JPSchmack wrote:
Well, first off, even if conferences did fit the bill of anti-competitive laws (which they don't, because universities and conferences are non-profit organizations), there's no collusion because the Big Ten is one entity and one entity can't collude.
It's not like the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Pac-12 got together, mapped out a realignment scenario and collectively ignored schools applications -- and even that isn't really collusion, since conferences aren't "management" and schools "labor" with collective bargaining between them. Schools don't need BCS conference affiliating -- or ANY conference affiliation -- to compete in Division I athletics and no one is "entitled" to it.
I think we're stepping onto new ground here. There are transparency issues aplenty here, and who knows to what extent these matters run. The issue isn't just that these are tax-funded, non-profit schools, but their by-products (athletic departments) and their business doings (conferences, media/merchandising deals) that muddy the waters.
UMD's board member said he didn't think it fair they couldn't get a fair discussion with the ACC because of the terms the B1G laid down and the NDA. Navy's AD said Rutgers pretty much lied to them. Yes, nobody forced the phone calls, the meetings, or the vote, and nobody is entitled to these spiffy media deals, but I question how the B1G can make such demands in the first place, and thus, how broadcasting and merchandising interests can as well.
Mind you, I don't fault UMD for leaving the ACC for the B1G. I've said all along this made good financial sense for the institution, and it seemed like the ACC didn't concern itself much with the issues of one of its founding members. UMD alums can be angry their school ripped UVA, UNC, and Duke from them, when technically, those schools didn't exactly fight hard for their peer. The ACC, who doesn't seem to have a problem destroying other conferences, which, then, destroys other conferences, really had this one coming to them. It's the same with the Big East. However, this is not how public institutions and their hobbies are supposed to operate.
Going forward, I'm hopeful the B1G actually understands this coast's multi-sport interests rather than trying to jam the '69 OSU-UM game some more down their throats. This is where ice hockey and basketball need to be present. This is where lacrosse and soccer must get exposure. There's a reason PSU's the only football game in town around the North Atlantic...other schools have other fish to fry. The B1G is going to have to embrace that in order to sustain a business presence here.