Maryland and rivalries

[hudlow]

Don't the the schools in The Big 10 have boards like this?

We don't need any convincing...

hud

[Class of '94]

Thank you, and I wish the same.

I don't understand the anger here now that Maryland is gone. We are a blip on your radar and in a few years we won't care as much about Duke. Everyone wins.

No baiting or biting here....You appear to be a rational MD fan and supporter; and I respect you trying to stand up for your school. I'm actually disappointed to see MD leaving the conference they helped to form and build; and I'm probably one of the few people here that would've preferred MD staying in the ACC despite some of over the top MD basketball fans. That said, if you want to go...go; but I'm curious to know why you're so eager to leave the ACC?

Outside of the despearate need for more money for their athletic department, no other reason for MD wanting to leave appears genuine to me imo. I've never understood the NC bias and the feeling of being a remote outpost of the ACC that many MD fans and supporters have felt when your school is only about 5 hours away from the ACC league office in Greensboro compared to about 12 hrs away from the BIG 10 league office in Chicago. How are you going to feel any different in the BIG 10 when geographically you'll be much further away froma a majority of the schools in the Big 10 compared to the ACC. I live in Big 10 country and I can tell you first hand that many people within this conference feels that there is a Michigan and Ohio St bias by their league office. Feel free to visit Penn St and Mich St message boards for instance.

You mentioned MD fans will get over playing Duke (and I'll add UNC as well) in a few years; but I think it will hard to forget that quickly when MD still falls within the ACC footprint and how close the school is to these ACC programs; and I personally think it was good for the ACC and MD to play Duke, UNC, UVA, etc. across multiple sports like Lacrosse, basketball, soccer, football, etc.; and I just don't see any schools that MD can develop comparable intense rivalries with. Maybe Penn St, Rutgers? I seriously doublt Mich St, Indiana, Mich and Ohio St are going to look at MD a serious rival in basketball. The intense rivalries in the BIG 10 that draw national intention are centered around those 4 schools.

The other reason I've heard MD administrators and some students say that one of the reasons for going to the BIG 10 conference is that it is the most prestigious academic and athletic conference in the country (outside of the IVY League). Prior to MD leaving (and even after), that sentiment is simply not true. The ACC matched up academically as well as or better than the Big 10 schools.

If a MD supporter isn't saying "we [MD] are going to the BIG 10 because we need the money; and if we're going to be a remote school and have to deal with similar biases, we'd deal with it in the BIG 10 making more money than remain in the ACC", then anything else is just not genuine imo. If you need the money, fine...go do what you have to do. I wish you well. It just comes acoss badly when your President and AD are telling ACC colleagues that we're all in while secretly behind closed doors negotiating a deal with the Big 10. And to add other reasons for leaving to soften the monetary ones just comes across to me as disrespectful.

I'm not going to argue back with you on this because I really want to hear your thoughts. My point is that outside of the money, MD is not leaving or escaping any of the other perceived faults of the ACC by going to the Big 10. Those same perceived slights in the ACC are all there in the Big 10; they're just in a different form.

[howardlander]

Thank you, and I wish the same.

I don't understand the anger here now that Maryland is gone. We are a blip on your radar and in a few years we won't care as much about Duke. Everyone wins.

If you really want to know why we are OK with Maryland leaving, check out this link:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/200...boozer-curtain

The truth is that athletics is supposed to be fun, not dangerous. The perception among many fans here, including me, is that the Maryland administration failed to act to contain the danger. I'm not angry with Maryland for leaving, I'm glad. The sooner the better.

Howard

[WiJoe]

Dear turtles:

1) toodle-oo

B) LET the screen door hit you on the way out.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I suppose it is. Point still stands. Maryland will be an average team. If Vanderbilt can get themselves together under the right coach than the same can happen at Maryland. Fridgeon did it from 2001-04, 2010. It can happen.

James Franklin could have been your right coach. I will always have some appreciation for MD football for letting him go.

Fun fact, Vandy currently has the longest win streak in the SEC.

