Big Ten, Pac-12 Announce Inter-Conference Partnership

[KnightNoles]

Big Ten, Pac-12 Announce Inter-Conference Partnership

The two Rose Bowl conferences, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, announced Wednesday that they'll put together a partnership including inter-conference scheduling and television network tie-ins. USA Today has the details -- as Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany notes, this is essentially conference realignment without any realignment:

"It's sort of in lieu of what some other people are doing (with expansion)," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said.

"Our idea is you can't stand still. You have to build in an environment where people are competing for attention, where they're competing to have the best competitive assets and to present themselves in the best way. I think both of us believe ... this is the most constructive way for us to do that."

The goal is for every team in each conference to play at least one counterpart per season, beginning by 2017 in football and earlier in other sports. Neutral-site games could be included, making for potential special season-openers in various sports.

Even for a conference as progressive as of late as the Pac-12, this is a bold move. The Big Ten has shown itself to be capable of winning with ventures like this as well, having started the successful Big Ten Network and taking the best spoils from the latest realignment round.

This is a pretty big deal, meaning a lot more than just a TV arrangement. Compare this to what other conferences are doing to their identities by tearing themselves apart to add teams from far-flung locations.

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/12/28/2666295/big-ten-pac-12-football-schedule-partnership/in/2430359

[KnightNoles]

UPDATE

Big Ten, Pac-12 Partnership Details: Conferences To Play 12 Games Over Three Weeks, Will Not Merge

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/12/28/2666762/big-ten-pac-12-partnership-details/in/2430359

On a conference call Wednesday afternoon, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany explained more details of the two conferences' new and possibly seismic partnership that Delany termed an "indefinite collaboration."

The most important details to trickle out concerned the inter-conference football games the two 12-team conferences will set up for 2017 and beyond; that the conferences will wait until then to begin this partnership is partly because they will make their best efforts to honor existing non-conference game contracts. Scott indicated that there will be 12 Pac-12 vs. Big Ten games, but spread over three weeks instead of concentrated on one, and that the match-ups for those games are yet to be determined. Delany added that "competitive equity" will play a part in determining those match-ups, likely a hint that there will theoretically be games between Oregon and Ohio State, for example, and not USC and Indiana. Delany explained that neutral sites in the footprints of both conferences could host games under this arrangement.

And then there is the matter of potential new televised content for the two conferences to reap windfalls from, such as bowl games or non-football sports. Scott hinted at this partnership extending well beyond just a series of regular season games, including to academics. But when asked if the two conferences were going to merge, the answer Delany gave was no, and Scott emphasized that there are ways to create and enhance a national platform without expansion.

Scott's thesis is that this partnership is about creating high-quality content via an arrangement that is "comprehensive and flexible" and extends well beyond just the splash of 12 new football games per year; that's how commissioners start talking about baseball festivals and multi-sport events, and why Scott says that the Olympic sports and women's sports — ones that are usually not revenue-producing sports —will be the big winners under this arrangement.

[Tengo Juego]

Awesome. Can't wait for Nebraska to play USC.

[krulmichael]

Wow. The NCAA doing something I actually LIKE? It's not a playoff...but it is a solid move. I like this a lot actually and can't wait.

[padman59]

This idea sure lasted.

http://btn.com/2012/07/13/big-ten-pac-12-to-suspend-scheduling-collaboration/

The Big Ten Conference announced Friday that the Big Ten and Pac-12 have suspended plans for expanding scheduling collaboration across all sports. See Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott’s statements in this post.

Statement from Big Ten Conference Commissioner James E. Delany:
“We are disappointed to announce today that the Big Ten Pac-12 strategic collaboration announced jointly in December 2011 unfortunately will not be consummated. We recently learned from Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott that the complications associated with coordinating a non-conference football schedule for 24 teams across two conferences proved to be too difficult. Those complications, among other things, included the Pac-12’s nine-game conference schedule and previous non-conference commitments.

“A great effort was made by both conference staffs to create football schedules that would address the variety of complexities, but in the end, we were just not able to do so.

“While everyone at the Big Ten is disappointed by the news, we look forward to continuing the historic partnership that we have with the Pac-12 and to working together on other matters in the future.”

Statement from Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott:
“After extensive deliberation and consultation with member institutions, television partners and others, the Pac-12 and Big Ten have decided not to pursue the previously announced plans for enhanced scheduling collaboration across all sports at this time. While we continue to value our close relationship, particularly our partnership in the Rose Bowl, the Pac-12 came to the conclusion that it’s in our best interests to maintain our nine-game conference schedule and maximum flexibility in out-of-conference scheduling. Thus, the Pac-12 decided not to lock into the proposed mandatory 12-game schedule in football.”

[Matt]

Blame this on the playoff