I like the regional aspect of the SEC or ACC more for every sport outside FB and MBB. Travel across the country would be brutal for smaller revenue sports’s budgets. Even kn the major rev sports I like that students can drive and tailgate at the away games. Familiarity breeds comparison, comparison is the thief of joy, and I want to steal happiness from our in-conference rivals early and often.
I like the academic aspect of the B1G and ACC. Being among quality programs who compete on the field and the classrooms fits our vibe.
I like the money of the B1G and SEC. We can’t keep plunking away as an also ran in the [$̲̅(̲̅100)̲̅$̲̅] department if we want to win big time trophies.
All this to say, there aren’t perfect options in my mind, I just want to understand the logic for why we go somewhere (if anywhere) and how it helps us compete.
Some interesting points here that reflect a lot of my take - but with potentially different outcomes. As many here, I'd love to be in a place where we have to choose between the Big 10 or the SEC - so all of this is wishful thinking.
I also love the regional aspect of CFB - which is why if the ACC was no more and I had to choose, the SEC would be compelling. I love the old rivalries, and I think that CFB is primarily about regional relationships and pride. It took me getting outside of the Southeast to see just how true that is.
At the same time, I also dislike the profile of the SEC. As someone else pointed out, the mindset of "I hope to one day build a school our football team can be proud of" was really a moment in time - most SEC teams don't really seem to care about building a school, period. I think the Big10 (and the current ACC) are a better match for us from a profile standpoint. And I like that.
As far as the non-rev sports, I've mentioned before that my wife is a Cornhusker, and according to her family one of the reasons Nebraska bounced from the Big12 to the Big10 (aside from Texas and the Longhorn Network) was that they were having trouble getting support for all their non-rev teams in their previous conference. Their women's volleyball team, for instance, is
incredibly well-supported, and is in a much better place in the Big10 playing against that competition than having trouble finding people to compete against in the Big12.
I hadn't considered the travel impact for non-rev. That might throw a wrinkle into my thinking. But I would really like to see our non-rev sports find a home where they can thrive. Not sure the SEC is that place, given its extreme "football or nothing" view of athletics.
As far as the national aspect, there is something valuable there, too. I think there's a scenario when every team eventually becomes part of the Big 10, as it's already coast-to-coast, and its name isn't regionally specific. Based on secondhand, completely-biased opinions (and a number of my own firsthand interactions with the burnt orange school), my guess is that in that scenario, Texas will continue to overestimate its own importance and pull another me-first Longhorn-Network-style move at the expense of the other SEC members, which will lead to a wedge being driven into the conference and a number of them jumping ship. Have seen that movie before multiple times, and I'm confident there are more sequels in the queue.
Anyway, would be nice to be courting multiple suitors when and if the ACC goes down. Interested/hopeful to see it play out, when and if it does.
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