OT: D1

[WarriorVoice]

The Big 5 is now Villanova and the 4 Nobodies.

Truth be told, the Big 5 was never 5 great programs. They've all had success at various times, but it's not like there are 5 perennial chip contenders in Philly. For you to refer to them as nobodies is harsh, but not unexpected...

[Fightingscot82]

West Virginiastan needs to move to the ACC. They are such an oddity in the Little 12.

Geographically, yes, but not from an academic perspective, which used to be considered back then. Nebraska and Rutgers are a stretch academically for the Big Ten but Maryland fits. Big Ten takes the academic fit seriously similar to the Ivy League. At several college/university industry association conferences there are work sessions for Big Ten schools.

I really think this has the chance to fail and if it causes the Pac 10 to dissolve could create even further issues. Not just the geographical challenges but it also further divides the financial pie from bowl games, March Madness, etc.

[IUPNation]

Truth be told, the Big 5 was never 5 great programs. They've all had success at various times, but it's not like there are 5 perennial chip contenders in Philly. For you to refer to them as nobodies is harsh, but not unexpected...

[IUPNation]

Geographically, yes, but not from an academic perspective, which used to be considered back then. Nebraska and Rutgers are a stretch academically for the Big Ten but Maryland fits. Big Ten takes the academic fit seriously similar to the Ivy League. At several college/university industry association conferences there are work sessions for Big Ten schools.

I really think this has the chance to fail and if it causes the Pac 10 to dissolve could create even further issues. Not just the geographical challenges but it also further divides the financial pie from bowl games, March Madness, etc.

I know Nebraskastan is a clap for credit school but Rutgers not measuring up is surprising.

[shipfbfan1]

LaSalle did have their stories Sweet 16 run back in 2013 that was special but I agree the other Big 5 programs outside of Nova have been nothing special. Temple has promise this upcoming season, Penn is stuck in mud and St. Joes is a thing of the past. LaSalle lost most of their team to the transfer portal and they only won 11 games last year so that tells you what to expect this upcoming season from the Explorers lol

[IUPbigINDIANS]

LaSalle did have their stories Sweet 16 run back in 2013 that was special but I agree the other Big 5 programs outside of Nova have been nothing special. Temple has promise this upcoming season, Penn is stuck in mud and St. Joes is a thing of the past. LaSalle lost most of their team to the transfer portal and they only won 11 games last year so that tells you what to expect this upcoming season from the Explorers lol

And, like Duke minus Coach K ... we'll see what happens with 'Nova minus Jay Wright. Both may keep rolling. But, they also may not.

Some interesting names surfaced for the LaSalle job this off-season -- mostly in the rumor mill. That last guy was a disaster.

[Fightingscot82]

I know Nebraskastan is a clap for credit school but Rutgers not measuring up is surprising.

Outside of Texas and Missouri, most of the Big 12 schools had surprising admission standards just like WVU. They have to have a low standard to keep enrollment at a level to sustain flagship experiences like FBS football. For this reason, most Big 12 school states outside of Texas and Missouri have few regional schools similar to PASSHE. They have great high-end programs like med schools, law schools, and research programs but they are outnumbered by middle of the bell curve kids who in PA wouldn't be accepted to Pitt or Penn State main campuses.

WVU's freshman cohort has the admissions stats similar to PASSHE.

[iupgroundhog]

Outside of Texas and Missouri, most of the Big 12 schools had surprising admission standards just like WVU. They have to have a low standard to keep enrollment at a level to sustain flagship experiences like FBS football. For this reason, most Big 12 school states outside of Texas and Missouri have few regional schools similar to PASSHE. They have great high-end programs like med schools, law schools, and research programs but they are outnumbered by middle of the bell curve kids who in PA wouldn't be accepted to Pitt or Penn State main campuses.

WVU's freshman cohort has the admissions stats similar to PASSHE.

That's all true, IMO, but I do think Nebraska-Lincoln and Rutgers main campus meet the research institution requirements for the Big 10 without any compromising from the influence of the football side of things. Obviously, football-wise it expanded the footprint from NYC area to the far midwest. With the additions of the California schools, the Big 10 means a lot of power and a lot of money.

