In the past weeks, Nebraska has left the Big 12 to become the 12th member of the Big 10 and Colorado has left the Big 12 to become the 11th member of the Pac-10. This currently leaves the Big 12 with only 10 members. If that just numerically blew your mind, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were also close to leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-10, but now that might not happen.
And while the presidents and athletic directors of these institutions will make long arguments about athletic competitiveness, research opportunities, and the alignment of grand philosophies, really these deals just come down to money. Consider the new story from ESPN saying that the four teams mentioned earlier might stay with the Big 12 given a new TV contract that would pay them more than the conference’s other members. Keeping that in mind, here is the list of the values of the TV contracts (the largest source of revenue) of the six major NCAA conferences.
6.
Big East
$33 million per year
Financially, the Big East is the most confusing conference. The conference has 16 teams, but only half of them compete in the conference’s football league. Of the other half, Notre Dame football remains unaffiliated and the rest either compete in a lower division or not at all. Since the conference has separate basketball and football contracts, this complicates what schools get what money for competing at what. Basically what is important is that no matter how you slice it, the Big East is the poorest major conference even though it has dominated men’s basketball recently and has had relative success in football.
5. Pacific-10
$58 million per year
The West-Coast-based Pac-10, the self-proclaimed Conference of Champions, comes in, money-wise, in fifth place. So why would Big 12 teams want to move there? Well, a football championship game for one. NCAA rules stipulate that a conference needs 12 teams before it can hold a football championship game. After Nebraska left the Big 12, that conference no longer could. If at least one more school joins Colorado in the move to the Pac-10, then that conference could hold one, and an extra game means loads of extra revenue for the conference. Also, a conference containing the multi-sport powerhouse likes of Texas, Oklahoma, USC, and UCLA (plus past champions like Washington and Colorado) could likely leverage its way to a massive TV deal. As it stands, though, the Pac-10 remains one of the not as great major conferences in terms of revenue.
4. Atlantic Coast Conference
$67 million per year
In 2005, the ACC pillaged the Big East, taking Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College to bring their total to 12. However, the addition of these big name schools has not boosted their revenue in a major way, other than adding a football championship. The conference remains high-profile in men’s basketball, with the Duke-North Carolina bouts still the most-watched of every year. However, football remains the most popular and profitable sport, and the ACC has failed to attract a national interest rivaling the conferences ahead of it.
3. Big 12
$78 million per year
Teams in the Big 12 conference such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have achieved a national following and interest. That hasn’t kept it from potentially falling apart this summer, however. The two conferences ahead of it in revenue have had much to do with this (especially the Big 10). Also, the conference has been top heavy, with schools like Texas and Oklahoma far out-pacing the likes of Northern Iowa and Kansas State in terms of athletic prestige and prominence on a year-to-year basis. This is why the new proposed deal would pay Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M over $20 million a year and the other schools closer to $15 million a year. This new contract would obviously raise the conference’s income, but still not rival the following two conferences.
2. South Eastern Conference
$205 million per year
The SEC has dominated the football scene in the past few years, both in performance and attention, and thusly has a huge TV contract. Some estimates of the worth of their various contracts are higher, indeed higher than any other conference. It does firmly hold the record for biggest coverage area that its games are broadcast to, ensuring it will remain prominent.
1. Big Ten
$242 million a year
The Big Ten tops this list due to a tradition of national prominence more than recent accomplishments. The conference has long been searching for a 12th member (after adding Penn State in 1990 to become the 11-team Big Ten). After failing to secure Texas, Missouri, or Kansas before the formation of the Big 12 in 1993, and then Notre Dame around the turn of the millennium, they finally succeeded by adding Nebraska in early June 2010 (effective next year). This was after again courting Missouri and Kansas. With each added school, the conference also expands the coverage of its cable network, The Big Ten Network. And its active pursuit of new members may very well kill the Big 12.
(In the interest of full disclosure, and in case you think I’ve been writing with bias, I attended a Big Ten university. Go Wildcats!)
Comments
Logan
August 12th, 2011 - 5:47:57 PM
Are you kidding me?! Northern Iowa in the Big 12?! It's Iowa State dumb***.
1
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