H 32°, L 7° | Tomorrow: 
H 17°, L 4°Don’t you hate waiting?
If you’re like me, and working a soul-crushing summer job with hours only a fascist would love, then you can’t wait for fall semester to begin. And once school begins, it’s a three-month wait-a-thon until said semester is finally over. All you young’uns are either mentally crossing off the days until you turn 21 and finally get that fishbowl at Wando’s you’ve heard so much about, or lying about the fact you’re mentally crossing off the days until you turn 21.
There’s a lot of waiting involved when you’re a student here at Wisconsin. But let’s add one more thing to be anxious for: An annual Big Ten title game in football.
See, in the over 100-year history of the conference, the Big Ten champion has received that honor due to regular season performance. When Penn State entered the fold 20 years ago, any thoughts of a title game died with the accuracy of the “Big Ten” moniker.
But as Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany sat on his couch last Dec. 5 and noticed almost 18 million people tuned in to see Alabama take on Florida, while 12 million watched Nebraska play Texas in the SEC and Big 12 title games, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back: The Big Ten needed a title game too*.
*I’m using this as a nod to Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski’s “Posterisks.” Yes, I realize a lot of Delany’s motive to expand the conference was to further the reach of the cash cow Big Ten Network. But if that was really the worry, the Big Ten wouldn’t have been so quick to jump on Nebraska and its population of 1.8 million, and would have tried to expand east with Pitt, Rutgers or Syracuse. A conference title game was the real motive in this move.
Arguments have long been made about whether the nation’s oldest conference needed a 12th member so they could stage a revenue/viewer-generating championship bout. The Big Ten’s 21 BCS bowl appearances and nine at-large bids (both tops in college football) would say no. The fact that Big Ten football becomes irrelevant while its friends down south stage flashy title games evidently outweighs the former argument.
So here’s the abbreviated version of events: Last December, the Big Ten announces it will pursue expansion. The Pac-10 and SEC respond similarly, threatening the existence of the Big 12 and Big East. By mid-June, the Big Ten and Big 12 needed to heavily consider trading names, and in the end, Texas was the tease at the party who flirted with everybody, but went home with nobody.
The University of Nebraska became the Big Ten’s 12th member in June and is set to compete in athletics for the 2011-2012 season. Delany is pleased; UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez is happy as well. Fans of Badger football should be, too.
See, conference title games are tricky things. If you’re Florida in 2009, they can mean the difference between the BCS championship game and the Sugar Bowl. Or if you’re Wisconsin in 2006, it could mean the difference between the Rose Bowl and the Capital One Bowl.
UW’s 2006 football team set program highs with 11 regular season wins and a 12-1 overall record, the only loss coming at the hands of Michigan. Due to BCS rankings, the Wolverines earned a BCS bowl bid, while the Badgers were left out of the picture because a conference can only send two teams to BCS games (Ohio State played in the national title game that year). At season’s end, Wisconsin was one of just five FBS teams to win at least 12 games. A conference title game in that season — depending on how divisions were aligned — gives UW a shot at Ohio State, and a chance to get to a BCS bowl and hurdle UM in the BCS standings.
Or, if you’re the Buckeyes in that scenario, it’s one more hurdle to overcome en route to a possible BCS title game. A win — as expected — gets you there. A loss, well, that could ruin everything, which is why Texas fans were dumping their trunks in that game against Nebraska last year.
But let’s look at it from the Badger perspective. As much as Wisconsin has improved since Barry took the team to a Rose Bowl in 1994, the program’s success essentially began with Alvarez. UW has been fighting to reach that top tier in the Big Ten hierarchy, but still hasn’t made the leap. Wisconsin will probably never attract the same level of recruits Michigan or Ohio State or even Penn State get year in and year out. Big Ten titles are dreamt of in Madison, but not expected every season.
Let’s face it; Wisconsin is not an elite football program. A Rose Bowl berth this season — which is very doable in my eyes — would be a great step toward becoming part of the preseason Big Ten champion talk on an annual basis.
That being said, a championship game gives the (typically) underdog Badgers a chance to swoop in and claim a title more often than it would in the current format. Sure, UW will likely have to deal with fighting Iowa and Nebraska for the division crown, but worrying about two other teams is better than worrying about 10.
A conference title game might only offer a chance, an opportunity. But that’s all the 2006 team would have wanted.
Adam is a senior majoring in journalism. Think expansion will play in Wisconsin’s favor? Excited about the Badgers’ chances this year? E-mail him at [email protected]
IP hash: ca4c2916
Adam - as a Husker fan I anticipate the 2011 season and a Big Ten title game but you are mistaken concerning the reason behind expansion.
