In a Jan. 29 New York Times article, reporter Jere Longman said that the Big Ten was thinking about expanding its conference to allow another team to join.
The rationale for doing so, Longman said, is simple — adding another team would likely allow the conference to have a football championship game. This would add revenue to both the conference and the individual teams that play in the championship game.
NCAA football is first and foremost about big business. This year, the Bowl Championship Series paid conferences $17 million for each team they had represented in a BCS game.
Every conference divides the money amongst all of its schools, meaning that each school in the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten (both conferences had two schools in BCS games) that didn’t play in a BCS game received part of a $34 million payday to sit at home and watch.
That kind of money can provide a lot of help for any school.
As a member of Conference USA, the best bowl game UH can attend in any year is usually the Liberty Bowl, assuming the Cougars win the conference championship. The Liberty Bowl paid each participant a total of $1.35 million this year — nowhere near what Indiana University was paid to go 4-8 and miss a bowl game completely.
The decision to add another team to the Big Ten could drastically improve UH’s fortunes. While the Cougars would probably not be asked to join the Big Ten, the University of Missouri seems to be a candidate if it wants to leave the Big 12.
If this were to happen, UH might have a real shot at joining the Big 12.
Some people may remember that at one time UH was a contender to join the Big 12, but the theory is that politics shut that door. However, this possible opportunity for the Cougars has dollar signs written all over it.
By leaving C-USA, the Cougars would have a multitude of opportunities presented to them.
If UH were able to win the Big 12, then the team would be eligible to play in a BCS game. Not having a shot to automatically qualify for a BCS game doesn’t just affect how much money the team receives, but also the quality of athletes it can recruit. But more importantly, UH would be able to raise more funds to aid it in its quest to be a premier program.
So far, the University is doing all the right things.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin was signed to a long-term contract in January, and athletic director Mark Rhoades is working on a plan to upgrade the football stadium.
Hopefully, with all the steps that the administration is taking, UH won’t be left out in the cold this time.
Harold Arnold is a business senior and may be reached at [email protected]
