Michigan Football Has To Leave The Conference
First, a disclaimer: I am about 97% sure Michigan will not leave the Big Ten. But they should.
Here's why -- feel free to add yours!
- The money factor can be mitigated. Especially as an independent, Michigan will be in a position to dictate terms of its own TV deal. Yes, leaving the Big Ten will mean leaving their sweet TV contract, but they can make their own. If they join a conference, like the ACC which has been suggested, they should be able to negotiate favorable terms upon entrance.
- The expanded playoff helps keep Michigan relevant for the post-season. If Michigan goes to the ACC, that's still a "power X" conference. If there are super-conferences down the road, Michigan will be coveted. If they go independent, the NCAA will not be able to exclude them without affecting ND, which they won't do.
- There are no academic issues for which Michigan needs the Big Ten (research, etc.). The conference needs Michigan much more than Michigan needs them.
- Any desired rivalries can be maintained in some form. This is much easier if Michigan goes independent, but even if Michigan joins the ACC, there is room in the non-con schedule for certain games.
- After what OSU has done here, "The Game" is rapidly losing luster and desirability for me. Even during the awful stretch where we lost so often, at least we were getting beaten on the field. But this? These actions by OSU are heinous enough where they've become MSU to me -- I don't give a shit if we ever play them again.
- After what the NCAA and the conference "leadership" and the conference members have done and how they've acted, principle dictates, almost demands, that Michigan strike back with the most crippling power it has -- taking its prestige and power somewhere that it will be respected . Stretchgate was the tip of the iceberg. The 2016 officiating situation in The Game was a clear shot at the program and Harbaugh. Now this. Accepting rumor and shady PI findings as "evidence". The mob justice conference call excluding Michigan. The meeting to decide the extreme 3-game suspension without investigation or due process. The legal wrangling blocking any recourse Michigan would have. And the timing of all of it planned and executed to inflict maximum chaos, disorder, and hardship on the team. It's horseshit, all of it, and there's no reason for us to stay.
- If we were to stay, something else will be fabricated and come down on us. It's not like staying the course is going to make everything better. So, it's time to go.
The NCAA and the Big Ten hate Harbaugh and Michigan, that has been made VERY clear. To paraphrase the fantastic comment by Bluesince96, would you recommend someone stay with an abusive spouse if they had money? Of course not, and we shouldn't either.
Thanks for reading -- sorry about the length.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
HChiti76,
I appreciate the reasoned take. I hemmed and hawed about posting this, but I decided to put it up as a place to centralize the "should we leave?" discussion. Yes, it's been alluded to in many, many threads, but with over a hundred responses here, making a dedicated thread seems to have worked. I know people are ticked off about all the topics, but it made sense to me to make a central one on this -- after all the chatter, this is one of the biggest questions left.
November 13th, 2023 at 2:08 PM ^
Albany Blue, it appears you were right and I was wrong. Not the first time, nor will it be the last. Carry on, my friend.
November 13th, 2023 at 2:51 AM ^
Great idea. We should see if the NFL will take us if the ACC won't.
November 13th, 2023 at 3:02 AM ^
You seem fixated on the almost imploded this off-season ACC. The more “likely” outcome would be the SEC for stability and future super conference reasons. “Likely” still being a very small chance.
The only way Michigan would leave is if they did something crazy like start a mega-conference…it’s not happening. The far more likely outcome is Michigan stays and plays nice until Tony really needs their vote on something and Ono just leaves the guy on hold.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
What would be an example of Petitti needing U-M's vote on something?
Advocating for laying down and taking this type of treatment...I'm not sure about it.
November 13th, 2023 at 5:20 AM ^
Doug Skene said it well, the relationship with the R1G* has been damaged for years to come. While an outright divorce may not be practical at the moment, perhaps some form of initial separation, like the arrangement ND has with the ACC (but with the R1G) is the first step. Michigan is now just an adversarial party in a contract. Contracts can be amended or allowed to lapse.
