Yes it is academic snobbery coupled with a coastal region viewing middle america as unworthy of them. They do it all the time.
We have done pretty well when we stopped caring about what anyone thought and focused on performance and excellence.
Hell I don’t think Cal can even come to Texas and play games, I think we are on the prohibited state list. My advice to the Pac 12 schools is do what you will, I wish you the best, the four corner schools if you want to join there is a place for you, if you don’t we will look east.
I was listening to 365 talk to a Seattle Times writer, who was just incredulous about Washington and Oregon joining the Big 12 because it made no sense to him from a geographic perception. Flights to Iowa? But then a bit later he said something indicating that he was open to the ACC.
Academics, but I think culture has a lot to do with it as well. The plains are just kind of foreign to a lot of them.
I’m even catholic and Notre Dame vs anyone with their independent non conference schedule isn’t something I’m going to watch.
A late season undefeated match-up featuring two SEC schools fighting for the conference hss my interest.
Being independent may have helped Notre Dame in the past but thst isnt always going to be tue case.
In fact, I’ve watched AAC games like Tulsa vs Tulane because they were conference games MY school.was in and they were upcming opponents.
In fact, the only two Notre Dame ganes i remember Watchung were Temple vs Notre Dame in Eagles stsdium…and Cincinnati at Notre Dame. I was watching because of my Conference mates.
No it was ACC. It’s possible that he had like football-specific membership in mind, but he did also say something about the travel making even less sense than LA schools to the Big Ten. It was like he had no understanding of a US map. But I’m sure he did. he singled out travel to Iowa State and Baylor as a problem, which makes me think that he was subconsciously applying cultural divides to geography or something. “Michigan is far away but Texas is another country!”
If the Big 12 is going to distribute around 60 million in annual revenue to member schools then there are about 40 million reasons why the B1G is better in terms of travel. With an extra 40 million in your pocket every year, airplane tickets are more affordable.
If you are Clemson and FSU, i dont think you want to travel to Eugene, Seattle, or San Francisco unless it dramatically drives up revenue, and ive seen nothing to indicate the ACC would be paid dramatically more to offset that geography issue. I think that UO/Udub fantasies about the ACC are fantasies, but hey, they are the smart ones, just ask them, theyll tell ya.
Yeah, if youre G5 and making little to no money then yeah, you fly anywhere and work for food…but i dont see how PAC schools joining the ACC would change their financial situation enough to endure it. I may be wrong, after all these folks from the ACC, Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Cal are super smart academic folks and im just a fan in a junior college conference. LOL
Yeah. That’s one that has the potential to work out pretty badly for all involved. I know the potential upside, but it’s a strange gamble for a conference that really didn’t need to take it.
Just a couple of things, without starting a holy war on this thread, we have been primarily a Protestant nation. ND is a Catholic school with Irish roots. The Protestants looked down on the Catholics and the Irish are a subset of that. So you have two groups looked down upon. Those are some huge chips on some shoulders. Growing up in Chicago, I can tell you that with the Irish Catholic tie-in, it was a huge following. Having moved away to Texas and now Michigan, there are A LOT of ND fans who never attended or set foot on campus, but are huge ND fans solely because of its being a Catholic school, my father-in-law included. When @uhlaw97 mentions the subway alumni, he’s not exaggerating.
As for Colorado being interested in joining the Big XII if UT was still here, UT was one of the main reasons they left in the first place. Are PAC-10 academics better than Big XII academics overall? If yo go by things like AAU membership, yes they are. We can’t control what other schools are doing, but we’re trying to attain those higher levels. IF CU is too good for the Big XII, enjoy a watered down PAC-XX or the MWC.
Having gone to college in Cleveland, Ohio, and having spent many years living and working on the East Coast, I can tell you that ND’s football following in both the Great Lakes and East Coast regions is PHENOMENALLY large.
And that’s the very reason that ND is the one major school that can still get away with being an independent.
Not necessarily a comment on strength of schedule. The Big 12 offered better recruiting and for Colorado in particular better exposure. Being in a weaker conference doesn’t make things easier if it makes your program weaker.
That’s the past.
The Rust Belt is losing population and not being in a conference will “eventually” hurt Notre Dame. maybe not today, or tomorrow, but if they remain stubborn and reject a seat at a 2 Power Conference setup, they will not be deemed as interesting because what are they playing for?
A Championship of a Conference of ONE?
That is pretty lame.
…and in fact, their numbers are already on the decline. NBC knows this.