Auchtoon!The Evolution of the Big Ten Conference
Full disclosure: I definitely contribute to the ludicrous amount of money that gets poured into college sports. I like watching games. And not just football and basketball. Volleyball, softball, and even track & field are fun to watch, too.
So I have no grounds for righteous indignation in pointing out that the Big Ten adding UCLA and USC (and, soon, other schools) is all about the money. Of course it’s about the money. There is lots of it, a tremendous possibility of acquiring more, and that’s exactly what the Big Ten and its (more than 10) universities are trying to do. That’s fine. But, also, it is ridiculous.
Take a step back and consider the original idea of college athletics. They were sort of an extra perk that provided balance to the academic life of the students and helped promote the university (sometimes even in that order!).
Now marvel at how it has evolved into what we have now — how at the top level, it has somehow turned into a feeding frenzy between the Big Ten and its mortal enemy, the Southeastern Conference. A crazed race to claim as many schools as possible to grow grow grow, geography and all other considerations be damned.
Is this really the best plan? I mean, has anybody even thought about the travel costs of, say, the Rutgers track and field teams going to UCLA for a meet? Ah, it’s probably just a rounding error compared to the revenue potential of the Los Angeles TV market. And I’ll probably end up watching the meet on the Big Ten Network.
Jon Lunderberg said,
July 8, 2022 @ 8:24 am
Your Big Ten comments were spot on. I am glad that you watch Track & Field. My Dad competed in the Big Ten for the University of Minnesota (not U of M – Go Blue!). You left the biggest elephant in the corner; will Notre Dame join the Big Ten? Aside from the guaranteed wins against the military academies, most of their other games sans USC in November are with Big Ten teams. I wonder how much money the SEC would give ND to join their conference?