There is more money to be had in a super league, not just for Michigan, but for other schools with top-tier fanbases. Start probing for ways to get there, separate from the R1G's leeching tentacles and archaic rules. With the 12 playoff spots, Michigan could schedule more non-R1G powerhouses with the four games freed up in an ND-like arrangement.
*I think this is an exception to the rule; concise, apt, and purposeful. And I'm angry. A stupid nickname for a stupid organization.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
Rig, like the game is rigged against you (I think).
November 13th, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
The B1G is rigging the playing field in favor of other members at the behest of OSU.
November 13th, 2023 at 5:25 AM ^
Not being from big ten footprint personally, I'd love to see Michigan be independent. I have no faith the powers that be will actually do it though.
November 13th, 2023 at 5:31 AM ^
The only way this could happen would be if Michigan and Notre Dame (I know, I know) link up with Florida St and Clemson and they go to the ACC and say “we can save this conference and provide stability, but we want revenue sharing proportionate to what we bring to the conference.” As an extra layer, perhaps that also gets the ear of USC and UCLA who have no loyalty to the Big Ten and they could link up also with Cal and Stanford to form a bigger west coast presence in the conference.
For the meantime, I am looking forward to the team walking off the field after a 6 possession victory in Indy over Iowa and leaving Pettiti alone at the podium with the whole stadium booing him.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:51 AM ^
I like this idea because it considers ND. We still need to fixate on what a super conference looks like in the future.
Let's take our punishment and stay we the BIG, but leave when it makes more sense to.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:25 AM ^
FSU has made a lot of progress on the academic side.
November 13th, 2023 at 5:40 AM ^
I'm on board. TIME TO GET OUT!!!
November 13th, 2023 at 5:59 AM ^
New Athletic Conference
Michigan
Notre Dame
North Carolina
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Duke
NC State
Washington
Oregon
Wazzu
Oregon St
Oklahoma State
Stanford
Negbang the fuck out of me.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:17 AM ^
Too many have nots in your NAC.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:22 AM ^
Every conference needs some have nots if you ask me.
November 13th, 2023 at 7:34 AM ^
Michigan, Notre Dame, Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Florida State, Clemson, Texas, Oklahoma, UNC, Duke, UVA, GaTech, Stanford, Cal
The Big Ten would replace its missing 5 with: Northern Illinois, Youngstown State, Liberty, Appalachian State, and Slippery Rock
November 13th, 2023 at 8:26 AM ^
Thought we liked Slippery Rock
November 13th, 2023 at 9:05 AM ^
Stepping stone. They gotta start somewhere.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
Slippery Rock deserves better.
November 13th, 2023 at 7:41 AM ^
Oregon wash okla st are taken but I like the rest...ACC seems fun to me w new rivalries..Indy nw Purdue MSU Rutgers wiscy Iowa are so boring.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
We steal them because we can. lol
November 13th, 2023 at 6:06 AM ^
We need to amplify Harbaugh's position that the NCAA makes billions in revenue so it share it with the players who bring in that revenue as many come from poverty and will never turn pro.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:47 PM ^
I can see Coach stepping up and amplifying his thoughts, statements and feelings towards the players as a position of strength that should get player backing. I can see Michigan players like Blake taking the lead with this supporting Coaches stance. Americas team takes the lead in supporting the players beyond what anyone else will do. Michigan can do this strongly as the whole thing plays out even remaining in the B1G as they do so. Think about it, Coach starts it, Ono and the Regents take it on both in the court of public opinion and the judicial courts. All those M lawyers and profs and AGs and judges get on the band wagon and the push becomes harder and harder. OSU and the B1G have woken up the Kraken and he’s angry.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:09 AM ^
Or… to crush your enemies, have them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.
Or… in this case, their little bitch, Tiny Tony. Smaller by the game.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:25 AM ^
The ncaa said OSU had nothing at all to do with this investigation. But if it makes you feel better. You should direct your anger @ Stallions and whoever else knew what he was doing. And at Harbaugh for not doing his due diligence and hiring a guy with a 600 page manifesto.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:40 AM ^
Huh? NCAA does not have any info to suggest OSU has done anything. It does not mean it has not happened.
