August 31, 2011 at 3:59 pm · Filed under Big Ten, Nitt Links
Article from NittanyWhiteOut - Penn State Nittany Lions Blog. Read more here
Stagg-Paterno Trophy on the left, Rose Bowl trophy on the right
And there you have it, the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy made it’s first public appearance today during the initial kickoff of the B1G Mobile Tour at the Big Ten offices in Park Ridge, Illinois.
Consider me a minimalist, but I’m a fan. The trophy, to be presented to the winner of the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game is essentially a modified replica of its Rose Bowl brethren. Dull. Unimaginative. Threadbare.
But who said football trophies should be creative anyways? The opportunity for creativity when it comes to combining a silver football with the corresponding platform it rests on is minimal at best. And we’ve all seen what can happen when you start designing ‘creative‘ football trophies.
Ugh. Throw a camel and some sheep in there and I think someone in Iowa is missing their nativity scene.
Frankly, we should all consider ourselves lucky that the Big Ten went with a simplistic, yet elegant version of a time-tested institution in light of the monstrosity the Iowa Corn Growers Association rolled out for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. An eyesore that lasted a little less than four days before cooler heads prevailed and the trophy tossed.
At the very least, the dull design of the Championship trophy should avoid ruffling any feathers. And at best, the design will serve as an fitting reflection of the conservative conference it represents.
Penn State fans will get a chance to to have their picture taken with the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy when Nebraska makes it’s Happy Valley debut as a conference foe on November 12th.
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July 20, 2011 at 10:45 am · Filed under Big Ten, Headline, Nitt Links
Article from NittanyWhiteOut - Penn State Nittany Lions Blog. Read more here
The Penn State athletic department will be collecting a slightly bigger check from the conference this year.
Stu Durando of St Louis Today is reporting that Illinois and fellow B1G schools will receive its largest payout from the conference to date.
The conference will pay Illinois a record $22.6 million, with $7.9 million coming from the network, according to figures provided by the university.
And because of the Big Ten’s balanced revenue-sharing system the St Louis Today numbers can be applied to every other conference member with the exception of Nebraska who won’t earn a full share until 2017.
So thanks to the continued success of the Big Ten Network, Penn State and its fellow conference brethren will reportedly be receiving close to $22.6 million this year from the Big Ten. A truly staggering sum that dwarfs the $18.3 million SEC schools will reportedly earn and the $12 million Big 12 members will receive on average (Big 12 does not share revenue equally among its members) this fiscal year.
And to think fans were somewhat worried that the Big Ten would fall back into the pack in terms of revenue when TV agreements were first renegotiated by the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC this offseason.
Apparently, the BTN is emerging to be a far more formidable cash cow than most have expected. Stu Durando’s breakdown of Illinois’ conference payout should provide Big Ten fans with even more reasons for optimism.
The breakdown of the Big Ten’s payment to Illinois includes $16.6 million from television, of which $8.2 million comes from ESPN and ABC.
The BTN, just 4 years running, has pretty much already closed the gap with the more established networks in its ability to fill our coffers. Of the $22.6 million Penn State is set to receive, $7.9 million will come from the BTN. That’s just $300,000 less than the $8.2 million each B1G members is currently receiving from the ESPN and ABC.
Just 4 years in, the BTN is almost generating as much revenue for the conference as ESPN and ABC. Now imagine the revenue stream should the Big Ten Network continues to grow as analysts expect.
The Big Ten Network continued to see its revenue grow in 2010. It generated $227 million as advertising revenue jumped 22 percent over 2009 based on statistics from industry analyst Derek Baine of SNL Kagan.
Estimates by SNL Kagan suggest the network will continue to be a boon for the Big Ten. By 2015, the BTN is projected to generate $333 million.
As it stands now, the BTN generates $7.9 million for its member schools, a whopping 21 percent increase from last year’s $6.5 million share. This year’s $22.6 million payout is also more than a $2 million increase from the $20 million each members received last fiscal year and the $19 million payout earned in the 2008-09 fiscal year.
And to think the Big Ten gets to renegotiate it’s television contract with ABC/ESPN, one that is set to expire in 2016, pretty soon. In light of recent TV agreements signed with the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC, that number could very well be astronomical.
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July 8, 2011 at 4:40 pm · Filed under Headline, Nitt Links
Article from NittanyWhiteOut - Penn State Nittany Lions Blog. Read more here
A little over six months since Terrelle Pryor and 4 other Buckeye players were officially accused of selling memorabilia for improper benefits, Ohio State has finally prepared a response to the NCAA.
Photo Credit: Jeff Hickley / DISPATCH
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting Ohio State will vacate wins from the 2010 season and place the program on probation for two years as part of self-imposed punishment in their response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations. An obvious step in the right direction considering the season-long coverup involving Jim Tressel withholding knowledge of rule violations despite receiving word of the scandal as early as April of last year. By withholding knowledge of the scandal and the involvement of his players, 4 of them starters, Jim Tressel knowingly played the Tatt Five for the entire 2010 season when their eligibility should have been in question. So for Ohio State to vacate the 2010 Big Ten title season, as well as the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas should be considered a no-brainer, it was the very least they could have done, the NCAA would have automatically imposed that penalty.
Interestingly, the Buckeyes’ self-immolation does not include scholarship reductions or a post-season ban. A bold move considering how Ohio State managed to somehow convince the NCAA to postpone the suspensions of Tatt Five and keep all 5 offending players eligible for the Sugar Bowl when the case was first brought to light last December. A questionable decision that only further embarrassed the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff when details surfaced after the Sugar Bowl of Jim Tressel’s involvement and subsequent coverup of the case as early as last April.
Even vacating the Sugar Bowl is nothing more than an illusion of
