OT: D1

[IUPNation]

Well, Curt is 62. So, a few years from now (if it doesn't work out) he can sail in to the sunset with a boatload of cash.

Yep it’s his retirement fund job.

To think in a decade he went from making what 150K at IUP to 4 million at Fake Indiana University.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Transfer Portal made a stop at Pitt. All aboard.

Yikes.

[IUP24]

Transfer Portal made a stop at Pitt. All aboard.

Yikes.

Let those guys move on. Pitt was 3-9. In no way, shape, or form should people want the same team coming back. The coaching stunk, but that team mailed it in too. It was a massive stink sandwich, and everyone took a bite.

For context purposes, three of those guys had been there for years and never played. The safety, Hall, was behind 3 players in the same class at his position. Why would he stay? George, the middle linebacker, has gotten hurt each of the last 3 years. He never worked out replacing Sir’Vocea Dennis. He has been at Pitt for 5 years already. He has a Covid year and another year because of a medical redshirt. I’m fine with letting a guy who will be pushing 26 in two seasons at LB to walk out the door.

Bengally Kamara has been at Pitt for 4-5 years now. If he didn’t have a Covid year to burn, he wouldn’t have been coming back anyways as he would have been out of eligibility. Same with Deandre Jules. Jules started 5 games to end the year, and people act like him leaving is the end of the world.

Pitt supposedly had their offensive personnel exit meetings yesterday and more today. Their defensive meetings were with guys on Monday-Wednesday. That’s why you saw the portal additions like that.

The transfer portal stopped everywhere, not just Pitt. And numerous schools lost way more impactful players than Pitt did.

7 players. 3 non-starters (2 who never stepped on the field). 3 guys who would’ve normally been out of eligibility). And a DB who is 4th on the depth chart behind 3 other safeties in his class. Those are the guys who were at the transfer portal bus stop.

They’re going to lose guys offensively in the coming days, probably by lunch time today (if not at time of me posting this - I haven’t checked Twitter). But that’s okay. Pitt was 3-9.

[Fightingscot82]

Part of me thinks these recent announcements from players that they are entering the portal which doesn't open until December 4 has to drive compliance staffs crazy. You know there's some CRAZY recruiting infractions going on in those DMs.

[Ship69]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

Maryland and Rutgers (in theory) were also targeted to expand the brand in to two major markets (NYC and DC). Now, whether that has worked or not is debatable.

You're right. The Yankees aren't the Yankees without the Royals.

Maryland is, to me, the great mystery of P5 football. They are literally in the epicenter of D1 recruiting nirvana. They just have done a horrible job keeping all the studs home. Aside from Florida and Texas, that may be the most fertile recruiting ground in the country (DMV).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Part of me thinks these recent announcements from players that they are entering the portal which doesn't open until December 4 has to drive compliance staffs crazy. You know there's some CRAZY recruiting infractions going on in those DMs.

The big day is coming. They absolute key to transfers is having them for the winter semester and Spring Ball.

[IUP24]

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

No, I’m in total agreement. I’m not advocating for what I suggested. I’m just saying that money is too great.

80% of college football programs are just meh. They’ll go 8-4, then 4-8, then 6-6 in consecutive years. That’s the reality for the strong majority of college football. Which is why the meteoric reaction to Pitt’s terrible year is interesting. Heck, TCU played in the national championship and they aren’t bowl eligible a year later.

My overall point is that you’re going to see fanbases and figureheads at these programs ask those questions. Especially if they have this grand master plan to break away from the NCAA and form a scheduling model similar to that of the NFL.

I’ve already had this discussion with coworkers and friends in Columbus. “What are all you people going to do with you go 8-4 or 7-5 because of all this?” Nobody seems to have an answer for that. I’m in total agreement with what you’re saying.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

No, I’m in total agreement. I’m not advocating for what I suggested. I’m just saying that money is too great.

80% of college football programs are just meh. They’ll go 8-4, then 4-8, then 6-6 in consecutive years. That’s the reality for the strong majority of college football. Which is why the meteoric reaction to Pitt’s terrible year is interesting. Heck, TCU played in the national championship and they aren’t bowl eligible a year later.

My overall point is that you’re going to see fanbases and figureheads at these programs ask those questions. Especially if they have this grand master plan to break away from the NCAA and form a scheduling model similar to that of the NFL.

I’ve already had this discussion with coworkers and friends in Columbus. “What are all you people going to do with you go 8-4 or 7-5 because of all this?” Nobody seems to have an answer for that. I’m in total agreement with what you’re saying.

