<p>[Big</a> Ten Expansion: Maryland leaves ACC, joins conference in financial move - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland-joins-big-ten-leaving-acc/2012/11/19/e24531dc-3268-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story.html]Big”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland-joins-big-ten-leaving-acc/2012/11/19/e24531dc-3268-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story.html)</p>
<p>Now they can call the conference the Big 13, since no other conference is using that name (unlike the Big 12 which has 10 teams).</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>lol…Those conferences with numbers need to come up with something else…it’s become a joke.</p>
<p>Rutgers is also going to join the Big 10, making it 14.</p>
<p>STAHP.</p>
<p>Big 10, just no. WHY? Sigh.</p>
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It’s all about the money. </p>
<p>Maryland and Rutgers give the Big 14 access to the DC and NY/NJ media markets, which are much larger and growing much faster than the MidWest markets which are the traditional home of the Big 10 schools. I don’t think this will be successful, because traditionally MD, DC, NJ, and down-state NY are not big college football areas. The 5 pro teams in this area get all the love.</p>
<p>Maryland and Rutgers just want the money. It is a little disturbing that UMD is walking away from a 60-year history with the ACC, just to get a little more money.</p>
<p>At a cost of a huge exit fee.</p>
<p>NRE, I know logically why. It’s an emotional why. Sigh… my Big 10. =/</p>
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<p>Article I read today said the Maryland president was one of two to vote against this exit fee increase. He claims he knows it will not hold up in court. And if they end up paying out, it’s too bad… they just cut 7 sports because of budget problems…</p>
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<p>It’s a really stupid decision. South Carolina left the ACC a long time ago and they became insignificant after that. Maryland will follow the same path.</p>
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Well - the SEC is arguably the #1 football conference in the country, and SC has a highly ranked team. And their baseball team is a perennial powerhouse.</p>
<p>So I wouldn’t say SC is insignificant.</p>
<p>They may not be a basketball contender, but then UMD hasn’t been very good lately, and Rutgers certainly doesn’t come to mind either.</p>
<p>It will be very strange not to have them in the ACC. Oh well.</p>
<p>For Rutgers there are additional benefits outside of sports. This was a huge positive for the university.</p>
<p>It isn’t like the Big 10 is an easy football conference with 6 of the top 30 spots depending on which poll you look at with Rutgers currently ranked in the top 20 or higher depending on the poll.</p>
<p>To me, the Big 10 is a cultural thing, it means MIDWEST! (I’m a graduate of one Big 10 school and now live in a city which is obsessed about another Big 10 School). Penn State is as east as our conference should go! No disrespect intended, but leave our conference alone and leave it in the MIDWEST!</p>
<p>Yes, in our house Big 10 = Midwest.</p>
<p>I’ve felt that way since Penn State joined–definitely not Midwest.</p>
<p>That being said, as two native NJ’ans who are proud alumni of UMich, my husband and I would love the chance to attend a UM game close to home–maybe the Rutgers stadium we paid too much taxes for would fill up for a change, and turn something closer to a profit, as well. </p>
<p>Plus, we have Rutgers family too, so the rivalry would be fun. (sometimes NJ feels like Michigan East, there are so many alums here.)</p>
<p>For the why, yes, it is all about money.</p>
<p>The traditional notion of college athletic conferences, Im afraid, has gone the way of manual typewriters and transistor radios and has no relevance in todays world.</p>
<p>I have no connection, at all, to this move but I hope Maryland and Marylands fans realize that, in football, it is going to be very bad for a possibly very long time.</p>
<p>Playing Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina in football is one thing. (UMD barely defeated William and Mary this year!)
Maryland is going to get creamed having to face Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, etc. every year.</p>
<p>Note: Penn State and Maryland, back in the day, used to play each other every year. In 37 meetings UMD won … once.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to agree with the class that this is just not a smart move for UMD. They are not a powerhouse in the ACC, why would they want to leave and face exceptionally tough teams in the Big 10? I know, the almightily dollar. My team is UVa in good seasons and bad…last year was pretty good, this year not so much. I would think the same thing if they were to take a huge payout to join a conference only to be a punching bag. It’s not good for the players, morale, ticket sales, school spirit. I’m afraid UMD may find it harder and harder to fill that expanded stadium.</p>
<p>Blue Iguana,</p>
<p>Maryland’s attendance for football will improve significantly in the Big 10 if for no other reason than lots of Big 10 alums in the DC/Balt area will go to College Park and see their teams play (ala comment by garland about seeing UM at Rutgers). Right now the attendance at Maryland football games is pathetic (35K for Florida State; highest attendance this year 45K for UVA). Regular home games with PSU, OSU, UM, NU, and WU will almost certainly improve attendance. For example, Penn State’s game at UVA this year drew a sell-out of 56K, which was UVA’s only sell out this year, with the other games not even being close to that attendance mark (no ACC games this year over 50K at UVA). Right now the only ACC team that travels well is VA Tech. While Miami and FSU are also powers they travel poorly and lack significant numbers of alums in this area. Half the Big 10 teams travel as well (or almost as well) as Va Tech.</p>