It's one of the things that fans of teams like little red hang over our heads that there really is no argument against. Sure, we're a consistently winning program, we overachieve in the draft, and frequently win player or unit awards such as the Joe Moore, Rimington, Outland, Butkus, etc., but I'm ready to see a championship. Kirk is a good enough coach, and I think we have the guys to compete. But 22 years without anything with the word Championship on it that isn't a bowl is brutal.
Rutgers like Washington, Oregon, and Maryland all received smaller revenue shares for years upon joining the Big 10. Rutgers becomes fully vested for revenue in 2027. They were in the American conference in 2013 before joining the Big 10. Their reduced share by the Big 10 was more than what they got in the American league. 2025 athletic budget $193.8 million, 2026 expected to be over $200 million, Iowa 2026 budget $169 million. Rutgers needs to manage their expenses. 22 sports programs compared to Iowa's 20 and ISU 16. Travel cost 2025 $13.5 million of a $194 in expenses or 6.95%. Fuel cost is 31% of airlines cost so it is less than a 1/3 of the cost of airline travel.
What happens from here seems anyone's guess. These universities can't go on forever bleeding money in athletics when their primary job of educating students gets harder financially. You can only focus on the current situation not the past and we have a real mess. A Forbes article I read said that most people in the country love sports and want to close their eyes to the precarious financial situation of college athletics.
Will conference realignment change how college athletes are getting the $20.5 million that all power 5 schools opted in for? Look at Iowa State their 2026 budget is $141 million up 24% due mostly student athlete revenue sharing. Travel cost is the problem not $20.5 million payout to athletes that exceeds the travel cost I have seen.
I have no idea what is going to happen but the college football playoffs is already diluted and to be diluted more this next season. Personnally, since the Big 10 went to 18 teams I have been wanting them to either drop Maryland and Rutgers which I doubt they do or add 2 more to have 20 teams.
In the 131 years of the Big Ten conference no team has ever been kicked out. The University of Chicago left in athletics but last I heard was still part of the Big Ten academic alliance. That last part, I am told, brings many many boatloads of money to Big Ten schools, more than athletics.
Excellent point about the Academic Alliance. Agree with you totally that the Big Ten won't kick anyone out. Some will leave on their own to better their financial situations.
When I was in school with Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, I took a class taught by a visiting professor from the University of Chicago. American Civil War and Reconstruction. She was very intelligent and very interesting in her teaching. Perhaps a benefit of the academic alliance.
I've said that from Day 1 when the issues of revenue generation first broke out after NIL hit the streets.
, from the Big Ten (and other conferences) to more geographically and logistically logical conferences.Wow Evil Monkey alot to chew on here. It really hit home with me when you said the people pushing changes, pushing the drive for more $$$ are their own worst enemy. I could not agree more. Eventually you have to pay the piper and things will start to break down on the current path. The players too caught up in this also have to wise up. I feel so thankful we have the coaches we do who run things on a different model.I've said that from Day 1 when the issues of revenue generation first broke out after NIL hit the streets.
What is more realistic is, as some have suggested, teams leave, or the top teams break away to try to form their own failure of a league like what "Unrivaled" is to the WNBA (which in itself is a failing league that is slowly improving, or would if the women in that league would simply embrace the change and stop wanting it to go back to their own little niche corner of the universe).
And as I say it is more likely the top money teams like Ohio State break away and try to be a AAA to the NFL, I want to reiterate that is absolutely guaranteed that this will fail. It is that much worth repeating. The casuals will support it for a while, but look at every other fledgling league out there, like the UFL. You can oversaturate the market with "your own thing" and claim it's in the interest of the almighty dollar but at the end of the day it's all window dressing to decorate pig sh**.
The actual fans, even fans of those teams, will not support a fractured college sports structure, nor will they maintain support if these programs try to go independent of the universities.
The people responsible for pushing for these changes, these TV deals, these conferences (there's too many individuals and entities to list off) are going to be their own worst enemy and they don't care, or in the case of the players, probably don't even realize what will happen if they themselves allow things to continue down this path.
And oh yes, the players are not innocent in all this, because of the simple fact that they've been taught you don't turn down......."more money".
If you think the players have any power in this, then they also absolutely have the power to say "no" and put a stop to the issues with NIL spending and the transfer portal and even all the way up to issues with the college sports models themselves.
......but that's if you assume the players have any power in the first place, since they (along with their families and agents) are the ones asking for money in the first place.
P.S. the point of this conference realignment is to show how CFB should be structured, and that this would be a wholesale change as part of the many changes that would be taking place across college athletics. That is how teams get booted, or "relocated" as I would prefer to call it
It is about the money........but it's not just about the money.
It's about what's best for college football/athletics.
At some point the house of cards is going to collapse. A solution is probably out there, but likely not one that everyone (schools, players, and fans) will accept. Maybe itāll be best if everything implodesā¦.then start back up from scratch with a more reasonable set up.I've said that from Day 1 when the issues of revenue generation first broke out after NIL hit the streets.
What is more realistic is, as some have suggested, teams leave, or the top teams break away to try to form their own failure of a league like what "Unrivaled" is to the WNBA (which in itself is a failing league that is slowly improving, or would if the women in that league would simply embrace the change and stop wanting it to go back to their own little niche corner of the universe).
And as I say it is more likely the top money teams like Ohio State break away and try to be a AAA to the NFL, I want to reiterate that is absolutely guaranteed that this will fail. It is that much worth repeating. The casuals will support it for a while, but look at every other fledgling league out there, like the UFL. You can oversaturate the market with "your own thing" and claim it's in the interest of the almighty dollar but at the end of the day it's all window dressing to decorate pig sh**.
The actual fans, even fans of those teams, will not support a fractured college sports structure, nor will they maintain support if these programs try to go independent of the universities.
The people responsible for pushing for these changes, these TV deals, these conferences (there's too many individuals and entities to list off) are going to be their own worst enemy and they don't care, or in the case of the players, probably don't even realize what will happen if they themselves allow things to continue down this path.
And oh yes, the players are not innocent in all this, because of the simple fact that they've been taught you don't turn down......."more money".
If you think the players have any power in this, then they also absolutely have the power to say "no" and put a stop to the issues with NIL spending and the transfer portal and even all the way up to issues with the college sports models themselves.
......but that's if you assume the players have any power in the first place, since they (along with their families and agents) are the ones asking for money in the first place, "because they can".
P.S. the point of this conference realignment is to show how CFB should be structured, and that this would be a wholesale change as part of the many changes that would be taking place across college athletics. That is how teams get booted, or "relocated" as I would prefer to call it
It is about the money........but it's not just about the money.
It's about what's best for college football/athletics.
Obviously. That goes without sayingā¦ā¦Right after Iowa wins a national championship, though, right?..........