The outrage toward Pitt was largely because they weren't just bad ... they were dumpster fire bad.

Narduzzi's act has worn the media quite thin, too. So, they pound him whenever they can (which was often this year).

[TheBigCat2192]

Maryland and Rutgers (in theory) were also targeted to expand the brand in to two major markets (NYC and DC). Now, whether that has worked or not is debatable.

You're right. The Yankees aren't the Yankees without the Royals.

Maryland is, to me, the great mystery of P5 football. They are literally in the epicenter of D1 recruiting nirvana. They just have done a horrible job keeping all the studs home. Aside from Florida and Texas, that may be the most fertile recruiting ground in the country (DMV).

Subjectively I look at the Big Ten adding Rutgers as the straw that broke the camel’s back for modern realignment. Most of the other P5 moves in my lifetime were additions that the conference and schools could sell to their members/fans as adding someone who strengthened them right away (like PSU to the Big Ten, the ACC poaching Miami and VT from the Big East, and Utah+TCU moving up), someone who fit them culturally (Mizzou and A&M to the SEC), or a bounceback candidate who could conceivably do both (Nebraska to the Big Ten). I can even see an elevator pitch for the Big Ten buying on Maryland athletics (they’d had success before and had some hope to get out of their money issues through their Under Armor relationship) even though they don’t fit geographically. Rutgers completely ruined that idea. Their athletic program is garbage and on pure merit they probably belong in the MAC or maybe C-USA. But they’re “in” a big media market and a recruiting hotbed so they got to jump up to the big boy leagues and ride the TV deal gravy train anyways.

[Ship69]

Subjectively I look at the Big Ten adding Rutgers as the straw that broke the camel’s back for modern realignment. Most of the other P5 moves in my lifetime were additions that the conference and schools could sell to their members/fans as adding someone who strengthened them right away (like PSU to the Big Ten, the ACC poaching Miami and VT from the Big East, and Utah+TCU moving up), someone who fit them culturally (Mizzou and A&M to the SEC), or a bounceback candidate who could conceivably do both (Nebraska to the Big Ten). I can even see an elevator pitch for the Big Ten buying on Maryland athletics (they’d had success before and had some hope to get out of their money issues through their Under Armor relationship) even though they don’t fit geographically. Rutgers completely ruined that idea. Their athletic program is garbage and on pure merit they probably belong in the MAC or maybe C-USA. But they’re “in” a big media market and a recruiting hotbed so they got to jump up to the big boy leagues and ride the TV deal gravy train anyways.

Maryland outside of football has been very competitive in the league with several championships. Rutgers was strictly a move to get eyes in that market, although whether that has happened is certainly debatable. I think you can certainly argue that Boston College and Syracuse in their present iterations aren't bringing a lot more to the table for the ACC than Rutgers is bring to the B1G. The Rutgers men's basketball team actually has been pretty good the past couple of years, and they supposedly have a top recruiting class coming in. Their football program is still nothing to boast about, but at least they're showing signs of a pulse under Schiano.

[Ship69]

Maryland and Rutgers (in theory) were also targeted to expand the brand in to two major markets (NYC and DC). Now, whether that has worked or not is debatable.

You're right. The Yankees aren't the Yankees without the Royals.

Maryland is, to me, the great mystery of P5 football. They are literally in the epicenter of D1 recruiting nirvana. They just have done a horrible job keeping all the studs home. Aside from Florida and Texas, that may be the most fertile recruiting ground in the country (DMV).

Maryland in football reminds me of Illinois in basketball. Illinois usually has a ton of players in the NBA and some great high school talent, but they can't keep any of them at home. I've lost count of the number of Illinois players I've seen starring at other colleges outside the state. The classic was when Illinois lost Jon Scheyer to Duke even though Scheyer's high school coach, Dave Weber, was the brother of Illini coach Bruce Weber at the time. Scheyer, of course, recently replaced Coach K at the helm of the Blue Devils.

As for Maryland football, how do you play Michigan as tough as anybody in the league, give Ohio State fits for three quarters, and sandwich those two games around losses to Illinois and Northwestern? Terp football is, indeed, a mystery.