[-bdbd]

Outside of the despearate need for more money for their athletic department, no other reason for MD wanting to leave appears genuine to me imo. I've never understood the NC bias and the feeling of being a remote outpost of the ACC that many MD fans and supporters have felt when your school is only about 5 hours away from the ACC league office in Greensboro compared to about 12 hrs away from the BIG 10 league office in Chicago. How are you going to feel any different in the BIG 10 when geographically you'll be much further away froma a majority of the schools in the Big 10 compared to the ACC. I live in Big 10 country and I can tell you first hand that many people within this conference feels that there is a Michigan and Ohio St bias by their league office. Feel free to visit Penn St and Mich St message boards for instance.

The other reason I've heard MD administrators and some students say that one of the reasons for going to the BIG 10 conference is that it is the most prestigious academic and athletic conference in the country (outside of the IVY League). Prior to MD leaving (and even after), that sentiment is simply not true. The ACC matched up academically as well as or better than the Big 10 schools.

As a DC-area Duke fan let me take a quick stab at a couple of these.

The black-highlighted comment: This has puzzled me too. The decision was very obiously a financial one, made by a President and AD who were desperately fighting an uphill battle around the inevitable last-year decision to cut about ten non-rev sports due to budgetary mismanagement in the athletic department. Everything else is really window dressing. My serious MD grad/fans friends generally acknowledge this within the first minute of any serious discussion of this whole topic. What has sincerely amazed me is the lack of blow-back on to the MD administrators who (mis-)managed that athletic budget and created this whole situation where bailing on the ACC became their best remaining option. Where is the Terp fan anger for their mismanagement and the negative consequences it resulted in for those fans?? I guess it is simpler to simply rationalize the result rather than confront some poor management/consequences.

As to the red-highlighted comment: First a little MD background. As a school/community you have to start with there being quite a bit of a "we don't get no respect"/inferiority complex among MD fans. Most of my more ardent Terp-supporter friends acknowledge the predisposed presence of this large chip on the collective shoulder of MD fans. This bias reacts rather poorly, for example, to overt signs of disrespect such as student chants from opponents about "Not our rivals!" But , in general, there is a constant search for "signs" of disrespect. Whether it be from the league, other schools, other fans and from the media (the main body of ACC media being perceived in this area as N.C.-centric). But the "NC bias" for the typical Terp fan is an overworn excuse for things not going their way, in terms of conference scheduling, conference rules/decisions (such as the ACCT rarely being held in the conference's largest in-footprint market), etc. As they will tell you, IT IS NOT A GEOGRAPHIC THING. It is a 'state of mind' thing. So, the Big10 being based twice as far away doesn't matter from the perspective of how "anti-MD" the league's decisions will be. (In my personal view, you make a very solid point -- that the Big10 has its own perceived biases; but the Terp fans simply aren't aware of them YET. Classic case of the grass being greener...until you're actually standing in the neighbor's yard. I sincerely believe that within three years we'll be hearing frequent MD complaints about "that damn Big10 bias towards the Midwest schools."

Regarding the greened comment on academics: The University took great pains at the time of the announcement to highlight the pooled resources of the Big10/UofChicago. These are combined research funds from a bunch of very large state/research institutions, so the pool is fairly large and unique. But (1) Pooled research funds don't equate to "academic superiority," (2) I keep asking how they help the common student or improve MD's general academic standing, which according to the US NEws rankings is in the lower half of the ACC as well as the Big Ten's, (3) I keep asking, w/o getting an answer, doesn't "pooling" research funds imply that money could actually be TAKEN AWAY just as easily as it could be increased? (The pot doesn't get bigger, it just gets SHARED.)

As a traditionalist I find the whole situation very sad in general. And I do believe the MD fans will grow to be generally disappointed with the decision -- probably about the time of the first away game at Wisconsin where the fans can't get to b/c of distance, and they get to watch on TV at a halftime deficit in excess of 35 points... (In fairness, the FB losing probably won't matter in the first couple of years, b/c of the general excitement around being in something new, but the shine WILL quickly tarnish as the losses mount - I agree that the main competition will be with IND and Rutgers to avoid the cellar of the Big1-/East. (That is what some friends of mine from the Big10 are predicting.) In general, I think MD will dominate a weak Big10 in some of its stronger non-rev sports, such as Lax and Soccer and Women's BB; but the one's that the Big10 fans actually CARE about - FB and MBB - will be really ugly for the forseeable future. I am actually very curious to see how well that wares on the Terp fans. Will be interesting.

