Rivalries & tradition
12 entries tagged Rivalries & tradition, newest first. Open in the filterable browser.
“Having more teams in a tournament to determine a champion is not going to make it worse.”
At Big Ten media days, Riley said Big Ten coaches were unanimous in favor of a 24-team CFP. He argued expansion would bring back better nonconference games and preserve intersectional rivalries like USC-Notre Dame.
“I have conversations all the time with (Kirk) Herbstreit and we're of the opinion that the national championship game should be played here every year, no matter what.”
Proposed holding the CFP national championship at the Rose Bowl every year, and said Herbstreit agrees.
“We want to play Big Ten schools.”
Leaving the SEC spring meetings, Kelly said SEC coaches want nine conference games plus an annual regular-season crossover with the Big Ten, noting the Big Ten had won the last two national titles.
“There are three ways we can go — stay out of it, facilitate more of it or create a mandate.”
On SEC-Big Ten scheduling, Sankey laid out three options: stay out of it, facilitate more games, or mandate them. He called a mandate incredibly difficult.
“This has resulted in the loss of traditional rivalries and has ballooned travel expenses and time away from the classroom, especially for the non-revenue sports.”
Argued that conferences competing for media deals led to coast-to-coast leagues, lost rivalries and heavy travel; pooled media rights could reset conferences along geographic lines.
“In my life, I've never voted or signed a contract where I don't know the financial terms of that contract.”
On The Dave Pasch Podcast, Kliavkoff said the Pac-12 supported 8- and 12-team formats. He voted no only because the proposal ran past 2025 without any agreement on revenue split, and because he wanted protection for the Rose Bowl's traditional window.
“I'm very foolish. I assumed -- and it was a rash assumption on my part -- that our friends over in the state capital would want to continue playing us. It turns out they didn't think we were as much of a rival as we thought of them.”
Called A&M's SEC move 'brilliant' for stability but said he wrongly assumed Texas would keep playing the rivalry game.
“It's a big part of the Big Ten culture and the Big Ten brand.”
During the 2012 playoff talks, Delany first lobbied to host semifinals on the higher seed's campus to protect the Rose Bowl. He later said that if a playoff was inevitable, the 'best four teams' should be picked by a committee.
“As long as I can go to the Rose Bowl, I don't really care.”
Delany opposed a four-team 'plus-one' playoff, calling it a slippery slope toward 8 or 16 teams and saying the only strong argument for it is financial. He said he was fine with dropping automatic BCS bids as long as the Big Ten kept the Rose Bowl.
“Clearly, this can be accomplished if all involved are willing to put their egos aside.”
In a letter to UT and A&M leaders, urged keeping the rivalry as a nonconference game, citing South Carolina–Clemson and the old Texas–Oklahoma series.
“These kids and I aren't involved with that. And the coaches. That's bigger than us. That's about administrators and that's about fans.”
Before what was then the last Texas–Texas A&M game, said realignment decisions were made by administrators and fans, not players and coaches.
“I hate to see the end of anything that has such rich history and tradition come to an end”
Lamented the end of the Texas–Texas A&M Thanksgiving rivalry due to the SEC move.
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