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speaking of the conference re-alignments...
Everyone talks about football, but no one is talking about the impact to the other sports. If we make a super-conference, what happens to basketball, the other major revenue generator to colleges?
Or what if the status quo remains and schools shift, does anyone really realize how that will impact the non-revenue sports? Like soccer? Or swimming? Travel expenses are a big nut in the athletic budget, and further travel means larger expenses, and generally speaking, each sport is given a budget to work with. Obviously certain sports will have larger budgets based on equipment and size of team, but let's face it - a 20 person hockey team will cost more to transport than a 20 person track team by virtue of the amount of equipment hockey requires.
Do you think we'll have something similar to college hockey or college lacrosse where we have existing conferences for non-revenue sports and basketball and seperate conferences for hockey? For example, the existing Big Ten schools are Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State. But those Big Ten programs with hockey are split into the CCHA (Central Collegiate Hockey Association) and the WCHA (Western Collegiate). Granted, starting in 2013, the Big Ten will have their own conference, but it's taken a while to get that going and approved.
Or will we split into football/basketball conferences? Part of the reason why the Big East is taking in TCU next year is to raise the existing football profile, even though the Big East is very strong basketball conference.
These are issues I don't see anyone talking about.... I want to know your thoughts.
Re: speaking of the conference re-alignments...
I was thinking the exact same thing as you. Everyone wants to focus on the implications of conference realignment on football...but this will affect EVERY sport, not just football. H and I were talking about this last night. What's going to happen to other sports, other rivalries when these teams move around?
I would hope that these schools have looked at the overall big picture when deciding to leave a conference for another, but who knows. I don't directly work in athletics - or really talk to anyone that does - but I've thought about what will happen to our other sports. Women's soccer is doing amazing right now at OSU, but what happens if we go Pac-12? Will wrestling change if we move? And we don't even have hockey or swimming, but we have equestrian...what about that?
I hope we don't split into football/basketball conferences. If that happens, the non-revenue sports will have major issues, I think.
My DH does work in athletics - and this buzz has been happening for a while now. When he was with the Big East, the talk was how much emphasis was there going to be on football, because when the Big East agreed to take TCU, it seemed to make that shift. Similarly, his counterparts at other schools are wondering, particularly his friend who works at Baylor.
If you take the Big East, for example, of the schools in that conference, seven of those schools do NOT have football at the BCS/D-1A level (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova. Villanova does have football, but they participate in the FCS/D-1AA which has a playoff system). The big money maker at those schools is basketball. And even U-Conn, which has a D-1A football program, the primary money maker is basketball - not football.
On top of that, there are plenty of other schools thave stellar basketball programs but sucky football (Kansas, Syracuse, Duke).
There are 346 D-1 member institutions, of which what, 70 (?) basically run the program (I'm counting those schools currently in the BCS conferences).
I understand the changes that football is forcing.... but I don't necessarily think it's for the better. I remember when DH was at an Atlantic 10 (A-10) school and when Conference USA split up and lost Marquette, DePaul, Cincinnati, and Louisville, the school left out, Saint Louis University, the big concern with jumping to the A-10, was that the travel expenses were going to increase a lot (there is no easy way to Olean, New York for an away game to St. Bonaventure), but that the level of competition was dropping as well - look at the recruiting and success that Marquette, Cincy and Louisville have had, while SLU has largely stagnated, if not faltered.
I could go on and on.....
I mentioned the impact that this would have on other sports in a previous post. I agree that it will be an issue. Budget-wise for many smaller schools for sure. And also, some sports play so many games in a season (baseball, softball for example) that it'll be really hard to add in that extra travel time to their already non-stop travel schedule. Something will have to change in order for it to work--not playing all conference teams, creating a longer season, something.
TI, IUIs, IVF = c/ps and BFNs
madelyn, I think we're in a unique position given what our spouses do for a living - you're going to see it from a non-revenue sport side and I see it from an administration side. A lot of this is not easy.
Speaking of not easy, one of DH's friends who is a coach here is getting a separation from his wife. He had alluded to it when we saw them this summer that she was having issues with his travel schedule and I guess this past go-round was the last straw. So sad :-( DH travels and stays late for work, but I think coaches have it pretty hard. I don't envy you!
You are right, we are seeing it from other sides when most people just see it from the football side. And sure, in most schools, football drives everything but there still a LOT of other people that are affected by this---through budgets, scheduling, the way games are set up, the way conference titles are won/lost, all that. And lets not forget, these students do still have to find some time to attend class and do school work. People forget that, too.
Honestly, DH's travel doesn't bother me *that* much. Sure, it sucks. It is hard, he's rarely home between games, recruiting and camps but I'm used to it. It isn't ideal but it is what it is. He loves his job and that's what matters.
I would give anything, though, to be able to have a single meal without it being interrupted with a phone call from his boss, a travel ball coach, a recruit, some administrator, a player...just one meal. Seriously. One time.
TI, IUIs, IVF = c/ps and BFNs
OMG I know. DH gets calls ALL. THE. TIME. on what they can/can't do. Some of them are bizarre. And because some of the sports recruit internationally, we'll get calls at freaking 3:00am because in Europe it's 9:00am there. He purposely got a blackberry that couldnt' work overseas so when we travel, he has an excuse to not talk to them.
TTC #1 since 08/11 IUI#2 = BFP!
When Nebraska went to the Big 10, I don't think many of us batted an eye - definitely a great fit for volleyball and with wrestling too. Plus I think the Huskers have a hockey team, so that was probably a big factor with the formation of the Big 10 hockey conference as well. Plus geographically, travel isn't that much of a hindrance too - even though it's the furthest west, Lincoln fits the profile of some of the other Big 10 schools. If it were say, Arkansas, joining the Big 10, I would be a bit more suspect of that.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Huskers) do not have a hockey team but University of Nebraska-Omaha does. I doubt Lincoln every will as they won't be able to compete with another in-state (very good) team.
TTC #1 since 08/11 IUI#2 = BFP!