[Class of '94]

In regards to the bias, I'd be interested to get a sense from you in regards to how excited your Big 10 friends are to have MD joining their league. Living in Michigan, I can tell you that at the time of the announcement of MD and Rutgers joining, a majority of people here were not overly-enthused by the two additions. In fact, most felt that the addition of MD and Rutgers diluted the quality of BIG 10 football and only MD potentially added something in basketball. Many people here would've preferred getting some combination of Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, and Fla St (if the Big 10 was going to expand South). There are also those who believe MD will be an easy win to pad the win column for teams like Ohio St and Michigan (and most of the other teams) in the Big 10 eastern division. IMO, I don't think that's a good situation to be in.

So how are MD fans going to feel (if they don't know by now) when they realize that many fans of the other schools of their new conference aren't that excited or thrilled about having them in the Big 10? Again, I'm not trying to upset any MD fan or even hating on MD out of spite; I'm just putting out the general response that many (I'll refrain from using most) feel about Big 10 adding MD. And if MD fans/supporters have a bias and chip on their shoulder about a perceived lack of respect by fans of other schools in the ACC, then they are going to have a "major" chip on their shoulder when they join the Big 10.

[Mal]

In regards to the bias, I'd be interested to get a sense from you in regards to how excited your Big 10 friends are to have MD joining their league.

I'm not BDBD, by I live in B1G territory, grew up in a different part of it from where I now live, and went to grad school in yet another part. So, I have lots of experience with people associated with most of the B1G schools. I'd say the response ranges from individual to individual, of course, but that range stops at a high end of "Whatever" or "The silver lining is this should at least be a couple easy football wins." I've not met a single person who actually welcomes Maryland or Rutgers, or desired either of them a year ago, though there are some who actually think the whole television market expansion thing was worth chasing, so they understand the reasons but still would have preferred others. To the extent anyone was swayed by the need to add more schools, they by and large wanted some combination of Notre Dame, Missouri, Kansas or Pitt, mostly out of a desire for some semblance of geographic and cultural continuity. By and large, the response has been vocal bemoaning of the money as primary driving factor, leading to schools who have no history with anyone in the B1G other than Penn State (who most of the region feels still regrets even being in the conference), and are not in any way, shape or form "midwestern." So, yeah, both of them are going to be dealing with some resentment. Whether Maryland supporters can deal with that in a more constructive way than they've recently dealt with their perception of being underappreciated in the ACC is an open question. My guess is that Rutgers supporters are used to the school being overlooked and/or dismissed, so the main issue they'll have to deal with (if my personal prediction is correct and they don't make any noise in football) is regret that they didn't take the window of opportunity they had while in the Big East to take the next step, especially in basketball, because they're going to find it really hard to climb up to higher floors in the B1G in either of the big revenue sports. And they're going to get creamed in just about everything else, at least for awhile. They were 111th in the Director's Cup standings last year, and the next lowest B1G school was Iowa. At 48. The nonrevenue sports at Rutgers are going to have some catching up to do, although being in the conference will likely help them with recruiting.

[dukeofcalabash]

Maryland wants to go, we want them gone.

Win-win.

Good luck.

At least Maryland should live up to it's word. Just pay your departing money on the way out.

[sagegrouse]

I've not met a single person who actually welcomes Maryland or Rutgers, or desired either of them a year ago, though there are some who actually think the whole television market expansion thing was worth chasing, so they understand the reasons but still would have preferred others. To the extent anyone was swayed by the need to add more schools, they by and large wanted some combination of Notre Dame, Missouri, Kansas or Pitt, mostly out of a desire for some semblance of geographic and cultural continuity. By and large, the response has been vocal bemoaning of the money as primary driving factor, leading to schools who have no history with anyone in the B1G other than Penn State (who most of the region feels still regrets even being in the conference), and are not in any way, shape or form "midwestern."

So, yeah, both of them are going to be dealing with some resentment. Whether Maryland supporters can deal with that in a more constructive way than they've recently dealt with their perception of being underappreciated in the ACC is an open question. My guess is that Rutgers supporters are used to the school being overlooked and/or dismissed, so the main issue they'll have to deal with (if my personal prediction is correct and they don't make any noise in football) is regret that they didn't take the window of opportunity they had while in the Big East to take the next step, especially in basketball, because they're going to find it really hard to climb up to higher floors in the B1G in either of the big revenue sports. And they're going to get creamed in just about everything else, at least for awhile. They were 111th in the Director's Cup standings last year, and the next lowest B1G school was Iowa. At 48. The nonrevenue sports at Rutgers are going to have some catching up to do, although being in the conference will likely help them with recruiting.