Yeah. Harbaugh should personally search every employee's house before he hires. Let us blame the victim here Whatever CS has done, which has not been proven if it is meeting the bylaws by the way, B1G teams ganging together and B1G commissioner punishing Harbaugh in an indirect way without due process is asinine. You cannot just blame the guy who started this, but blame the people who used it to show how biased they are.
November 13th, 2023 at 7:48 AM ^
This isn't about advance scouting or sign stealing. It's about the rest of the big ten (and it remains to be seen the NCAA) seizing the smallest opportunity to take down Jim Harbaugh.
I'd be curious to find out someday why CS set up this network of external helpers. I would not be surprised to find out that there is a network of staffers from other schools that share notes on other teams' signs but left Michigan out of the loop. CS probably knew this and felt he was at a competitive disadvantage so he took it upon himself to do something about it. I'm sure the big doesn't see any issue with the other schools' collusion though because it's against Michigan.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:40 AM ^
The NCAA said "no known" connections to Ohio State. Not saying they are, but the phrasing says from what they've seen thus far, OSU is not connected.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:45 AM ^
Beat it Beatit!
November 13th, 2023 at 7:14 AM ^
There's at least one thing I like about the MGoBlog site: Having the ability to review posting histories. Here's one:
Very articulate! About what I'd expect from a certain type of OSU fan.
- - -
OP, I'm not sure about this:
Even during the awful stretch where we lost so often, at least we were getting beaten on the field.
I think it's highly likely that OSU was beating (or, rather, cheating) us off the field during the Meyer years. I'd "bet" that their players got way more money under the table than ours.
November 13th, 2023 at 7:53 AM ^
I'm not going to neg you for this, but I've thought from the start that Harbaugh probably hired Stalions BECAUSE he had a 600 page manifesto, had been hanging around the program unpaid for years, and was obsessed with football. Harbaugh himself is also obsessed with football, insanely competitive, and probably saw some of himself in Stalions. What's the harm (he thought) in hiring a guy for 55 K who will work 100+ hours a week and actually maybe add some value on gameday? I'm sure Stalions went through NCAA compliance training like any new hire, but chose to break/bend/interpret in the most favorable way some rules in spite of that.
I'm not mad at him, Harbaugh, or anyone on our side. It's clearly time to pick sides, and I've picked mine. Pettiti should have quashed this when it was brought to him, OSU should have shut up and worked harder on the field-and invested in wristbands-and the other schools should have, at most, had a quiet word with Warde or Jim and told them to knock it off.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:36 AM ^
This is not correct. Per Thamel:
[T]here are no known connections between Ohio State head coach Ryan Day or his family and the conference's investigation into Michigan.
What is left unsaid here?
- What does known connections mean? What has been done to investigate this link?
- Are there connections between Ohio State and the private investigator that do not involve Ryan Day?
- Is it plausible that Ohio State is not involved if insiders knew about this weeks ahead of the NCAA?
Thamel's article is bad because, like everything else he has written, he simply reports whatever he is leaked from OSU/NCAA without any further engagement. What he is doing is closer to PR than journalism.
November 14th, 2023 at 9:40 AM ^
Thanks for slithering here to demonstrate both the insecurity and lack of character of your fan base.
Will the “firms” ties to Cryan’s family matter after he loses 3 straight. No. But it will be fun to expose “the institution” for not vetting their hires. You know in the spirit of NCAA competive fairness.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:30 AM ^
They’re mad because Harbaugh wants to share their money with the players.
ACC has a better recruiting footprint anyways especially now with some California teams.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:31 AM ^
We should go Independent with the long-term plan of a creating a new Conference.
