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Column: How did college athletics get here?
Conference realignment 101
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2010-06-11
Not everyone is immersed in sports.
They don’t live, breathe and spend every waking moment consuming sports information. For those casual sports fans, and some of the hardcore ones, it can be tough to get a grasp on what is going on with conference realignment, and more importantly why it is happening.
So consider this conference realignment 101, a quick crash course in conference expansion and how it impacts Iowa State.
Why is this happening?
Money.
That’s it, plain and simple. College athletics has turned into big-time business, and big-time business is focused on revenue and making money.
In the past few years, the way athletic departments make money has slightly changed. In 2007, the Big Ten Conference launched the Big Ten Network and, in turn, the conference and its universities started generating a profit from cable subscriptions. The Big Ten Network is paid a predetermined amount for each individual subscriber on a cable or satellite provider that carries the network.
Thanks to the added revenue from the TV network, Big Ten schools generate $22 million per year in TV revenue. Iowa State received $7.4 million of the Big 12’s TV revenue in 2007. Texas received $10.2 million that year.
With the Big Ten Network’s success, the new way to increase TV revenue is to increase a conference’s TV footprint. If a conference is able to add a new state, or a major TV market, in expansion, it will be in a position to make more money off the increased number of cable subscriptions.
That is especially important if a conference has its own TV network or plans to start its own TV network, and in some cases, that can only happen if conferences grow beyond its current — read traditional — geographic borders.
Why isn’t ISU included in the Big Ten or Pac-10 Conference expansion talks?
Really, academics don’t have much to do with conference expansion. That’s a shame for ISU since it brings a lot to the table in that regard.
No, money, and football, since that’s the biggest money maker in college sports, are driving expansion talks.
Conferences want teams that can bring new states and new TVs under its umbrella.
Unfortunately for ISU, Iowa is a small state without a major TV market. There is a little more than 3 million people in the state, according to the US Census Bureau, and Des Moines is only the 72nd largest TV market, according to Television Bureau of Advertising.
Iowa doesn’t provide the kind of monetary windfall for a conference that Texas and its 24.7 million people would.
That’s why Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have been linked with the Pac-10. That’s why Colorado, which has the 16th largest TV market in Denver nearby, was attractive to the Pac-10.
Omaha, Neb., is the 76th largest market, but the Cornhuskers, who announced Friday they would seek membership in the Big Ten, were attractive because of their football program, which has a national following. Plus, adding Nebraska allows the conference to expand west.
What about the Washington Examiner report that the Big East Conference is interested in ISU?
The good news coming from that report is that the Cyclones are finally being included in the conference realignment talk. The report didn’t say a move to the Big East was imminent, only that the Big East would be interested in hearing from Iowa State, and other Big 12 universities, if those schools wanted to join the league.
There is a difference, though, between a league saying we’d like to talk and a league actively pursuing anyone.
So what conference will ISU be playing in come 2015?
That’s the million-dollar question. The Tribune will look more into this in Sunday’s paper, especially the options that involve other conferences.
But right now plenty of options are available. Despite losing Colorado and Nebraska, the Big 12 could continue on in some form. It seems unlikely that the 10 remaining conference members will stay together, but it’s still an option until Texas officially leaves the conference.
Another option, if the majority of the Big 12 South jumps to the Pac-10, would be for the remaining five schools — ISU, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Missouri — to replace the seven departing universities and keep the league intact.
Joining the Mountain West Conference or the Mid-American Conference could also be options. Another possibility could be creating a new conference with other teams from BCS leagues that get left behind in this latest round of conference realignment.
The movement of Colorado and Nebraska, along with Boise State’s jump to the Mountain West, is just the start to conference expansion.
Stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come.
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
Conference realignment 101
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2010-06-11
Bobby La Gesse is sports editor of The Ames Tribune.
Not everyone is immersed in sports.
They don’t live, breathe and spend every waking moment consuming sports information. For those casual sports fans, and some of the hardcore ones, it can be tough to get a grasp on what is going on with conference realignment, and more importantly why it is happening.