And the Big Ten fans don't know what they're likely to encounter with the students and fans of Rutgers and Maryland.

It may be that the Rutgers fans are worse than the Terps. Six years ago Rutgers had to apologize to the US Naval Academy for the behavior of its students at a Navy-Rutgers football game.

From writer Brent Bozell:

Rutgers won the game but lost any sense of honor and decency. Navy was booed and peppered with "You suck!" chants when they stepped on the field to start both halves. When Navy kick returner Reggie Campbell came up limping after a tackle, students chanted: "You got f-ed up! You got f-ed up! You got f-ed up!" Toward the end of the second half, Rutgers students began to serenade an adjacent section of Navy fans and uniformed midshipmen: "'F- you, Navy! F- you, Navy! F- you, Navy!'"

Bill Squires, a New Jersey recruiter for Annapolis and a 1975 graduate of the Naval Academy, was appalled by the students, but proud of the Navy midshipmen because they had no reaction. "They took it. They stood tall. They did what they were taught to do. I am not sure, if I was 30 years younger in my white uniform, I wouldn't have reacted differently."

On Sept. 11, Rutgers President Richard McCormick apologized to Naval Academy officials in a letter. "No student-athlete should ever be subject to profane language directed at them from the crowd," he wrote, "and certainly not the young men of the Naval Academy, who have made a commitment to serve our nation in a time of war." That should be obvious to anyone, even college students with a surplus of alcohol in their systems.

sagegrouse

[howardlander]

And the Big Ten fans don't know what they're likely to encounter with the students and fans of Rutgers and Maryland.

It may be that the Rutgers fans are worse than the Terps. Six years ago Rutgers had to apologize to the US Naval Academy for the behavior of its students at a Navy-Rutgers football game.

From writer Brent Bozell:

sagegrouse

See, the difference is that the Maryland admins would not have apologized...

[Duvall]

And the Big Ten fans don't know what they're likely to encounter with the students and fans of Rutgers and Maryland.

It may be that the Rutgers fans are worse than the Terps.

I don't see anything in either story to suggest that Rutgers fans are worse than Maryland fans. For Maryland, that would be *good* behavior.

[Here is a Turtle]

See, the difference is that the Maryland admins would not have apologized...

The difference is it wouldn't happen. The last two times the two teams played the Crab Bowl Classic nothing like that happened. Its a rivalry that really needs to happen more. Makes no sense that West Virginia is played every year while Navy is played every 5 now.

[Class of '94]

I'm not BDBD, by I live in B1G territory, grew up in a different part of it from where I now live, and went to grad school in yet another part. So, I have lots of experience with people associated with most of the B1G schools. I'd say the response ranges from individual to individual, of course, but that range stops at a high end of "Whatever" or "The silver lining is this should at least be a couple easy football wins." I've not met a single person who actually welcomes Maryland or Rutgers, or desired either of them a year ago, though there are some who actually think the whole television market expansion thing was worth chasing, so they understand the reasons but still would have preferred others.

Thanks Mal for adding your thoughts. That's exactly what I've heard where I'm at in BIG 10 country in regards to MD and Rutgers. Again, not trying to pile on or incite anyone but there appears to be very little excitement from BIG 10 fans about the additions of MD and Rutgers. If anything, the one positive I've heard was the their additions caused the Leaders and Legends division names to be scrubbed in favor of East and West. Add to it the belief by many that MD and Rutgers will be easy football wins; and that's about all the excitement you have here. It's going to be interesting to see if and who MD will develop rivalries with; and if those rivalries will grow to be as intense as the Duke games in all sports. I think MD's best bet will be developing a rivalry with one of the Mich schools or Ohio St; but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[ForkFondler]

There is some serious overthinking going on here. Unless I'm missing something, the new made-for-TV rivalry is Maryland-Rutgers. People will tune in from all over the midwest to watch that, right?

[just_wondering]

As a DC-area Duke fan let me take a quick stab at a couple of these.

