(11-07-2014 01:42 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 06:30 PM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 08:57 AM)XLance Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 01:30 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  You touch upon something that seems quite lost upon many jhawk. Imagine the combination of ESPN, the SEC and WVU in regards to pushing the SEC brand up into the Beltway. It isn't about how much clout WVU has in that area right now. It is about how much clout they would have after having the ESPN propaganda machine working in that direction as well as having the SEC brand backing them.

It seems to me to be a case of folks having a lack of vision in regards to what ESPN and the SEC could do with WVU.

H! the exact thing applies to the ACC and the B1G.
Right now the ACC and the B1G each are about equal in viewership in the NE. The ACC on the back of Notre Dame and the B1G on the broad shoulders of Penn State.
The ACC could use WVU as an old "eastern indy" to help "top" the B1G in the NE market. Of course the opposite is true and the B1G could bury the ACC in the NE with the inclusion of West Virginia.
I think that there is a real possibility that Delany's next move (if it is to 16) would be a play for a combination of West Virginia and KENTUCKY. It is what I would do.
Knowing that Kansas would not likely join the SEC, the B1G could swing back around and pick up Kansas and Missouri if they decided to go to 18.
Bill Stewart appears to have been correct when he stated that one of the three (ACC, SEC, or the B1G) would pick up West Virginia before realignment was over.

Look, I am going to assume you are being truthful in that you actually believe this. Generally we try not to troll each other here and this is coming from someone who loves to troll folks over on the main forum. To think though that the Big Ten would go with West Virginia and Kentucky....you don't understand the Big Ten perspective. I get it if you think it is a good idea but your perspective is very much different from the Big Ten perspective.

I have actually made mention in the past about how West Virginia in the Big Ten makes good sense in an athletic perspective. One East team and one West team would make for an easy division between four divisions. The combo of Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers and West Virginia is pretty sweet. I don't see it happening though and Kentucky just doesn't fit, sorry.

If the ACC was willing to take WVU though and if they were insistant on getting WVU instead of a third Texas program then I definitely could see it. I know JR will say no way to what I am about to say but ECU is a strong candidate for the one single G5 program that is left to get into the P5(P4). We all know the SEC desperately wants into North Carolina. If the ACC felt more strongly about continuing to counter the Big Ten in the Beltway then getting West Virginia is a very strong move for the ACC.

ECU to the SEC is as crazy of a conversation piece as UConn to the Big Ten is.

I believe both are strategic moves.
Can you really explain Rutgers and Maryland?

You are correct in that I really don't understand the Big Ten perspective, but I do understand marketing and dynamics. West Virginia in the hands of the ACC or the SEC could do more damage to the B1G from a market standpoint than the embarrassment of the B1G for taking them in.
And Kentucky? Ego trip for Delany (he was able to get an ACC school, could he snag a SEC school too)? Attempt to keep up with the new ACC in hoops? A school that would look like a B1G school if the academics were just a little bit better? Looks good on the map? Pushes the borders of the Big Ten out to give the core schools a little breathing room? Take your pick.
If I were Delany and if I were going to 18 it would be with Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Look, I get why Kentucky and West Virginia look good for the Big Ten on an athletic level. I wont even bother trying to debate that because I agree. Why do Maryland and Rutgers look better for the Big Ten? Non-Athletic reasons obviously. Programs can be built more quickly than markets. Both Maryland and Rutgers also have strong recruiting grounds for both basketball and football. Kentucky and West Virginia? Not so much.