[IUP24]

Subjectively I look at the Big Ten adding Rutgers as the straw that broke the camel’s back for modern realignment. Most of the other P5 moves in my lifetime were additions that the conference and schools could sell to their members/fans as adding someone who strengthened them right away (like PSU to the Big Ten, the ACC poaching Miami and VT from the Big East, and Utah+TCU moving up), someone who fit them culturally (Mizzou and A&M to the SEC), or a bounceback candidate who could conceivably do both (Nebraska to the Big Ten). I can even see an elevator pitch for the Big Ten buying on Maryland athletics (they’d had success before and had some hope to get out of their money issues through their Under Armor relationship) even though they don’t fit geographically. Rutgers completely ruined that idea. Their athletic program is garbage and on pure merit they probably belong in the MAC or maybe C-USA. But they’re “in” a big media market and a recruiting hotbed so they got to jump up to the big boy leagues and ride the TV deal gravy train anyways.

Speaking of realignment in that sense... There was a documentary about this a few years ago, discussing all major realignment items that started after Virginia Tech and Miami left the Big East for the ACC. It was fascinating. There was a ton of chaos in the 2007 football season that ended with Pitt upsetting #2 ranked West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. Had West Virginia won, there are many theories that suggest that the Big East would have survived and lasted (at least for a while) in the landscape of that version of college football. Miami and VT were a big blow to their brand, but many forget that some of those little programs in the Big East had played some good football in stretches.

Rutgers had a pretty magical run when Greg Schiano was coaching there during that era. Louisville, at the time, was one of the best teams in the country. The success of Cincinnati is pretty well documented. Pitt was ranked in the Top 10 for much of 2009. South Florida was THE story for a while too and had multiple seasons where they were highly ranked. There was all that and I didn't even mention how good West Virginia was under Rich Rod at that time. People remember the Big East as a laughingstock. They had stretches where multiple teams were actually pretty darn good.

The documentary captured that despite some real and legitimate success, as well as some highly ranked programs, it felt like the conference's best (and only) chance to win a BCS Championship was with WVU in 2007. When they were knocked out of that game, it set off a firestorm that occurred a few years later. Many believe that had WVU beaten Pitt, and then won the national championship, the conference would have survived. And if the conference hadn't, it would've been WVU going to the ACC with somebody else, not Pitt and Syracuse. It's interesting to look at how certain dominoes impacted things down the road.

There were other examples they used with other conferences as well which were interesting, but the theme was that the Big East collapsing (because WVU didn't win a national championship in 2007) was the major event that triggered realignment.

They actually talked about how the money which could've been given out to member schools, and to the conference, had WVU won, could have changed things greatly. They actually could have been in a position to add teams and potentially been one of the leagues that lasted.

[TheBigCat2192]

Speaking of realignment in that sense... There was a documentary about this a few years ago, discussing all major realignment items that started after Virginia Tech and Miami left the Big East for the ACC. It was fascinating. There was a ton of chaos in the 2007 football season that ended with Pitt upsetting #2 ranked West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. Had West Virginia won, there are many theories that suggest that the Big East would have survived and lasted (at least for a while) in the landscape of that version of college football. Miami and VT were a big blow to their brand, but many forget that some of those little programs in the Big East had played some good football in stretches.

Rutgers had a pretty magical run when Greg Schiano was coaching there during that era. Louisville, at the time, was one of the best teams in the country. The success of Cincinnati is pretty well documented. Pitt was ranked in the Top 10 for much of 2009. South Florida was THE story for a while too and had multiple seasons where they were highly ranked. There was all that and I didn't even mention how good West Virginia was under Rich Rod at that time. People remember the Big East as a laughingstock. They had stretches where multiple teams were actually pretty darn good.

The documentary captured that despite some real and legitimate success, as well as some highly ranked programs, it felt like the conference's best (and only) chance to win a BCS Championship was with WVU in 2007. When they were knocked out of that game, it set off a firestorm that occurred a few years later. Many believe that had WVU beaten Pitt, and then won the national championship, the conference would have survived. And if the conference hadn't, it would've been WVU going to the ACC with somebody else, not Pitt and Syracuse. It's interesting to look at how certain dominoes impacted things down the road.

There were other examples they used with other conferences as well which were interesting, but the theme was that the Big East collapsing (because WVU didn't win a national championship in 2007) was the major event that triggered realignment.

They actually talked about how the money which could've been given out to member schools, and to the conference, had WVU won, could have changed things greatly. They actually could have been in a position to add teams and potentially been one of the leagues that lasted.

If Pittsburgh upset #2 West Virginia today it would probably only change their CFP seed instead of knocking them out entirely. One of my biggest gripes with the CFP is that it’s really cheapened upsets and rivalry games. Unrelated to the conference alignment but this is the first good chance I’ve had to use that game as an example.

[IUPNation]

The Oakland Academy should be in the BIG. Hillbilly High should be in the SEC.