The black-highlighted comment: This has puzzled me too. The decision was very obiously a financial one, made by a President and AD who were desperately fighting an uphill battle around the inevitable last-year decision to cut about ten non-rev sports due to budgetary mismanagement in the athletic department. Everything else is really window dressing. My serious MD grad/fans friends generally acknowledge this within the first minute of any serious discussion of this whole topic. What has sincerely amazed me is the lack of blow-back on to the MD administrators who (mis-)managed that athletic budget and created this whole situation where bailing on the ACC became their best remaining option. Where is the Terp fan anger for their mismanagement and the negative consequences it resulted in for those fans?? I guess it is simpler to simply rationalize the result rather than confront some poor management/consequences.

As to the red-highlighted comment: First a little MD background. As a school/community you have to start with there being quite a bit of a "we don't get no respect"/inferiority complex among MD fans. Most of my more ardent Terp-supporter friends acknowledge the predisposed presence of this large chip on the collective shoulder of MD fans. This bias reacts rather poorly, for example, to overt signs of disrespect such as student chants from opponents about "Not our rivals!" But , in general, there is a constant search for "signs" of disrespect. Whether it be from the league, other schools, other fans and from the media (the main body of ACC media being perceived in this area as N.C.-centric). But the "NC bias" for the typical Terp fan is an overworn excuse for things not going their way, in terms of conference scheduling, conference rules/decisions (such as the ACCT rarely being held in the conference's largest in-footprint market), etc. As they will tell you, IT IS NOT A GEOGRAPHIC THING. It is a 'state of mind' thing. So, the Big10 being based twice as far away doesn't matter from the perspective of how "anti-MD" the league's decisions will be. (In my personal view, you make a very solid point -- that the Big10 has its own perceived biases; but the Terp fans simply aren't aware of them YET. Classic case of the grass being greener...until you're actually standing in the neighbor's yard. I sincerely believe that within three years we'll be hearing frequent MD complaints about "that damn Big10 bias towards the Midwest schools."

Regarding the greened comment on academics: The University took great pains at the time of the announcement to highlight the pooled resources of the Big10/UofChicago. These are combined research funds from a bunch of very large state/research institutions, so the pool is fairly large and unique. But (1) Pooled research funds don't equate to "academic superiority," (2) I keep asking how they help the common student or improve MD's general academic standing, which according to the US NEws rankings is in the lower half of the ACC as well as the Big Ten's, (3) I keep asking, w/o getting an answer, doesn't "pooling" research funds imply that money could actually be TAKEN AWAY just as easily as it could be increased? (The pot doesn't get bigger, it just gets SHARED.)

As a traditionalist I find the whole situation very sad in general. And I do believe the MD fans will grow to be generally disappointed with the decision -- probably about the time of the first away game at Wisconsin where the fans can't get to b/c of distance, and they get to watch on TV at a halftime deficit in excess of 35 points... (In fairness, the FB losing probably won't matter in the first couple of years, b/c of the general excitement around being in something new, but the shine WILL quickly tarnish as the losses mount - I agree that the main competition will be with IND and Rutgers to avoid the cellar of the Big1-/East. (That is what some friends of mine from the Big10 are predicting.) In general, I think MD will dominate a weak Big10 in some of its stronger non-rev sports, such as Lax and Soccer and Women's BB; but the one's that the Big10 fans actually CARE about - FB and MBB - will be really ugly for the forseeable future. I am actually very curious to see how well that wares on the Terp fans. Will be interesting.

************************************************** ***********************************************

The ACC that existed when Maryland joined doesn't really exist any more. No more Dinah Shore commercials. Characters like Bones McKinney and Lefty Driesell don't coach in the ACC. The small southern town environment of Washington that existed in the 50's also doesn't exist any more. Culturally Maryland has become different than the rest of the traditional ACC. Maryland doesn't play basketball at Cole Field house any more. Things are so different that the case be made that it was time for a change

The Big 10 is a good match for Maryland for women's sports if the travel is affordable. I think that in the long run the benefits of the travel out weigh the costs. I think that in a paradoxical way Big 10 football is good for Maryland. Better to be last in a good league than to be mediocre in a mediocre league. Given the size of Byrd Stadium and the competition with pro football in the area the ceiling for Maryland football is mediocre in a mediocre league.
The Washington Nationals didn't exist 10 years ago and yet sports fans in the Washington have adjusted to them. The Colts aren't in Baltimore any more yet life goes on with the Ravens. I am sure that people will adjust to Maryland being in the Big 10 as well.

