It's Official, Maryland & Rutgers Have Gone Big

July 1^st is the first day of the new 14 team Big Ten Conference.  Maryland and Rutgers officially join the Big Ten today and they are now thinking big.

So let the pomp and circumstance begin.  

The celebrations in College Park, Maryland and New Jersey are mere formalities.  The big goal was to distribute the Big Ten Network in New Jersey and Maryland and that has been accomplished.

The Big Ten Conference’s expansion into the east coast was all about TV markets.  With the deal the Big Ten Network struck with Time Warner and Cablevision in May and with Comcast lastweek BTN added more homes in the coveted New York/New Jersey and Washington D.C. market.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN: “It indicates that the Eastern initiative is moving forward in the direction we hoped it would,”

“Our goal was to achieve distribution in New York and D.C., Maryland and New Jersey.” Delaney added.

Mission accomplished.

Introducing Maryland @bigtenconf ice cream at the B1G Campus Celebration! pic.twitter.com/FZGDYdkG3S
— Maryland Athletics (@umterps) July 1, 2014

Wake up feeling B1G! We are official members of the @bigtenconf. #GoTerps #July1
— Maryland Athletics (@umterps) July 1, 2014

Excited for the new Era in not only our @TerrapinHoops program but the entire @UofMaryland community #ThinkB1G pic.twitter.com/UM4h6DjKe5
— Mark Turgeon (@CoachTurgeon) July 1, 2014

It's official...we R B1G! Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to follow our B1G journey! #WeRB1G #RU pic.twitter.com/NZ6bbp822T
— Rutgers Dance Team (@RUdanceteam) July 1, 2014

Officially B1G!
— RutgersWomensRowing (@RutgersWRowing) July 1, 2014

OFFICIAL! #RFootball & #TheBirthplaceOfCollegeFootball are the 14th member of the prestigious @bigtenconf! #Chop pic.twitter.com/XZ54snaQm2
— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) July 1, 2014

Big Ten Might Keep New Schools Maryland And Rutgers Off BTN

[HT: John Ourand, Sports Business Daily ]

One thing you must understand about conference realignment in college athletics is that it’s all about the size of the TV market and how many new cable subscribers will buy in.

When the Big Ten invited Maryland and Rutgers to join the conference it was strictly because they could deliver large TV markets and a few million more subscribers to the Big Ten Network.

There’s a catch.

The Big Ten conference does not guarantee that their games will be on the Big Ten Network.  What that means is Maryland and Rutgers may not have their games on BTN unless they play by the “rules.”

The Big Ten Network has a plan to they would like to use to strong arm cable companies.  Either place BTN on their basic service or the newbies’ games will never been seen on the network.

The dominant cable company in the New York/New Jersey area is Comcast and Cablevision.  Comcast is the dominant cable company in Maryland.  Both have placed BTN on their sports tiers which is optional and costs only .15 per subscriber since they are currently outside the market. 

The Big Ten potentially could earn many more millions should BTN go into basic cable.

When Nebraska joined the Big Ten Time Warner Cable and Charter cut deals with BTN so the network didn’t have to strong arm the good folks who live and die by the Cornhuskers.

The Big Ten is open to cut new deals with Comcast and Cablevision while their current carriage deals exist but Comcast and Cablevision might not be as accommodating.

Maryland and Rutgers might be located in large populations with cable boxes but that doesn’t mean an instant demand to watch their Terrapins or Scarlet Knights.

If the Big Ten doesn’t get what they want, new basic subscribers, then Maryland and Rutgers will be in the conference but not seen.

DEVELOPING: Maryland To Big Ten/12

As we head to 14...

Rutgers, you're now on the clock...

According to the Diamondback newspaper on campus in College Park through their Twitter...

University to announce it's joining the Big Ten at press conference this afternoon, conference VP of communications says

The Big Ten Network is saying they will broadcast the presser starting at 2:30...

Maryland's pending move to the Big Ten would end their first-man-in affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference- which was formed in 1953.

Rutgers is holding their normal Board of Regents meeting this afternoon...

The larger stumbling block for Maryland is the $50-million exit fee, which all surrounding the A-Cee-Cee situation say can either be lessened or eliminated through legal action. Maryland and Florida State voted against the increase from $20-million to $50-million...

Now, we know why...

The school is at a financial crossroads having cut seven sports and operating at a deficit. The difference in school's rights fees, currently, is close to $8-million per school. The Big Ten's first-tier contracts are up for renewal in 2017.

More when we know more...

1700 UPDATE: we know more...

Here's BTN's Dave Revsine catching up with B1G Commissioner Jim Delany...

Get Your Gus Johnson Fix Here

((btn.com))

Because the Madness is upon us.

Sadly, we will be deprived of our Gus Johnson fix this year during the NCAA tournament.

So with that in mind, our Gus was in rare form last night during the Ohio State/Northwestern game on the Big 10 Network.

Watch and listen...you know you love it:



And the end of the game as Northwestern tries to sink a buzzer beater: