Maryland To Big 10?!?!

[TonySoprano]

TDr. Loh as you know is new as well. So the President is new. The AD is new. Most of those who are responsible for the mess are already gone. There's no since in looking for people to fire.

By new, I guess you mean two years on the job. It's times like these I'm sooo glad we plucked Loh from the Big 10.

[glenn__davis]

By new, I guess you mean two years on the job. It's times like these I'm sooo glad we plucked Loh from the Big 10.

Yes. I consider that new, especially considering that the economic problems were here when he arrived. Do you think that the athletic department was going great, and then Loh and Anderson arrived and screwed it all up? Of course not. This has been building for a long time.

[Brendan25]

I don't get the sour grapes remark at all. Be that as it may, you can argue that the Big 10 will draw more recruits but frankly that's subjective as well, based on assumptions not facts. My opinion, based on athletes who actually played for Maryland, is the Big 10 is not a slam dunk better draw. There are pluses and minuses to both sides. The ACC is also a big draw to recruits, particularly in basketball, and yes, in sports other than football. Ultimately, we won't know until 2014 and beyond.

To think that a recruit wouldn't want to have the opportunity to play against Ohiot State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin is crazy. Would Torrey Smith not have come to Maryland? Maybe. I'm not going to call him a liar. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't have got someone else.

When they asked Kevin Anderson if the Big 10 money will allow MD to bring back some programs, he fumbled and mumbled about how they'd have to look at the same financials that led the programs to be cut, and didn't make any guarantees.

- Both Loh and Anderson expressed great regret at needing to cut sports last season, and claimed that avoiding that in the future was one of their primary drivers. It was also revealed that they're in the process of reinstating some of the sports that were cut; the Commission on ICA will be brought back together to make the final call on which. But that's a big move that is both the right thing to do and will help with PR, winning over some detractors.

- Another big point from Loh was increasing student-athlete quality of life. He cited that Maryland was last in the ACC in per-athlete spending before he arrived, and claimed that the revenue from the Big Ten will help alleviate that and give student-athletes more and higher-quality resources. Again, this is a very important factor that many people probably overlooked but, when presented with it, may understand the motivation.

Both those points were made in the press conference.

source - Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20

Come on, how much money does it take to run those programs a year? I'd bet combined they are a drop in the bucket compared to the total athletic department budget. I wonder how their combined budget compares to the $2 million we had to pay Friedgen in 2011 after he was fired. Even with this big windfall from the Big 10, we actually have to study whether or not to bring back those programs? How many times do I have to call B.S.? This deal isn't about saving those programs. Pull back the flippin' curtain, Dorothy, and see what's really going on. Maryland totally screwed up and it's much worse than they are willing to admit. They need to clean house, and get someone who actually has a clue, but I guess that's too much to ask.

Finally, is there no one out there who would feel the same way if we were talking about moving the Orioles to a different division?

It's completely different then the Orioles. If they were moving the Orioles to a different division because they couldn't afford to keep Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, and our other young players that need to be locked up, and a move would allow us to sign those players, then I'd be fine with the move. That isn't the case.

[TonySoprano]

Yes. I consider that new, especially considering that the economic problems were here when he arrived. Do you think that the athletic department was going great, and then Loh and Anderson arrived and screwed it all up? Of course not. This has been building for a long time.

No, I'm not laying it all on Anderson, but he hasn't helped. Here are the FY13 budgets of the programs cut : Men's Swimming $623,959; Women's Swimming $810,758; Men's Track $511,615; Acrobatics $654,059; Water Polo $ 518,221; Men's Tennis $476,165. Pick your combination of any of the three and you get one Ralph Friedgen. But don't worry, we were able to rob Peter to pay Paul in order to cover it.