First, as for Nebraska’s population of 1.8 million… it does not speak to the National following that Nebraska carries. Missourri has a much larger population, yet nearly twice as many people watch Nebraska games than Missourri games. This was one of the reasons why Nebraska was chosen over Missourri, another reason would be the tradition of the program. When you think of Nebraska football and its national following, think of another team that Big Ten fans have been looking to add to their conference, Notre Dame. I will give Notre Dame the nod for the larger audience, but Nebraska is not far behind. And consider this as well, over 300 consecutive sell outs. No, it is not the Big House, but it is not small either and that place fills to capacity every home game, and it is filled from all over the nation. You will see the size of Nebraska’s following during their road schedule through the Big Ten. Please write an article on that or just google Notre Dame / Nebraska and you will quickly find pictures of a Red Out that already occurred in Big Ten territory.
Next, if expansion occurred so the Big Ten could add a title game, the conference would would just as much likely to add a team like Pittsburgh or Rutgers. After all, if all they needed was one more team, it wouldn’t matter who it is. Those teams do not have a comparable tradition to other teams in the Big Ten.
Nebraska is a highly respected school with a strong following. It is third most in wins, 92 All Americans, 3 Heismans, 5 National Titles, and there is more. See our tunnel walk here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phEvaK7fq0Q
Trust me, picking Nebraska was not about adding a conference title game. In fact, I hear rumors that even with 12 teams that the Big Ten may not have one, I doubt that, but it has been discussed. In Nebraska, the Big Ten got a team that respects its opponents, looks to compete against the best when they are at their best, has a rich tradition, and needed the stability that the Big Ten offered. This was not about a title game, it was about adding even more class to the Big Ten and the money that goes along with that.
IP hash: ca4c2916
Adam - add this to my previous comment if it gets posted.
If this was all about a title game, why not add Missourri? They publicly cried for a Big Ten invite and denounced the Big XII. They have a much larger population (St. Louis, Kansas City) and would have be an easy move to add one team and a title game.
I think it is definitely understated what the intangibles are the Nebraska brings (as well as the larger audience willing to pay for the Big Ten Network now). Nebraska is football through and through and in every corner of the state. I cannot possibly do it justice by writing about it, it is something you have to experience. The Big Ten was able to recognize this and that is why they chose Nebraska.
I know you think you have a really good thing in Wisconsin. I have friends that live there and I have been to the stadium. I remember Ron Dayne and the madness that occurred on the streets of Madison after he broke the record. Yes, Wisconsin has a great fan base and I have enormous respect for the team and its fans. They have been my favorite team out of the Big Ten and I always find myself rooting for them. But they do not have the following, at least nationwide, that Nebraska has.
When you look at discussions concerning how the Big Ten will form divisions, you hear a lot about the 4 progams with national prestige (Nebraska, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan) and how they need to be split evenly to ensure competitive divisions (both on the field and in terms of media attention). These discussions would not exist if the Big Ten had added a team such as Pittsburgh or Rutgers. Again, adding Nebraska was not primarily about a title game, it was about raising the prestige of the conference. Nebraska is a big addition and I was happy when it was announced. Look at the most winningest programs in the history of college football, a lot of them are found in the Big Ten. Nebraska fits in nicely.
The reason why the Big Ten was so quick to jump on Nebraska is this. The Big Ten was looking to expand, maybe so they could have a title game, but they were willing to take their time. When Nebraska looked into the Big Ten, it was seen as an opportunity too good to pass up. They leaped at the opportunity because they did not want to get stuck with choices such as those schools out east.
Finally, how long has the Big Ten been looking at Notre Dame? There are already two other schools in Indiana (Indiana Univeristy and Purdue). Obviously, there is something more than the population of an area. After all, how many people live in South Bend? Indiana does not have the population to demand 3 in-conference opponents but still the Big Ten has been looking to add Notre Dame. National following, national prestige, and respectability. These are the things that Delaney concerns himself with when choosing a team.
Nebraska was a great addition for the Big Ten and it is a great conference for Nebraska to be in. But please do not think it was primarily for a title game, Delany had planned a long drawn out process for that. No, it was because there are few schools that can claim to have the same things as Nebraska and most of the other teams are already in the Big Ten. Having a conference made up of the best teams is the goal. No one else has it. SEC / PAC10 - see NCAA violations going back decades. Big XII - Texas and Oklahoma with the other guys. ACC - see criminal behavior. Big East - who? In terms of respect, there is none better than the Big Ten.
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Excellent observations from Blackshirt Red. As a Badger alum I hope when the realignment takes place (if it does) that UW and Nebraska end up in the same division - along with Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and probably Northwestern. Most of the intra-division games would be highly competitive, not too far for the fans to travel to the away games, and could possibly give Coach BB his wish for an end of season game with Nebraska.
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I travel through Nebraska frequently while working, and I must admit they love their team. The are a great fan base who supports the Huskers every year. I have been cheering for them the past few years in the Big XII, but I know this will turn into a huge rivalry (RED WAR?) I hope we get to play that final game in November and battle for the Big1T2en West title and then go beat up on OSU in Lambeau Field. best move this conference has made in my liftime!