Tag: college football realignment

Notre Dame’s New AD Feels Better About Independence Now Than Upon Taking Job

Notre Dame’s AD has strong words about independent status

The college sports world is a crazy place right now as TV deals mean more than traditions that have forever shaped the sports, and conference realignment and the speculation surrounding it only continues.

Despite that, and despite the differences in money Notre Dame is getting from NBC by remaining independent instead of joining the Big Ten, Notre Dame athletic director [autotag]Ken Bevacqua[/autotag] feels better about independent status now than he did upon taking the job.

“I feel better about our independence sitting here right now than I felt even when I first came into the role,” said Bevacqua, who spent eight months shadowing Swarbrick before the official handoff. “Independence is part of the DNA of Notre Dame football. I believe that vehemently.”

Bevacqua shared that on a Notre Dame-produced video podcast within the last week.  He also shared how the expanded College Football Playoff is helping Notre Dame despite some claims to the contrary.

Bevacqua is a former TV executive with plenty of connections in the industry and I’m sure will be creative and savvy in using that background in his continued fight for Notre Dame’s independence.

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10 teams that could make moves in college expansion

These 10 teams could be the top candidates for more expansion/realignment in college athletics.

Who doesn’t love the idea of college expansion?

In 2023 and 2024, the collegiate game will look different. After the moves of the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns to the SEC, the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins to the Big Ten in 2024.

The Big 12 countered with the additions of the BYU Cougars, Central Florida Knights, Cincinnati Bearcats, and Houston Cougars for the 2023 season. We are still waiting to see what moves the Pac-12 will make.

The conference was raided of both Los Angeles-area schools and at one point it seemed like the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies could be next. The SEC and Big Ten will be at 16 teams each by the time 2024 kicks off with ACC at 14, Big 12 at 12, and the Pac-12 at 10.

We look at 10 schools that could be on the move next if expansion and realignment continue.

Schools the Big 12 Conference should target in expansion

The Big 12 should look out west for possible expansion.

Conference expansion is a hot topic in today’s college football climate. Continue reading “Schools the Big 12 Conference should target in expansion”

Iowa’s Jack Campbell, Kaevon Merriweather share their future Big Ten expansion picks

Who should the Big Ten add in the future? Iowa’s Jack Campbell and Kaevon Merriweather were asked at Big Ten Media Days.

Last week at Big Ten Media Days, there was naturally plenty of conversation about the upcoming 2024 additions of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. 247Sports shared what a series of Big Ten players thought about who the league should add next.

Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell has the perceived No. 1 target at the top of his list.

“That’s a great question. I want Notre Dame, I think that would be cool. And well, so does the Big Ten. I think it would be pretty cool to play those guys. They’re talented and another historic program. They’re not in a conference of their own so it would be nice to see them join the Big Ten and have future Hawkeyes have an opportunity to play them,” Campbell said.

Hawkeyes safety Kaevon Merriweather had a lengthy list of prospective additions.

“Oh man. If you wanted to do it from a financial standpoint, I’m bringing Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Miami, you feel me? You listening? We still have UCLA and USC, right? Then we’re going to bring Oregon, and then I think from there we’re good. But those are like the big money markets. If I was the Big Ten commissioner, I’d make a lot of money with those teams in there, you know what I’m saying?

“What I’d do first, though, probably Oregon, not going to lie. Just the influence of Nike and the number of people who love Oregon across the country, I’d definitely bring Oregon first. I ain’t gonna lie to you though, I’m kinda mad, I wish they would have done the realignment thing a bit earlier, a trip to USC would not be bad. Them coming to the Midwest as well in November? They ain’t gonna play out too well, I ain’t gonna lie,” Merriweather said.

Like Merriweather touched on, the idea of both USC and UCLA coming to the Midwest during cold-weather months has been something current Big Ten players have commonly cited as a potential future advantage. Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras also needled the two L.A. schools recently.

Naturally, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was asked about future expansion at Big Ten Media Days.

“I get asked every single day, what’s next? It may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons, at the right time, with our student-athletes’ academic and athletic empowerment at the center of any and all decisions that we will make. We will not expand just to expand. It will be strategic; it will add additional value to our conference,” Warren said.

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Big Ten desirability ratings: where each current league member ranks per Sports Illustrated

If Power 5 conferences started from scratch tomorrow, how desirable would the Iowa Hawkeyes and the rest of the current Big Ten programs be?