Asked about the $2 million buyout of the final year of Ralph Friedgen’s contract after last football season, Anderson said it was a “one-time revenue investment” and that “we were able to cover that cost where it didn’t come out of the general operating budget.”

source -Washington Post Nov 21,2011

Barry Gossett, a co-chair of the commission and a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland, said that without success in football and men’s basketball, “we’re not going to have a great deal of income to work with.”

Shrewd move bringing in Edsall, wasn't it?

So revenues are a big problem, luckily with those programs gone we can cut expenses and solve the deficit right? Uh, no. From Loh

I support the recommendation that funds recovered from budget reductions and revenue enhancements be invested in support services, such as academic advisers, athletic trainers, and sports medicine.

If one wants to put the blame on Yow, here's a big ticket item that failed, but in hindsight, I doubt few would have argued with at the time. It also is a big argument against any additional large capital investment in the football program at this time.

In 2009, Maryland completed a $50.8 million project to create 64 luxury suites and 440 mezzanine seats at Byrd Stadium, the school’s football field.

The amount of revenue generated by the football program each year decreased by roughly $1.6 million from 2005 to 2010, according to annual financial reports Maryland filed to the NCAA. During that span, the team’s expenses rose to a high of roughly $11.7 million in 2008-09, but by 2009-10 they had fallen to roughly $9.8 million, which is slightly less than they were in 2005-06.

School officials have said Maryland fell more than $500,000 short of football season ticket sales projections in each of the past two seasons, and the 54,000-seat Byrd Stadium filled to 75 percent capacity once during the football team’s 2010 campaign.

source - Washington Post, July 20,2011

From the same article

“You can have quality in two different ways,” said Debbie Yow, who served as Maryland’s athletic director for 16 years before leaving in June 2010 to take the same position at North Carolina State. “You can cut 10 sports and have quality and just relax, pretty much. Or you can keep all the sports in place and push hard on the staff to continue to generate new revenue. And I will admit to you, that is a burden, that second thing. That’s tough. It wears on you. But that was the model I chose.”

In April, Maryland Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said in the past two to three years, the school’s athletic department has lost between 2,000 and 3,000 donors, adding to the department’s financial problems.

We're bleeding donors, but don't worry about that exit fee Soprano; it won't be a problem.

Loh sang a very different tune about the ACC a year ago

In spring 2011, Director Anderson, Faculty Athletic Representative Nick Hadley, and I activelyadvocated to our counterparts in the ACC to expand from 12 to 14 or 16 schools. We wanted to ensure ACC’s leadership role in the on-going conference realignments that are changing the landscape of intercollegiate athletics. The eventual expansion to 14 schools also had a positive financial impact on every member school due to anticipated increases in television revenue. Our circumstances would have been far more challenging today had the ACC not expanded.

The Commission’s financial plan is prudent and sustainable. It does not seek to eliminate immediately the budget deficit, which was several years in the making. It stretches out the deficit reduction period to avoid causing even broader pain today. It balances the annual operating budget by fiscal year 2015 and it balances the cumulative operating deficit by fiscal year 2019. It also starts rebuilding an ICA contingency fund for unanticipated expenses. This fund was depleted last year to cover the growing deficits of

previous years. The implementation of the Commission’s recommendations will restore ICA to fiscal health and sustainability by 2019, provided that assumptions about future revenues and expenses hold true.

What has changed then in the past year to make Loh do a 180 and move us to the Big Ten? Despite all our past problems, we were supposed to be fine by 2015. The ACC expanded. Why the rush?

Just don't tell me this is about the $3 - $4 million to save those programs because, like Michael Corleone, it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry.<object width="300" height="28" class="hark_player">

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[TonySoprano]

Here's one take on football recruiting that presents both sides for Maryland in the Big 10

Maryland changing conferences will likely force the end of many long-term rivalries in football and basketball, but it will also usher in a major change to the programs' recruiting philosophy.

Dave Lomonico covers Maryland recruiting for TerrapinTimes.com, and he said that sweeping changes could be needed.