If there was an entry in the dictionary for "big-time college sports" it would have the B1G logo beside it.

[iupgroundhog]

The entire concept of The Big Five harkens back to an earlier, simpler time. Those matchups long ago and big games at The Palestra were huge events in Philly sports. Not the case now. The "Big Five" is something of legend now. It's not surprising.

[Fightingscot82]

That's all true, IMO, but I do think Nebraska-Lincoln and Rutgers main campus meet the research institution requirements for the Big 10 without any compromising from the influence of the football side of things. Obviously, football-wise it expanded the footprint from NYC area to the far midwest. With the additions of the California schools, the Big 10 means a lot of power and a lot of money.

If there was an entry in the dictionary for "big-time college sports" it would have the B1G logo beside it.

Yes I think they were strong logical decisions. I think the Big 10 is just trying to do whatever it can to not lose ground to the SEC.

[shipfbfan1]

And, like Duke minus Coach K ... we'll see what happens with 'Nova minus Jay Wright. Both may keep rolling. But, they also may not.

Some interesting names surfaced for the LaSalle job this off-season -- mostly in the rumor mill. That last guy was a disaster.

Until LaSalle dumps money into the program they'll be a doormat in the A-10 and Big 5. Gola Arena is the smallest in the conference, most outdated and they can't recruit A-10 caliber players with those poor facilities. That's similar to Drexel they have the smallest CAA arena, and while they did modest updates it's not better than half the local HS gyms in the city lol. Kids with CAA talent will always choose local Delaware/Towson over the Dragons like A-10 caliber recruits will pick St Joes/St Bonaventure/VCU and Richmond over LaSalle.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That's all true, IMO, but I do think Nebraska-Lincoln and Rutgers main campus meet the research institution requirements for the Big 10 without any compromising from the influence of the football side of things. Obviously, football-wise it expanded the footprint from NYC area to the far midwest. With the additions of the California schools, the Big 10 means a lot of power and a lot of money.

If there was an entry in the dictionary for "big-time college sports" it would have the B1G logo beside it.

Rutgers certainly gave them an actual footprint in NYC as far as the television market goes (which is all that really matters). That said, actual Rutgers football is about as popular as minor league indoor soccer in Manhattan.

Add to it that Rutgers has stunk just about forever in football and men's basketball. So, obviously, they were a money grab for the market.

We'll see if old Greg can recapture the magic ... although after 3 years it doesn't appear so. Looks more like Johnny Majors Round 2 so far.


Maryland was the one that really bothered me. They were ACC royalty. To leave all those decades-old rivalries, etc., ...

[IUPNation]

The entire concept of The Big Five harkens back to an earlier, simpler time. Those matchups long ago and big games at The Palestra were huge events in Philly sports. Not the case now. The "Big Five" is something of legend now. It's not surprising.

The Palestra is a special venue. Every basketball fan should see at least one game there.

[ctrabs74]

Geographically, yes, but not from an academic perspective, which used to be considered back then. Nebraska and Rutgers are a stretch academically for the Big Ten but Maryland fits. Big Ten takes the academic fit seriously similar to the Ivy League. At several college/university industry association conferences there are work sessions for Big Ten schools.

I really think this has the chance to fail and if it causes the Pac 10 to dissolve could create even further issues. Not just the geographical challenges but it also further divides the financial pie from bowl games, March Madness, etc.

I don't know that I would say that about Rutgers academically, especially since they're part of the AAU.

[ctrabs74]

I know Nebraskastan is a clap for credit school but Rutgers not measuring up is surprising.

Nebraska-Lincoln was part of the AAU when they joined the B1G, but they were kicked out of the AAU since most of their relevant (to the AAU) research was via the UofN Medical Center in Omaha as opposed to the main campus in Lincoln (or some other crazy reason that I'd have to check with Mr. Google to confirm). But I would think that U Joisey's academics would at least measure up to State Penn, Meatchicken, etc.