season or so.


Speaking of European football, the Super League proposal across the pond was killed by the fans, who wanted to maintain regionality.

The thing about European football is that each major league is dominated by 1-2, maybe 3 clubs.

PSG for the (French) Ligue 1.

Bayern Munich for the (German) Bundesliga; Bayer Leverkusen (a club founded by employees of pharmacy giant Bayer) just managed to win their very first league cup this season.

Real Madrid and Barca for (Spanish) LA Liga.

Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan for the (Italian) Serie A.

The one exception is the "Big 6" in the (English) Premier League.-which has at least 6 clubs (more like 7-8 nowadays with more teams backed by ME oil $) - and that more even competition at the top is why the EPL is the most popular around the world.

The EPL has instituted financial regs that make it tougher for clubs backed by billionaires to just spend and spend.

More competitive football = heightened interest (boring to see PSG or Bayern win their league every year).

That's why bringing in new blood like Oregon, Wash and USC to compete against the likes of dOSU, UM and PSU will bring added interest/eyeballs to the conference, and hopefully, a program like Wisky or the Cats can make a run every now and then to make things more interesting.

One interesting tidbit, FedEx is contributing a whopping $25 million to Memphis' NIL fund.

Not out of the possibility for NU with its wealthy alumni network.

JHU has jumped up in (academic) rankings in large part helped by the the near $2 billion contribution from Bloomberg.

 

[techtim72]

If you were building a stadium for Northwestern, wouldn't you make it friendly for other uses? Just common sense. What the future holds, who knows? I do think if NU ever wants to increase the number of events, they will need to build structured parking to satisfy Evanston.

 

[zeek55]

If you were building a stadium for Northwestern, wouldn't you make it friendly for other uses? Just common sense. What the future holds, who knows? I do think if NU ever wants to increase the number of events, they will need to build structured parking to satisfy Evanston.

Yeah making the stadium more useful has I think always been a goal.

Other than 6-7 football games and a commencement or two, you barely get use out of that part of the complex for more than 10 days of the year.

Hopefully between concerts and other events, the stadium becomes more a part of student life.

Financially that was always a part of the calculation with the price tag moving to $800 million and the reality that the AD is going to have to turn over a big chunk of revenue to athletes as the NCAA/conferences lose/settle more court cases.

 

[CMcCat]

If you were building a stadium for Northwestern, wouldn't you make it friendly for other uses? Just common sense. What the future holds, who knows? I do think if NU ever wants to increase the number of events, they will need to build structured parking to satisfy Evanston.

If I were spending my money, I would have put $400 million into renovating Ryan Field, advancing the original design for the east side and performing every cosmetic improvement. Save the remainder of the budget for “hazing” payouts.

I would not be compelled to turn it into a year-round performance space at the expense of its open design and natural grass field. The Wrigley Field renovation would be the model.

Making it smaller? That’s the tip-off that the administration concedes NU won’t be part of the college football endgame and wishes to replace lost conference revenue with concert receipts.

 

[techtim72]

If I were spending my money, I would have put $400 million into renovating Ryan Field, advancing the original design for the east side and performing every cosmetic improvement. Save the remainder of the budget for “hazing” payouts.

I would not be compelled to turn it into a year-round performance space at the expense of its open design and natural grass field. The Wrigley Field renovation would be the model.

Making it smaller? That’s the tip-off that the administration concedes NU won’t be part of the college football endgame and wishes to replace lost conference revenue with concert receipts.

My guess is Pat Ryan wanted a new facility that was uniquely his creation. He is a sports leader and NU's new facility is unique. I believe it will be a trend setter for smaller cities without NFL teams that want to create enclosed facilities (roof optional) for sports, other events and conference facilities. For example, I see a similarly designed facility as perfect for the Orlando's, San Antonio's, Charleston's, etc. - smaller cities that are already destinations or towns that want to be such as Portland or Honolulu.

 

[Katatonic]

Here's one of the best breakdowns of CFB viewership.





Some things of note -

- Network viewership is maybe more important than ever with live sports being one of the best ways to garner a big audience in a world with so many viewing choices.

- The B1GN does better than the SECN with the ACCN being a distant 3rd.

- In the Vewership vs Wins graph, not including the Pandemic season hurts the Cats as the 3 really bad seasons carry more weight.

Programs like IU ended up higher than the Cats in viewership since they got to play the likes of dOSU, UM and PSU on a regular basis, albeit this didn't seem to help help Rutgers.

- In terms of viewership, UNC and UVA are comparable to Stanford and UCB.

Still think UNC is a target for both the B1G and the SEC, and while its games may not appear on the networks too often, would help with B1GN ratings (nevermind the added carriage rates) more so than the other 3 schools.

The 3 prime targets being the Domers, FSU and UNC.

The B1G could stop there to maximize payouts, but don't think the Domers and maybe UNC make the move unless more schools from the ACC end up departing.

Can see the B1G go after Miami if FSU ends up in the SEC, albeit not with a full share at the start.

The other alternative is to go full -bore with expansion up to 24 schools.

With Miami, UVa, Stanford and maybe California and Dook being in the running for the 3 open spots at a lower payout.

This would make the B1G as close to a "national conference" as there would be - having added the choicest programs from the Pac12, the ACC (sans Clemson) and the Domers.

Would even have enough schools to keep some sort of regionality with 4 regions.