When I published my last post, I received an e-mail from a Domer that will remain nameless, stating that the average Domer Fan’s expectations this year for Hoops was quite high. In fact, it was a Domer inner circle feeling of, “Final 4 or Bust” mentality for most of the fans that follow Domer Hoops.
And this particular Domer stated he liked the direction of Michigan’s Basketball program a whole lot more than the Domers, even though the Domer's was a successful season, albeit in the B-East. Which got me to thinking: Where would this year’s Domer team have finished in the Big 10 and would it have made the tournament (assuming a lower seed)? And would they have been more battle tested against better teams from the Big 10?
More importantly, the Big 10’s share of Basketball revenue (figuring in the Big 10 Network and NCAA split) is way higher per team than what the Domer’s get from the Big East and the NCAA.
Also, in case you haven’t heard, the Big 10 will be forming its own Hockey conference of 6 teams in the 2013-2014 season after Penn State drops the first puck in 2012. Why is that a big deal? If you’re a casual hockey fan, it doesn’t really mean much to Michigan, OSU or Michigan State, other than they leave the CCHA (that has managed to endure through thick and thin). Those three will start having to play Wisconsin and Minnesota who, believe or not, are HUGE Hockey powers in the WCHA, which will also get weaker as a result of this “New Conference” in College Hockey. Everyone is guessing that the remaining powers in the CCHA (Miami, Domers, Bowling Green) will jump either out east or to the WCHA and the CCHA will die an ugly and brutal death. But that remains to be seen. Why is this important? Domer Hockey will need a home and the WCHA would require a lot of travel time and more importantly, cost. Where as Big 10 Hockey would have been pretty much the same road trips that the Domers take today – with ultimately HIGHER revenue than they will ever see in a diminished WCHA.
So, the question of the day is:
How bad has the Domer decision making team screwed up the rest of Domer athletics with respect to competition and championships and athletic revenue for the sake of its football team independence???
Yes, everyone at this point knows that the Domers could have easily been the 12th team in the Big 10. And that would have brought Basketball and Hockey and actually freed the B-East of a team that would not participate at the football level and allow them to court someone that truly brings something to the table with respect to revenue. Moving Villanova up to FBS level is just dumb for Villanova, and they know it, which is why they are dragging their feet.
And the Domers would have enjoyed a revenue split of equal value from the BTN, but chose to ignore that for the simple fact that they believe they can continue to leverage their football product into higher and higher returns from NBC.
Problem is, even if they can leverage that one product at NBC into a lucrative contract that creates a surplus for all athletics, there’s still the small problem that all the athletic teams are playing in lesser conferences with fewer opportunities for National Titles.
Or worse, they are playing as independents on the outside looking in with other conferences sitting with AQ status (in Football).
And mark my words, the day will come when the Domers are sitting on an undefeated season and the Big 10 and SEC champs are sitting with ether a no loss or 1 loss record after having won their Conference Championship (which, by the way, also gets some additional revenue). And the Domers will be left out in the cold because they didn’t “Earn their way in” to the Championship. There will be protests and howls then, but the record will state very clearly that the Domers could have been in a conference and it would have been different.
On a side note (But could have been it’s own Blog entry – and probably will if this Domer somehow ends up on the field against Michigan in September):
Michael Floyd, Team Captain and returning Senior, has been “indefinitely” suspended from the Football Team resulting from a DUI. If you haven’t seen the story, here’s a link.
Why do I think Kelly has to boot him? Well, maybe he doesn't...but Notre Dame does. Res Life has to, at least, according to every precedent that’s been established:
Notre Dame's Office of ResLife has a history of coming down hard on students in these situations. The student handbook says that if a student has a DUI and has at least one prior alcohol violation, that student must be separated from the university for at least one semester. It also mandates that the student submit to an alcohol assessment.
Floyd has two previous underage drinking citations from his time at home in Minnesota.
Better yet, go over to NDNation and go to Rock’s House. The Green(Blue?) and Gold are shitting bricks at the thought of losing Floyd. Everyone is defending him and stating that the University can’t kick him out…But apparently, the University does in fact kick you out for repeated violations. And the fact that Michael was already on probation probably doesn’t bode well for him or the Football team…
Hee-hee…First St. Tressel and now the Domers have made my Month. And to think I never used to really like March all that much…
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