If Power 5 conferences started from scratch tomorrow, how desirable would the Iowa Hawkeyes and the rest of the Big Ten’s league members be? That’s precisely what Sports Illustrated set out to determine in their desirability ratings.

In order to compile their full Power 5 desirability ratings, there was a set of five categories used to rank the programs: football ranking, academic ranking, all-sports ranking, football attendance, and broadcast viewership.

For the football ranking, SI used the five-year average Sagarin ratings for each Power 5 team from 2017-21. Academic rankings were listed according to the U.S. News & World Report’s national universities rankings.

The all-sports ranking was according to the Division I standings for the 2021-22 academic year in the Learfield Directors’ Cup which rates performance in 19 sports. Football attendance rankings were based on average home-game attendance (minus the 2020 season) from 2017-21.

Finally, broadcast viewership was based on the total number of football games for each program that drew one million or more viewers from 2017-21. Again, that list excluded the 2020 season due to COVID-19 skewing the results.

From worst-to-first, here’s how each of the Big Ten schools ranked in SI’s desirability ratings based on those five categories among the now 69 Power 5 programs.

The definitive, final, ‘show me the money’ top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates

If the Big Ten expands again in the future, this is the list of teams and the rankings that Big Ten brass should operate from.

Enough talk about who fits in academically with the Big Ten through their Association of American Universities ranking. Let’s get down to brass tax. Who can Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren add that increases everyone’s bottom line?

Let’s end the charade. That’s what all of this expansion business is about anyways. Warren and others can act like it’s about respected research universities, but this is about dollars and cents. It’s why he convinced Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff that they were on the same team, and then turned around and poached his league’s two biggest assets.

For the most part, this isn’t about regional fits anymore. USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten in 2024 shows us that. Now, adding a dance partner or two for the Trojans and Bruins makes sense, but only if it enhances the league members’ per-school payouts.

So, what should the top 25 big board of future Big Ten expansion candidates look like? Feel free to reference this list as needed Mr. Warren. It’s the “Show Me the Money” rankings. If your school isn’t on this list, sorry, you’re not joining the Big Ten conference now or in the future.

For our friends over in Ames, Iowa, save your time. Iowa State isn’t joining the Big Ten and, in fact, they’re not in the top 25 pool of candidates either. This is about TV ratings and expanding market shares. The Cyclones don’t add anything that the Big Ten doesn’t already have with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Every program is fair game so long as they aren’t already in the Big Ten or SEC.Without further ado, here’s the official, no-need-to-look-anywhere else top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates.

‘It’s a sign of the times’: Kirk Ferentz shares thoughts on the Big Ten’s USC, UCLA additions

Iowa Hawkeyes head football coach Kirk Ferentz said “it’s a sign of the times” that the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins are joining the Big Ten.

As Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was meeting with the media discussing the brand new Iowa Swarm Collective, the topic of Big Ten expansion naturally came up.

With Hawk Central and other Iowa reporters in attendance, Ferentz dove into his thoughts on the Big Ten adding both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins beginning with the 2024-25 college athletics season.

“Yeah, it’s a sign of the times. Just it’s one more reminder that tradition, the sense or concept of tradition is kind of getting minimalized I think in college athletics. Pretty much everything’s driven by TV. There are a lot of things I can’t tell you after 23 years. How the NCAA works, all that stuff. One thing I have observed is if TV wants something, it’s probably going to happen. I’m not saying TV encouraged this. I’m just suggesting that there’s some certainly, I’m sure that’s part on the minds of the people who joined the conference, but it puts us in a better, stronger position,” Ferentz said.

Again, as Ferentz stood and discussed what this new Iowa Swarm Collective would mean for his program going forward, the conversation circled back into USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten.

“It’s really not a matter of do we like this or did we want this? It’s just a matter of that’s a reality of college football, college athletics. Just like it’s a reality that USC and UCLA are going to be in the Big Ten in two years, so whether you like that, whatever your opinion may be, the bigger picture is it’s going to be. It’s just part of the times that we’re navigating through right now,” Ferentz said of Iowa Swarm Collective and USC and UCLA joining the league.

Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery was in attendance for the Iowa Swarm Collective announcement as well and shared his thoughts on USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten.

“Obviously, a credit to Kevin Warren for getting two of the most prestigious programs in the country to come to our league. I think anything that benefits the league is a good thing,” McCaffery said of the pair joining.

He didn’t seem too concerned with future setups of the Big Ten Tournament either.

“You know, I think there’s always a solution you can find for any situation like that. You know, we can make it work, scheduling wise,” McCaffery said.

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Eight teams that the SEC should pursue if they desire more expansion

Should the SEC continue to look at expansion? Here are eight teams to consider.

Last summer we saw the SEC throw the first punch in college football expansion when they brought the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns into the fold. That move won’t become official until 2025 at the latest.

One year later the Big Ten went after the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins. With the announcement of that move, both the Big Ten and SEC sit at 14 current members and two more future members to join in 2024 or beyond.

Is conference expansion going to end there? Likely not.

Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams made their case for eight such teams should the SEC look to add more schools to the conference.

‘They don’t have any fans’: Iowa Hawkeyes’ QB Spencer Petras jabs new Big Ten additions USC, UCLA

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras welcomes the future additions of USC and UCLA. There’s nothing wrong with sunshine and no fans in November.

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras met with the media for the first time since the spring earlier this week. The Hawkeyes’ likely No. 1 signal-caller reflected on his experience at the Manning Passing Academy, discussed what excites him about Iowa’s offense entering 2022 and even broached the topic of college realignment.

Of course, the Big Ten recently made waves by announcing the future additions of USC and UCLA in 2024. As someone that grew up in San Rafael, Calif., Petras is naturally familiar with both and excited about what each will bring to the conference in the future.

One of his only hangups is the fact that he won’t get the chance to play against either during his time in Iowa City. At least as a conference foe anyways.

“I know. It sucks, but, no, I wish they had joined five years ago. It would be cool, but I think it’s good for the conference, I think it’s good for certainly the Big Ten like I said. I think it’s good for California. I’m excited to see how it all plays out,” Petras said.

In what has been a common remark from longtime Big Ten fans, Petras took a little jab at USC and UCLA’s oftentimes underwhelming fan support.

“I think the best part is, I mean, you’ve got to if you’re a Big Ten Midwest team, you’ve got to pray for a couple road games in L.A. in November. I mean, you can’t ask for better, because they don’t have any fans, so it’s not like it’s going to be too loud, tough environment. That’s rude. They have fans, but it’s not the same as it is here and 60, 70 degree weather in November would be pretty cool. Yeah, better than 40 mile per hour winds, you can’t feel your hands. Ball is like soaking wet,” Petras said.

Even as Petras fired a couple of shots at Trojans and Bruins fans, he backtracked it to some degree pretty quickly. Really, it’s all in good fun and part of what makes the additions of USC and UCLA so great.

There is a culture clash at play here between Big Ten lifers and the fans of these programs that the league is adding. That’s in addition to regionality being thrown out the window.

For now, Petras doesn’t have to worry about any upcoming games against either USC or UCLA. Make no mistake about it, though. This won’t be the last time USC or UCLA fans hear a current Big Ten player, coach, analyst or fan point out some of the perceived differences in fan support or ask how these two new additions will handle a cold November day in Big Ten country.

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Iowa-UCLA tabbed a top-10 ‘must-see’ matchup in new-look Big Ten

The contrast of Iowa and UCLA could not be greater, and that is exactly why their future matchup is a top-10 “must-see” in the new Big Ten.

Field position. Clock management. Defense. Smart plays on offense. Limited turnovers. Punting. These are all things that the Iowa Hawkeyes do well and rely on to slowly constrict teams into victory by submission.

Going for it on fourth down. High-scoring shootouts. Aggressive play calls. Data and analytics. All of these could be relatively synonymous for how Chip Kelly operates the UCLA Bruins.

The stark contrast of these two teams is so vast that it brings an excitement level to it when we eventually see Iowa and UCLA take the field against each other in the next few years now that the Big Ten is expanding and adding UCLA and USC.

Athlon Sports’ Ben Weinrib put this future Big Ten matchup in his top 10 for new matchups fans will get once the move is complete in the 2024 college football season.

Talk about a contrast in styles, Iowa and UCLA should also make for a fascinating matchup. And if the conference’s divisions remain split east-west, these two could face each other quite often. – Weinrib, Athlon Sports.

The difference in these coaching styles and how these teams operate really sums up quite well in one statistic. UCLA nearly doubled up Iowa on their fourth down attempts in 2021. UCLA attempted 31 fourth down conversions while Iowa went for it just 16 times.

To go with that, Iowa punted the ball 82 times last season while UCLA only booted it away 34 times. These two teams playing is going to be similar to watching a run-and-gun, up-tempo basketball team play against a half-court system. Whoever can control the tempo in these future matchups will gain an advantage with their defenses being well-rested and playing their game.

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