[Class of '94]

************************************************** ***********************************************

The ACC that existed when Maryland joined doesn't really exist any more. No more Dinah Shore commercials. Characters like Bones McKinney and Lefty Driesell don't coach in the ACC. The small southern town environment of Washington that existed in the 50's also doesn't exist any more. Culturally Maryland has become different than the rest of the traditional ACC. Maryland doesn't play basketball at Cole Field house any more. Things are so different that the case be made that it was time for a change

The Big 10 is a good match for Maryland for women's sports if the travel is affordable. I think that in the long run the benefits of the travel out weigh the costs. I think that in a paradoxical way Big 10 football is good for Maryland. Better to be last in a good league than to be mediocre in a mediocre league. Given the size of Byrd Stadium and the competition with pro football in the area the ceiling for Maryland football is mediocre in a mediocre league.
The Washington Nationals didn't exist 10 years ago and yet sports fans in the Washington have adjusted to them. The Colts aren't in Baltimore any more yet life goes on with the Ravens. I am sure that people will adjust to Maryland being in the Big 10 as well.

I get what you're saying; but I'm not sure that I agree that it was time for MD to change conferences. I would contend that the growth and change throughout the entire foot print of the ACC has changed since the 50's. With the migration of many from the north to the south in the last 15-20 years, areas like the Triangle in NC aren't the same "small southern" towns they were back in the 50's or even as late as the 80's and early 90's. I agree that DC and Baltimore are more prosports cities; and I don't see how moving to the Big 10 will increase interest. And while Byrd Stadium is big compared to many ACC stadiums; it is one of the smallest stadiums in the Big. Moreover, if we're going to talk about change, the ACC imo has the potential to become a really good football league in the coming years as teams continue to develop and become better. Why not be mediocre in an up and coming good league (the ACC) than last in a good league (the Big 10)? That said, I agree that eventually everyone will move on and adjust to MD being in the BIG. I just don't necessarily see the Big 10 and its schools being a better fit for MD than the ACC. JMO

[aheel4ever]

And while Byrd Stadium is big compared to many ACC stadiums; it is one of the smallest stadiums in the Big.

Not a major point, but other than Duke and Wake, are there any stadiums in the ACC that are not larger than MD's?

[just_wondering]

I get what you're saying; but I'm not sure that I agree that it was time for MD to change conferences. I would contend that the growth and change throughout the entire foot print of the ACC has changed since the 50's. With the migration of many from the north to the south in the last 15-20 years, areas like the Triangle in NC aren't the same "small southern" towns they were back in the 50's or even as late as the 80's and early 90's. I agree that DC and Baltimore are more prosports cities; and I don't see how moving to the Big 10 will increase interest. And while Byrd Stadium is big compared to many ACC stadiums; it is one of the smallest stadiums in the Big. Moreover, if we're going to talk about change, the ACC imo has the potential to become a really good football league in the coming years as teams continue to develop and become better. Why not be mediocre in an up and coming good league (the ACC) than last in a good league (the Big 10)? That said, I agree that eventually everyone will move on and adjust to MD being in the BIG. I just don't necessarily see the Big 10 and its schools being a better fit for MD than the ACC. JMO

************************************************** ********************************
I think that the correct stereotype of Maryland fans is apathy. Most fans are there to be there. Maybe 3 or 4 home basketball games and maybe 1 to 2 home football games will have crowds that could be considered into it. The "it" is defined by the context. The reputation of the Duke game is to be there and to be edgy. When Maryland joins the Big 10 the context for each game will have to be defined one by one. But I think that the number of big games will stay constant. Let's hope that the need to be edgy will be jettisoned once and for all and replaced by a new standard of cool. I doubt it although it will take some time for a game against a Big 10 opponent to induce the same level of edgy behavior that the Duke game induced. What I see in the future is what I see now - maybe 1 to 2 home football games will be big deals. 3 to 4 home basketball games will be big deals.
Our record against Penn State is instructive. Despite how lopsided the rivalry was the game was a big deal because it was.