A-list: Michigan, FSU, Miami, ND, UVA, UNC, Duke, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska,
B-list: BC, Pitt, Syracuse, Stanford, Cal, BYU
Probably no more than 12 members total.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:38 AM ^
To me, Minnesota and Nebraska seem out of place on that list. Replace them with Stanford and Cal and add Arizona and ASU. Sets up nicely then for east/west divisions. With a few interesting cross over games which cuts down on cross country travel ( more important for bball and non-revenue sports than football)
November 13th, 2023 at 6:31 AM ^
If ... massive if ... Michigan were to leave the Big Ten, I would say take at least two years off from OSU. They started this whole thing up with the PI scandal. Give a cool off period. Then consider renewing the game.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:42 AM ^
+1 for formatting.
Would be annoying if the BIG invited ND and they joined.
Would the BIG treat OSU in this manner?
November 13th, 2023 at 7:41 AM ^
I don't see ND signing up for a conference where the standing rule is "beat Ohio twice in a row and have a private investigation launched against you." That's why Michigan proving that Ohio State in some way sponsored the investigation is so critical. At that point, would Penn State sign up to be the "beat Ohio, get investigated" team? Or do they leave the Big10 too?
November 13th, 2023 at 8:11 AM ^
Yep. They need to be exposed for who they are. Whiny ass little brother who will can't take a beating on the field. ND might join but exposing OSU will definitely create a pause for them. PAC-12 teams, especially USC, watch out
November 13th, 2023 at 6:57 AM ^
There is a deep hatred for Michigan by some certain schools in the big10 that goes far beyond a competitive rivalry. Michigan has been a bug up their ass since the Schembechler days and maybe before. Call it envy or jealousy, I really don't know. It's definitely not a "friendly" rivalry.
Many feel like Michigan deserves to be treated harshly because they broke the rules but yet the rules do not apply when the question of due process is brought up. The rush to judgement and calls for tthe maximum penalty echoes throughout the media.
Michigan has done well for the big10 and the big10 has benefited greatly from Michigan's contribution both in athletics and academics. It is obvious now that the big10 has no respect or appreciation for the University of Michigan. Michigan deserves better.
Time for us to leave.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
IMHO, the MSU relationship is particularly toxic. Twisting Denards neck, hitting players with helmets, spearing someone lying face down well away from the play. All of these were in no way football plays and could have resulted in serious injury. And, I don't expect that behavior to stop.
Pettiti so worried about player safety if another team knows their signals. (only in the case for M - everyone else knowing signals apparently doesn't pose the same threat). The same guy/ league only suspends a guy for 1/2 a game for a vicious attack on a defenseless player not in any way related to making a valid football play.
November 13th, 2023 at 12:16 PM ^
ENVY IS A DEADLY SIN.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:57 AM ^
Every time I see a post like this (and maybe it’s time to give these posts a rest), “revenge” against the b10 seems to be the priority. I realize this is cathartic, but it’s not very thoughtful. Going to the ACC, a conference from which big market teams are desperately trying to bail, makes 0 sense, and the b10 likely gets the last laugh in the end as Michigan comes back a few years later hat in hand. Think about that.
If UM leaves B10, It’s either a highly risky ND route or the SEC.
“If we were to stay, something else will be fabricated and come down on us.”
This wasn’t fabricated, so theres no reason to believe the b10 will just make things up. Michigan can be infuriated by media coverage (which caused additional pressure), by lack of due process, by pettiness of timing, by targeting specifically of Harbaugh, and by the encouragement of that by rivals, but it doesn’t appear anything was fabricated her. as far as ultimate punishment outcome goes, Harbaugh was in the mix for another suspension from the NCAA in the next year or two for this because of the head coach rule anyway.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:00 AM ^
I dunno. Buy low and sell high isn't a bad way to look at it. Michigan would have a lot of leverage in negotiations with the acc.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:20 AM ^
Hiring PI firm is not normal.
Punishing a school without due process is not normal.
Falling on the sword seems like the Go To model for UM, but I am glad it is not this time.
Unfair punishments, when NCAA has let other teams get away with worst discretions, is not fair.
It is about fairness. Not whether it was fabricated. Punishment is OK as long as due process is done and it is level with other situations.