Quote:SO#1 Posted on Jun 12 2005, 11:28 AM
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Does B12 needs ND to get Gator if B12 want Gator even with #4 or #5? Right now Gator doesn’t have any other choice when they drop BE. If they want to do businesses with B12 they have take that deal w/o ND unless they go after C-USA or MWC. I don’t think Gator have any power until they double the payout. As for the BE need ND so they (ND and Gator) need us to keep the bowl going. I would love to see ND do business with someone else other than the BE. Every football schools would have every right not play ND in any sport. Does Gator bowl shutdown business for the year when ND don’t qualify for bowl or go to BCS?
The focus of my point wasn't the Gator. Rather it was ND. While I appreciate that association with the Gold Domers does have its benefits - those benefits are greatly overexaggerated by both the Irish fans and some BE fans as well.
Is it good for the BE to have a 3 game scheduling agreement with ND? Of course it is, but the B10 virtually has a similar arrangement as well simply due to ND's nearly annual rivalries with Purdue and Michigan/Michigan State. It's not as though ND is going to end its series with Pitt (and had BC remained, the Eagles)?
Is it good for the BE to have ND in terms of Bowl affiliations? Again, of course it is, but it isn't as though ND can broker their own conference affiliation with a bowl, since they are only 'one' team, and its not as though any conference above the BE in stature is going to allow them to potentially 'steal' funds away from their league.
Which in turn, led me to the point that if say the B12 was willing to do so, don't for even one heartbeat moment in time believe that ND would say,
"No, sorry, our bowl affiliation deal is exclusively with the BE. We won't abandon our partners for all other sports to be associated with your conference for bowl deals."
Get my point now?
Cheers,
Neil