"The program has been first recruiting locally and then further south," he said. "It isn't likely that they will pull up too many posts, but they are going to have to move north to get kids that are a better fit for the Big Ten style of play."

Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic regional recruiting analyst Adam Friedman speculates that an even bigger change may be required and that head coach Randy Edsall may be on a short leash.

"Edsall has already been given a lot of leeway with the way the injuries have set this season back," Friedman said, "and there is a loud group calling for his job. Recruiting certainly has not been going the way fans want to see it go, and it is not out of the question that this could be a jumping off point to bring in a new staff and start anew."

Olney (Md.) Good Counsel head coach Bob Milloy said he is not sure if this move is in the best interest of Maryland football.

"Selfishly, I really like it," he said. "I love to watch Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and my wife and daughter went to Purdue, but as a coach and a parent I would be concerned. I have kids committed right now to Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Clemson, but we have sent kids to Maryland in the past (including five-star Stefon Diggs). ... Now I don't know how many parents will want to send their kids off to play football when the away games aren't easy drives to Charlottesville, Blacksburg, or Chapel Hill but Wisconsin or Minnesota. That will be a hard sell."

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell says the move for Maryland was financially driven but that it could prove to be costly in the long term.

"The school has had to shut down a couple of sports programs recently, so this is a money move for them," Farrell said. "The money the Big Ten can throw at them will help upgrade facilities, and that is something they are desperately behind in.

"Where this could all backfire is that both Maryland and Rutgers are in pretty fertile recruiting areas, and while both schools will look to move into Big Ten markets, those Big Ten schools can now more easily come into New Jersey and Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and start pulling kids out."

Rivals.com Midwest regional analyst Josh Helmholdt said the two schools are going to try to break into a market that is already crowded.

Maryland commit Kingsley Opara might jump ship.

"As a region, the Midwest simply does not produce as many players as the South or down the Atlantic Coast, so trying to go into Ohio and fight with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and some others will be tough," he said. "They are going to have to get into the area and recruit it, but it isn't like just because those schools are recruiting the area that it will start to produce more quality players. It could be tough."

Helmholdt points to the success that Nebraska has had in establishing itself as the silver lining for Maryland and Rutgers.

"It can be done," he said. "In just a short time, Nebraska has been able to dip into Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, so it can be done. In just raw numbers, it will be successful for them both because right now they aren't getting anyone."

Lomonico said the losses could outweigh the gains.

"In the long run, this can be a very good thing," he said. "Immediately, it is a real concern for recruiting. Only (Maryland assistant coach Mike) Locksley really has any ties to the new areas, and I have already talked to a couple commits that did not like the news."

Three-star defensive tackle Kingsley Opara has been the first name to surface as a potential de-commit. Opara is from Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin and has recently scheduled official visits to N.C. State and North Carolina.

A pair of commits from Georgia, Jalen Brooks and Jajuan Dulaney, may be the next to use this move as a reason to open their recruiting.

Helmholdt said the Terps' move from their current recruiting bases may not be a long-term improvement.

"Recruiting is very much about emotions," he said. "Maybe more so than it should be, but some kids in the Virginia Beach area grow up rooting for Maryland because they see them all the time. That is going to be taken away, and this could isolate Maryland more than it helps the program."

source - footballrecruiting.rivals.com

[hoosiers]

I think it is way too early to say this is going to be good or bad for recruiting for the two main sports. There are still relatively short drives to Rutgers and perhaps Penn State in the Big Ten and the ACC has now stretched out to Florida and also way north - why are those places easy drives?

The article fails to see some advantages of taking the $ from the Big Ten - $ for better facilities, more $ to hire quality assistant coaches and perhaps better TV exposure. The article also assumes that the teams in the vicinity from the ACC and Big East will be in a super64 conference. Recruiting could fall way off at some schools if they are on the outside looking in - leaving more recruits for Maryland.

As far as the talent, IMO it is way to early to call this a big negative for Maryland recruiting for the next 25 years.

