Column: Big Ten should not have accepted Maryland, Rutgers

There was once a time when college sports were about the student athletes, and recruiting was a simpler process.

Conferences were formed based on geography and rivalries.

That’s no longer the case.

The addition of Maryland and Rutgers last week to the Big Ten helped fuel this epidemic that has plagued college athletics for the last couple years.

Geography and the sanctity of tradition no longer run universities. Instead, money and television contracts have become the way of the world.

Think about the way conference realignment has played out.

Some of the moves make sense, such as Nebraska to the Big Ten and Missouri to the SEC.

But with Boise State and San Diego State joining the Big East, you have to see that money runs the game.

The Big Ten is a strong conference, and it would make sense that Maryland and Rutgers want to be part of it.

And it’s somewhat obvious why the Big Ten wants them, too.

The Big Ten Network is a national channel primarily owned by Fox, giving them the most exposure year-round with all sports.

Bringing two East Coast schools into the conference naturally should expand the brand, and the Big Ten Network is expected to pander to mid-Atlantic viewers now.

Now that the 14-team conference is still referred to as the Big Ten, it is geographically
stretching, and profits will continue to rise.

But not for the universities’ academic programs, who could use the money to make improvements to the institutions and the overall quality for their students and student athletes.

Instead, the money goes straight to the athletic departments.

In fact, the athletic departments are the only ones benefitting.

Most student athletes will graduate and continue their careers in a different field.

Imagine a tennis player at Boise State who has to use time for travel so he can go head-to-head in a match against another tennis player that goes to South Florida in Tampa, Fla.

His time to study shrinks because of this, and it could surely result in a substantial drop-off in student athletes earning degrees.

Additionally, coaches will have a tougher time recruiting.

It used to be the case that a state like New Jersey would have a lot of Big East teams.
Now that the most major New Jersey school has moved to the Big Ten, this has potentially erased that pipeline for Big East schools.

The fans will also suffer.

Going to road games has been much easier in the past because conference rivals
have been so close geographically.

What happens now when fans in Syracuse, N.Y., want to see their team play on the road but can’t make the trip to Florida State because it’s too far away?

On top of that, fans are the ones that pay for the TV networks, which essentially fund the University presidents and athletic department heads.

Those are the only people benefitting from this.

The NCAA chooses not to step in, giving the university presidents the opportunity to do anything they want in terms of conference affiliation.

They don’t care about the well-being of the people this directly affects fans, coaches and student athletes.

As long as their pockets are a little bit fatter, they believe they’ve done the right thing.
Purity is now gone in college sports.

­— zstavis@indiana.edu