gardenstatebear said:They brought in Rutgers because having Rutgers gave them a team in the New York market, thus enabling them to get a lot more money in carriage fees from New York area cable companies. It didn't matter that opposing fans would chant, "What's a rutgers?" when Rutgers was on the road. They brought in Maryland for the D.C. and Baltimore markets and because it made sense to bring in two eastern seaboard teams at once. (Maryland actually once had an excellent football program; Rutgers has been terrible ever since it went "big-time" in 1980 or so.) They'll bring in Cal and Stanford to have an even number of Pacific coast teams, to enable UCLA and USC to play some road games in their own time zone ---and to get the additional carriage fees from the Bay Area market.calumnus said:philly1121 said:The addition of Stanford and Cal does not give any conference unequivocal ownership of the bay Area tv market.fat_slice said:StillNoStanfurdium said:I genuinely think the national media/non-Pac 12 football fans just have no inkling of the Cal/Furd rivalry and think that this annual ND/Furd game that only stretches back to, what, 1988, means that they are primary rivals.philbert said:
still don't really understand why everyone says Furd would be a "natural" partner for ND.David's article reminds me:
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) August 4, 2022
The Big Ten had an odd number of teams for decades, so maybe Notre Dame wouldn't require a partner *if* the move ever comes. https://t.co/DWiuKXzPa2
Exactly - and Stanford and ND are not in the same conference now and are still playing each other every year. Why do they need to be in the same conference?
Don't get this pairing at all. It's simply a pairing for pairing's sake while Stanford/cal pairing gives you unequivocal ownership of bay area market, keeps tradition with those two plus other Cali schools, way bigger academic presence, and a feel good "saving l local business communities" the windfall they get from rivalry.
ND/Stanford doesn't do squat...
If the B1G thought that it did, and the Bay Area market meant as much to them as the LA media market, they would have already chosen one or both of us. This really isn't question of pairing. Its a question of what value any pairing would bring.
Does anyone watch Cal outside the Bay Area, with any meaningful number? Does Stanford? Probably not, Most watch college football programs in 2021, Stanford was #46. Cal was #76. Notre Dame was 9th. Ohio State was tops.
Yes, Notre Dame stands alone. But, they already have Michigan and MSU in the B1G. Do they need to pair with them? No, they're already in the B1G. They already play them. so the question then becomes, as far as new schools are concerned, who should we bring in with Notre Dame, as an effective "pairing". UW? Nope. Oregon? Nope. Cal? Nope. None of these have history with ND. Stanford? Yes. I mean, they've met 33 years straight. Couple that with the academics, its a good fit. You don't need both schools to try and gain greater access to the Bay Area media market. If the B1G felt we moved the meter towards "unequivocal ownership" of the media market, our phone would be ringing.
They brought Penn State in without a partner.
They brought Nebraska in without a partner.
They most certainly do not need to have a partner to bring in Notre Dame.
Again, why did they bring in Rutgers? Does Rutgers have a national following?
Why did they bring in Maryland? Does Maryland have a national following?
Which universities do you think the university presidents (almost all at large public research institutions, their state's flagship campus) who will vote on this, want to be associated with?
Exactly