[-bdbd]

Posted by Class of '94 In regards to the bias, I'd be interested to get a sense from you in regards to how excited your Big 10 friends are to have MD joining their league.

Posted by Mal :
I'm not BDBD, by I live in B1G territory, grew up in a different part of it from where I now live, and went to grad school in yet another part. So, I have lots of experience with people associated with most of the B1G schools. I'd say the response ranges from individual to individual, of course, but that range stops at a high end of "Whatever" or "The silver lining is this should at least be a couple easy football wins." I've not met a single person who actually welcomes Maryland or Rutgers, or desired either of them a year ago, though there are some who actually think the whole television market expansion thing was worth chasing, so they understand the reasons but still would have preferred others. To the extent anyone was swayed by the need to add more schools, they by and large wanted some combination of Notre Dame, Missouri, Kansas or Pitt, mostly out of a desire for some semblance of geographic and cultural continuity. By and large, the response has been vocal bemoaning of the money as primary driving factor, leading to schools who have no history with anyone in the B1G other than Penn State (who most of the region feels still regrets even being in the conference), and are not in any way, shape or form "midwestern." So, yeah, both of them are going to be dealing with some resentment. Whether Maryland supporters can deal with that in a more constructive way than they've recently dealt with their perception of being underappreciated in the ACC is an open question. My guess is that Rutgers supporters are used to the school being overlooked and/or dismissed, so the main issue they'll have to deal with (if my personal prediction is correct and they don't make any noise in football) is regret that they didn't take the window of opportunity they had while in the Big East to take the next step, especially in basketball, because they're going to find it really hard to climb up to higher floors in the B1G in either of the big revenue sports. And they're going to get creamed in just about everything else, at least for awhile. They were 111th in the Director's Cup standings last year, and the next lowest B1G school was Iowa. At 48. The nonrevenue sports at Rutgers are going to have some catching up to do, although being in the conference will likely help them with recruiting.

I get what you're saying; but I'm not sure that I agree that it was time for MD to change conferences. I would contend that the growth and change throughout the entire foot print of the ACC has changed since the 50's. With the migration of many from the north to the south in the last 15-20 years, areas like the Triangle in NC aren't the same "small southern" towns they were back in the 50's or even as late as the 80's and early 90's. I agree that DC and Baltimore are more prosports cities; and I don't see how moving to the Big 10 will increase interest. And while Byrd Stadium is big compared to many ACC stadiums; it is one of the smallest stadiums in the Big. Moreover, if we're going to talk about change, the ACC imo has the potential to become a really good football league in the coming years as teams continue to develop and become better. Why not be mediocre in an up and coming good league (the ACC) than last in a good league (the Big 10)? That said, I agree that eventually everyone will move on and adjust to MD being in the BIG. I just don't necessarily see the Big 10 and its schools being a better fit for MD than the ACC. JMO

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BDBD: I'd generally agree with the above sentiment. My Big10 pals seem to be a little chagrinned by the whole thing. They like that they "got one over on the ACC," but are finding it hard to keep lording it over me re. the Big10's "superior football," having just stolen a couple of mediocre teams from the Big East ("Big Least" as one of them keeps saying) and ACC, and actually paid some extra to get them, such as agreeing to an extra "travel stipend" (subsidy) for them.

One is a Michican double-grad (undergrad and MBA), who actually took me to see a game there a couple years ago -- wow, what an environment, sitting "cheek-to-cheek" with 100,000+ of my closest friends -- and he is your sterotypical Michigan fan. IOW, kinda condescending to the quality of FB outside of the states of MI and OH in general, and particularly outside of the Big10. He looks at Rutgers and MD simply and purely as "two more guaranteed wins every year," but thinks it was a step down for the Big Ten in FB and BB quality. A couple of friends from PSU are a little more positive, while not respecting MD or Rutgers in FB at all, they seem to like the idea of finally having conference opponents "in the same region of the country," as one said. One of them told me that the Big10 was worried about PSU leaving, and so this was done partially to keep PSU happy (add to that the promise to add a league office in the eastern part of the league's geography).

Across the board I think they understand the logic, and don't think it is a bad thing to gain access to the new markets from DC, Philly, NYC. But they seem to see it as a trade-off -- and drop in "league quality" in return for desirable TV market access.