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Message: [QUOTE="Stern, post: 4722754, member: 527"] The Big 10's issue is they have this primetime deal with NBC now for a long time, and none of the traditional BIG 10 schools want to play night games. Also, they have to pay FOX back $40 mill because they promised the BIG 10 Championship game in 2026 to NBC but FOX had that game locked up and Fox was like, you gave away our game, reimburse us and pay us that money. So, the Big 10 lost money there they weren't prepared for. So the NBC/FOX/CBS relationship wasn't well thought out and it has been a bumpy road. So adding the teams from the West Coast solves the Big 10's NBC problem moving forward with night games and makes one of their media partners very happy. They aren't just randomly adding teams; there is a method to their madness. From ESPN: "[I]Multiple sources told ESPN there's been pushback from a number of schools, including Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, to play those late-November night games under the new contract. That leaves Petitti to figure out how to uphold a deal for hundreds of millions of dollars for primetime games without cooperation from some of the league's marquee teams for part of the regular season's most important month. Athletic departments and coaches around the Big Ten say they were surprised November night games would be part of the deal. They weren't asked for permission to play them prior to the deal or informed of the change ahead of the deal, according to sources. At the same time, NBC wasn't aware until well after the initial contract was signed this summer that these big-brand schools had historic tolerances that were part of the prior television arrangements and would resist being available. "NBC was surprised, and I was surprised," said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel. "We had not discussed, and I had not discussed with anyone in the league to change the tolerances we had agreed upon years ago." Within the industry, though, there was an expectation that, considering the scope of the deal, all schools would play in prime time. "The fault here is with the administrators on campus," said another industry source. "How did the presidents, chancellors and athletic directors not know this? The universities all signed off on the deal." While this is being worked through, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State recently agreed to concessions to make short-term sacrifices to help the league make up for some lost revenue from the NBC deal."[/I] [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?