More Expansion

Earth Day...just in time to save the landscape....

There was a glass of cold water thrown to the face of the expansion talk yesterday from Scottsdale, AZ by Jim Delany when he said that there WOULD NOT be an accelerated time table for expansion. Meaning that an announcement on which teams the Big 10 will select would NOT come this summer like many predicated, but keeping the 12 to 18 months timetable. By my calendar that means December at the earliest. Close the roofs on the silos FOR THE MOMEMT. However, Mike Slive did issue a warning from the UN:

“I won’t sit back and just ignore what is going on around me,” Slive said. “We will be thinking ahead so we are prepared to do whatever we need to do.” “If there’s going to be a significant shift in the conference paradigm, the SEC will be strategic and thoughtful to make sure that it maintains its position as one of the nation’s preeminent conferences,” Slive said. (Pete Thamel NY Times)

Meaning the SEC might pan something own its’ own which was my main point yesterday.

After discussion with a reader, I felt as my point was misconstrued. No way should the SEC expand “just to keep with the Jones’” The SEC should do WHATEVER is necessary to stay the preeminent conference. I translate to mean as having the biggest war chest AND the best product. Clearly the SEC has the best football conference as Slive artfully remained folks at the meeting; it’s four in a row.

However, to my point yesterday every year the SEC waits TO DO SOMETHING it LOOSES, by a multiplier of $5M for each institution and will grow! Supremacy, Conference Supremacy can’t remain with that kind of shortfall. Therefore, Mike Slive MUST ACT NOW – over the summer meetings– to keep the SEC at the TOP!

They got a bit of a break as Jim Delany, to use a coaching (leadership) analogy, “couldn’t coach his team way out of a wet paper bag.” He couldn’t pull together the right coalition to pull this off – right now. But this is just a temporary standoff. Its still is going to happen with or with ND. The Big East and Big 12 will still come up on the wrong side of the ledger. No matter how many consults Jim Marinatto hires. (The Big East hired Paul Taglibue, ex-NFL commish, as a consult for this project.)

Lead the way, Mike Slive, just like the conference has done for the last generation. First Strike, Mike!