[glenn__davis]

Yeah, the recruiting ramifications are obviously all speculation. My guess is that it will slightly hurt BB and slightly help FB, but I don't really think it will have much effect in the end.

I will say that MD's 1st year in the Big 10 could be huge for local recruiting. That is going to be Diggs' and Wes Brown's junior year. CJ Brown will be a senior assuming he stays healthy. The O-line will be talented and experienced. That team could end up being one of the most potent offensive teams in the league. Imagine local recruits seeing Diggs and Brown tearing it up in front of a packed stadium at Michigan or PSU. Could be huge.

[section18]

I agree with you. Many of the players going to the Big Ten teams know when they get there they may be riding the bench for a few years before they see any action and may never see major action and can come to MD and possibly start right away. How many sleeper type players when given a chance sometimes blossom into stars before your eyes when given a chance? How many recruits are leaving the area to play for Big Ten teams? Probably more than we know about. If I had parents that couldn't afford to send me to an out of state Big 10 team and I wanted to be seen by scouts who blanket their games I would immediately put MD on my radar and probably choose them. The rumors about a North Carolina school and a Virginia school possibly joining the Big 10 as well could mean there will be a few more schools fans and alumni can drive to in the future

I've already mentioned that Edsall will probably be bought out of his contract before or after next season. They will have the money to do it and can't make the same mistakes they made with his hiring. Jon Gruden is being considered for the Tennessee and Arkansas jobs and possibly a return to the Raiders. He is still young (49) and like him or not has a reputation that would appeal to young recruits. He would be a possible choice or someone like him with a national reputation.

[Slappy]

What has changed then in the past year to make Loh do a 180 and move us to the Big Ten? Despite all our past problems, we were supposed to be fine by 2015. The ACC expanded. Why the rush?

Just don't tell me this is about the $3 - $4 million to save those programs because, like Michael Corleone, it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry.

Of course it's not. It's about the ACC/ESPN TV contract settlement in May. It guaranteed member schools $17 million, which was still well below the Big 12 and Big 10 deals, and only on par with the SEC before they renegotiated. Florida State publicly ripped the deal and talked about the Big 12. Clemson's board made similar comments. It was hugely disappointing to the ADs. They feel the league office did a poor job of bargaining, and would be better off going somewhere else.

Did ACC Teams Get Ripped Off With New ESPN TV Contract?

[dorfmac]

The latest is apparently a proposed lawsuit against Maryland to sue for the full exit fee amount.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8683350/maryland-terrapins-sued-acc-exit-fee-big-ten-departure

Despite the legal action, I still can't see the ACC recovering the cost in it's entirety, especially considering Maryland did not vote for the increase in exit fee's in the first place. They were clearly against it initially, and were outvoted. $50m will probably be deemed by the courts as an exorbitant cost considering it's three times the budget of the entire conference, and my guess is that they will settle somewhere in the $25-35m range.

[Dr. FLK]

Finally, is there no one out there who would feel the same way if we were talking about moving the Orioles to a different division?

If MLB had decided they had to make the AL East bigger, allowed teams like the Astros/Phillies/Mets/Marlins/Royals to move into the AL East, decided that we wouldn't play the Sox/Yanks as frequently each year, and that our main rival would now be the Astros (who we would play more frequently than teams who we the fans perceive as our rivals), then I wouldn't care one bit if we moved to another Division. Would you?

The ACC isn't the ACC anymore. I have no idea who's in the PAC 10 nowawdays - but I know they have like 16 teams. The Big 8 became the Big 12 and now has 10 teams in it - and I don't even know who they are. The Big East has teams in it that are operating on Mountain Time. The landscape of college sports has changed, and in it's wake lies dead rivalries of preceding era's. In my opinion, college sports has become nothing but professional sports with worse athletes. It's really a shame. But it's happening - and it will only get worse.