So consider this conference realignment 101, a quick crash course in conference expansion and how it impacts Iowa State.
Why is this happening?
Money.
That’s it, plain and simple. College athletics has turned into big-time business, and big-time business is focused on revenue and making money.
In the past few years, the way athletic departments make money has slightly changed. In 2007, the Big Ten Conference launched the Big Ten Network and, in turn, the conference and its universities started generating a profit from cable subscriptions. The Big Ten Network is paid a predetermined amount for each individual subscriber on a cable or satellite provider that carries the network.
Thanks to the added revenue from the TV network, Big Ten schools generate $22 million per year in TV revenue. Iowa State received $7.4 million of the Big 12’s TV revenue in 2007. Texas received $10.2 million that year.
With the Big Ten Network’s success, the new way to increase TV revenue is to increase a conference’s TV footprint. If a conference is able to add a new state, or a major TV market, in expansion, it will be in a position to make more money off the increased number of cable subscriptions.
That is especially important if a conference has its own TV network or plans to start its own TV network, and in some cases, that can only happen if conferences grow beyond its current — read traditional — geographic borders.
Why isn’t ISU included in the Big Ten or Pac-10 Conference expansion talks?
Really, academics don’t have much to do with conference expansion. That’s a shame for ISU since it brings a lot to the table in that regard.
No, money, and football, since that’s the biggest money maker in college sports, are driving expansion talks.
Conferences want teams that can bring new states and new TVs under its umbrella.
Unfortunately for ISU, Iowa is a small state without a major TV market. There is a little more than 3 million people in the state, according to the US Census Bureau, and Des Moines is only the 72nd largest TV market, according to Television Bureau of Advertising.
Iowa doesn’t provide the kind of monetary windfall for a conference that Texas and its 24.7 million people would.
That’s why Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have been linked with the Pac-10. That’s why Colorado, which has the 16th largest TV market in Denver nearby, was attractive to the Pac-10.
Omaha, Neb., is the 76th largest market, but the Cornhuskers, who announced Friday they would seek membership in the Big Ten, were attractive because of their football program, which has a national following. Plus, adding Nebraska allows the conference to expand west.
What about the Washington Examiner report that the Big East Conference is interested in ISU?
The good news coming from that report is that the Cyclones are finally being included in the conference realignment talk. The report didn’t say a move to the Big East was imminent, only that the Big East would be interested in hearing from Iowa State, and other Big 12 universities, if those schools wanted to join the league.
There is a difference, though, between a league saying we’d like to talk and a league actively pursuing anyone.
So what conference will ISU be playing in come 2015?
That’s the million-dollar question. The Tribune will look more into this in Sunday’s paper, especially the options that involve other conferences.
But right now plenty of options are available. Despite losing Colorado and Nebraska, the Big 12 could continue on in some form. It seems unlikely that the 10 remaining conference members will stay together, but it’s still an option until Texas officially leaves the conference.
Another option, if the majority of the Big 12 South jumps to the Pac-10, would be for the remaining five schools — ISU, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Missouri — to replace the seven departing universities and keep the league intact.
Joining the Mountain West Conference or the Mid-American Conference could also be options. Another possibility could be creating a new conference with other teams from BCS leagues that get left behind in this latest round of conference realignment.
The movement of Colorado and Nebraska, along with Boise State’s jump to the Mountain West, is just the start to conference expansion.
Stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come.
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
| Comments |
| rdwrites The reason it's stated as Big East interested in listening is that exodus from Big 12 hasn't happened yet. You say there is a difference, and yes, the difference is meddling and poaching versus letting the teams know the Big East will be glad to have them if they want. Also, reports are that Big East, MWC, and C-USA have all contacted the five teams recently informally. As a Big East fan, I hope the four of you join us as is projected at this time. It's really your decision to make. It's a big win-win for all of us, a stronger conference and equitable membership than either of us had before. regards, rd 6/12/10 |
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