ADVERTISEMENT

Big 10 Coaches vote for 20 game League Schedule for 2018/19

BigEastPhil

Heisman Winner
Gold Member
Nov 25, 2007
13,101
11,168
113
Per Jon Rothstein, Big 10 Coaches voted in favor of a 20 game league schedule commencing in 2018/19.

Good sign as I believe the AD's need to make it official - however I'm sure many AD's won't vote against what their coaches want.

I'm all for it baby!!
 
Won't this hurt teams records rather then helping them? That's a couple of more guaranteed losses to your conference teams that might knock a team or two out of the Big Dance when March rolls around. Or maybe I'm thinking about this backwards.
 
More in conference the better.

Hopefully the B1G does this for Football too.
 
This decision hurts teams in rebuilding mode because wins will be far more difficult to achieve.Its not by accident that Rutgers has a very easy out of conference schedule this season.Lets not forget that 20 wins has become a unofficial goal for NCAA consideration and in some cases the NIT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RUonBrain
This decision hurts teams in rebuilding mode because wins will be far more difficult to achieve.Its not by accident that Rutgers has a very easy out of conference schedule this season.Lets not forget that 20 wins has become a unofficial goal for NCAA consideration and in some cases the NIT.

I'm for it however, I think we have the staff that will schedule OOC games that will help us into the conference schedule. I.E. a few cupcakes early on and then tougher opponents as we get closer to the conference. Most importantly, after next year, we start reloading not rebuilding.
 
The kids want to play I am sure.

I am for it. Another chance for them to show case their skills.

Sure, Big ten makes more money, but it's not like the kids will be complaining.
 
This should bring more money to all of the BIG teams but I really don't like it too much myself. It will improve our strength of schedule but it should be about Top 50 by the end of this season anyway. I would like us to play 13 OOC games but to just improve that a little bit over the next two years or so. Playing so many really really tough games every year will possibly beat the team down more by the end of a season. Our league just might be the most physical league in the country. I would like to see us play about 3 other NJ teams each season in the OOC plus a good OOC tournament and SHU. That would already make about 8 OOC games plus a Gavitt game and an ACC-BIG game would bring us to 10. We would only have 1 other possible OOC game. A schedule like that would most likely put us into the top 10 toughest in the entire country.
 
Love it. Def will attract more players. We will be fine by 18/19 or 19/20 based on the incoming talent and prospective talent.

Id rather get more opportunties to see us VS a big dog than watch us pad our schedule with CCSU and such.
 
I'll go on the record as disliking it. It's going to give coaches even less of a reason to schedule good OOC games.
I agree and I hope we take the lead with that. I don't want to see us playing a killer OOC and if everyone else in other conferences gets their cupcakes, I want mine too
 
In essence you are trading two of Stony Brook/Hartford/Cleveland State/East Carolina type games for two more Big Ten games. What's not to like?

A typical schedule would then be (using this years schedule as an example):

ACC-Big Ten Challenge Game
SHU
9 OOC "soft" (likely) home games (i.e CCNY, CCSU, Coppin State, Bryant, East Carolina, NJIT, FDU, Fordham, Stony Brook)
20 Big Ten games (10 home, 10 away)
Big Ten Tournament

With 20 Big Ten games + the Big Ten tournament +SHU + ACC/B1G challenge you are almost assuredly in the Top 25-30 in terms of SOS no matter how you schedule those "softer" games.

That likely means if you go 10-10 in league (or maybe even 9-11) with that type of SOS you dance.
 
In essence you are trading two of Stony Brook/Hartford/Cleveland State/East Carolina type games for two more Big Ten games. What's not to like?

A typical schedule would then be (using this years schedule as an example):

ACC-Big Ten Challenge Game
SHU
9 OOC "soft" (likely) home games (i.e CCNY, CCSU, Coppin State, Bryant, East Carolina, NJIT, FDU, Fordham, Stony Brook)
20 Big Ten games (10 home, 10 away)
Big Ten Tournament

With 20 Big Ten games + the Big Ten tournament +SHU + ACC/B1G challenge you are almost assuredly in the Top 25-30 in terms of SOS no matter how you schedule those "softer" games.

That likely means if you go 10-10 in league (or maybe even 9-11) with that type of SOS you dance.

I think this is mostly correct ... though as RU improves its talent base, the 9 "soft" OOC games might become 7, with 2 tougher OOC games, and/or holiday or pre-season tournament games in some seasons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scarlet Knut
In essence you are trading two of Stony Brook/Hartford/Cleveland State/East Carolina type games for two more Big Ten games. What's not to like?

What makes college basketball great to me is that you have 340+ D1 schools that can play each other and have a chance to be champions. All 340 have access to play the top conference schools. Removing 2 games decreases the average schools slots for small schools from 8ish to 6ish. Not a fan of that.
 
Also.....this should be the primary reason!!!!!!!

These are students 1st. An extra B1G road game means another airplane and another 2 days missed of classes.

The entire notion that these are student athletes is almost a farce. Conferences should be geographical and no team should need to be in an airplane more than 2 or 3 times per year.

What is RU's travel budget for the entire athletic department?
 
RU has (like all teams) an unbalanced schedule that dictates more of where a team finishes more than anything....adding two more league games is better IMO.

We have a home and home with Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue and Nebraska.....two heavyweights and 3 teams expected to be in the bottom half of the league.

I'm sure a home and home with Penn State and another team like Indiana or Maryland will give a better balance and assessment of the league.

I'll also state that if you are recruiting at a Rutgers and the only criticism someone may have is SOS....if you add a couple of better OOC games and play 20 league games, recruits pretty much know that the 30-32 games they play a year are against legitimate competition most nights. The Montez Mathis/Shaq Carter's of the world get playing time and elite competition....plus how can you expect to land a Paul Mulcahy type playing 12 games a year against softer competition, mixed with a Seton Hall or ACC team....adding two league games makes sense to me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: knightinaz
Also.....this should be the primary reason!!!!!!!

These are students 1st. An extra B1G road game means another airplane and another 2 days missed of classes.

The entire notion that these are student athletes is almost a farce. Conferences should be geographical and no team should need to be in an airplane more than 2 or 3 times per year.

What is RU's travel budget for the entire athletic department?

I know you know this, but the barn door's already open. We wouldn't be in the B1G if we stuck to a geographical conference.
 
Also.....this should be the primary reason!!!!!!!

These are students 1st. An extra B1G road game means another airplane and another 2 days missed of classes.

The entire notion that these are student athletes is almost a farce. Conferences should be geographical and no team should need to be in an airplane more than 2 or 3 times per year.

What is RU's travel budget for the entire athletic department?
Most of these kids take like two classes, maybe three during the season
 
  • Like
Reactions: MV9000
Most of these kids take like two classes, maybe three during the season

That would seem to be impossible, Russ, considering that the season spans over both the fall and spring semesters... Guys taking 2 or 3 classes every spring and fall semester over four years leads to it being impossible to graduate on time - even taking into account summer classes.
 
Most people don't attend OOC and they aren't even properly televised. They are more like pre-season games except that they "count". Having all teams playing more competitive games can only help the sport. If teams need cup cakes to practice on, set up a pre-season and let them have at it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MV9000
I think this only helps the prestige of our league. Brings in more talent, better matchups, SOS'. Definitely could be rougher for the rebuilder but i mean id rather have two more hard fought losses than a cupcake win.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RURM85
Also.....this should be the primary reason!!!!!!!

These are students 1st. An extra B1G road game means another airplane and another 2 days missed of classes.

The entire notion that these are student athletes is almost a farce. Conferences should be geographical and no team should need to be in an airplane more than 2 or 3 times per year.

What is RU's travel budget for the entire athletic department?

Impossible, in theory it might work in the NE, but not elsewhere unless you want 10 or 12 hour bus trips.
 
Maybe I missed someone else stating it, but this then allows us to play each team in the B1G east twice every year (building rivalries) and everybody else at least once.
 
2 or 3 classes? Don’t participants in varsity sports have to be full time students?
They can take classes in summer, winter, spring, and fall. I am sure there are semesters they are taking 6 credits, with at least three being online.

There is so much more flexibility than a regular student. They also make a ton of sacrifices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rubigtimenow
Huh? There are no divisions for basketball.
But if there were divisions and they did 19 conference games, you could play everyone in your division home and away, and then the other teams once. (Not that it would matter b/c its a tournament and not a championship game at the end so not really a purpose for divisions.)
 
Higgins I doubt that's true--------and if it is it's a disgrace.

Which part?

I am near positive on the ability to take classes all seasons.

How do you expect students to practice basketball, go to class, get great grades, eat food, and play games with an 18 credit semester load? Maybe even talk to a person here or there.Lol.

It would never be possible. Unless you like watching D3 athletics.
 
Last edited:
I you have guys taking 6 credits in a semester and I'm fairly sure they don't at Rutgers you're no better than UNC.

There are practice limitations-----academic advisors who travel with the team on away games----lectures posted by professors online.

I'm not one of those " In my day " types but in my day no one stuck around for the summer except those that had to due to shaky grades. We went home and worked at summer jobs. Summer in South Bend was a sentence back then.

You took 15 credits every semester and graduated in 4 years.

There was no such thing as redshirting.

You crammed and persevered and you got through----and you were better for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rubigtimenow
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT