The first conference in the sense we know was the Western Conference, later the Big Ten. It was founded by men who wished to create for the midwest what they saw for elite colleges in the northeast, but much more organized. They wanted organization because they were greatly influenced by the Robber Barons of the Gilded Age and knew that with organization of college sports in the midwest would come money, and monopoly over that process would pay huge dividends.
The Western conference from its inception was championed by the newspapers of the midwest as the ideal for college sports and as the best in quality. The dawn of radio meant that the Big Ten arranged for midwestern radio to laud it as did midwestern newspapers. The Big Ten was always the richest conference with the most media exposure and promotion.
That should be kept in mind whenever you read anyone whining about how less money than the Big Ten or SEC means we are doomed. The Big Ten always had a major money advantage. It is only very recently that the SEC got close to BT money. And the BT over almost its entire history has been grossly overrated by the media whores in bed with the BT.
The most money guarantees only that you can buy the most and loudest mouthpieces.
World War 2 convinced the BT that 'owning' the Rose Bowl was the next step. The reason was that Hollywood was the Big Boss of American entertainment media through newsreels. The Pac had always had trouble, from a lot of corruption and much semi-competence, as well as contempt by the CA schools (minus UCLA, which at first was a near nobody) for everybody else. The BT knew that it could deliver stability tp the Pac through the Rose Bowl, which then would mean the BT was actually the important partner in The Granddaddy of Them All. The Rose Bowl was closed, and the media tied to the BT began trumpeting that the age of the Rose Bowl meant that the Rose Bowl champ was basically the National Champ, no matter what sportswriters or coaches thought.
The BT again had given itself a type of monopoly and used mass media to sell the tale to the public.
The concept of 'Major' college football conferences was not begun to to be set until the 1950s. And it had to do very much with media. If your league had big radio deals, you could claim to be Major. The ACC was formed out of the Southern Conference for two main reasons: the SoCon leadership opposed bowls and the SoCon leadership had no interest in the league working to secure radio contracts for the entire league. The ACC was formed to be Major conference, allowing the SoCon to be Minor conference. Maryland won the National Championship in football in the ACC's first season.
As the 1960s dawned, there were 5 Major conferences: Big Ten, Pac, SEC, SWC, ACC. As expected, it was the BT that only realized how big TV was going to be for college sports, but had begun acting to secure power over CFB TV. Few people know the very close ties between the NCAA and the Big Ten. The NCAA even rented office space from the BT for years, NCAA top executives often lunching with BT top brass. If you want to know how such dirty programs, decade after decade, as Ohio St football and basketball have gotten away with half-slaps on the wrist, it is the very old history of BT and NCAA bedding down.
And that is how we got the one CFB TV deal for everybody. The BT, with help from the Pac and its Hollywood friends, arranged the system. There would be National games, chosen by 'experts,' and Regional games, likewise chosen by 'experts. By the start of the 1970s, it was clear even to the nicest of nice guys (minus the most native ACC types, who remained very naive) that the CFB TV deal benefitted the BT the most, by a good deal, and benefitted the Pac 2nd most. IT also screwed the ACC the most, by a good deal.
Almost any BT vs. Pac game in which one was ranked was a National broadcast. Almost any BT game between 2 ranked teams was a National broadcast. The BT's Region included not just the midwest but the northeast. The BT Region also included the Louisville TV market - unless UK were playing a ranked SEC foe, UK football did not get shown in Louisville, only 75 miles from Lexington, because the BT was given that market. I saw BT games on Nashville TV when I was a kid, with ranked SEC teams playing one another and televised in the Deep South. Unless Maryland was ranked and playing a ranked team, the BT would be on the Baltimore and DC stations rather than, say, SoCar vs. NCSU.
The BT loved that near-monopoly and needed it. So the BT was very unhappy when some people began grumbling about the CFB TV deal in the mid-70s. As that began, some people in the Pac began worrying about the rise of the WAC. Phoenix and AZ had grown. Phoenix was a very large and important TV market. And some AZ connected businessmen intended to have a Major New Year's Bowl in Phoenix: the Fiesta. The talk was that the Fiesta would have a slot for the WAC champ, because Arizona and AZ ST were the most important schools in the WAC.
After huddling with the BT, the Pac added Arizona and AZ St, and immediately the media tied to BT or Pac interests trumpeted the move as making the Rose Bowl even stronger. The BT was still controlling almost everything as it desired for its benefit and to the detriment of everybody else but the Pac.
INTERMISSION
edit - An English teacher in HS told us repeatedly that if you do not proofread, very carefully, at least twice, you will make big mistakes. Some of them so big they become funny.
I left out the Big 8 as Major conference even after ragging on old time Big 8 fanboy Dennis Dodd on this board just yesterday.
The Western conference from its inception was championed by the newspapers of the midwest as the ideal for college sports and as the best in quality. The dawn of radio meant that the Big Ten arranged for midwestern radio to laud it as did midwestern newspapers. The Big Ten was always the richest conference with the most media exposure and promotion.
That should be kept in mind whenever you read anyone whining about how less money than the Big Ten or SEC means we are doomed. The Big Ten always had a major money advantage. It is only very recently that the SEC got close to BT money. And the BT over almost its entire history has been grossly overrated by the media whores in bed with the BT.
The most money guarantees only that you can buy the most and loudest mouthpieces.
World War 2 convinced the BT that 'owning' the Rose Bowl was the next step. The reason was that Hollywood was the Big Boss of American entertainment media through newsreels. The Pac had always had trouble, from a lot of corruption and much semi-competence, as well as contempt by the CA schools (minus UCLA, which at first was a near nobody) for everybody else. The BT knew that it could deliver stability tp the Pac through the Rose Bowl, which then would mean the BT was actually the important partner in The Granddaddy of Them All. The Rose Bowl was closed, and the media tied to the BT began trumpeting that the age of the Rose Bowl meant that the Rose Bowl champ was basically the National Champ, no matter what sportswriters or coaches thought.
The BT again had given itself a type of monopoly and used mass media to sell the tale to the public.
The concept of 'Major' college football conferences was not begun to to be set until the 1950s. And it had to do very much with media. If your league had big radio deals, you could claim to be Major. The ACC was formed out of the Southern Conference for two main reasons: the SoCon leadership opposed bowls and the SoCon leadership had no interest in the league working to secure radio contracts for the entire league. The ACC was formed to be Major conference, allowing the SoCon to be Minor conference. Maryland won the National Championship in football in the ACC's first season.
As the 1960s dawned, there were 5 Major conferences: Big Ten, Pac, SEC, SWC, ACC. As expected, it was the BT that only realized how big TV was going to be for college sports, but had begun acting to secure power over CFB TV. Few people know the very close ties between the NCAA and the Big Ten. The NCAA even rented office space from the BT for years, NCAA top executives often lunching with BT top brass. If you want to know how such dirty programs, decade after decade, as Ohio St football and basketball have gotten away with half-slaps on the wrist, it is the very old history of BT and NCAA bedding down.
And that is how we got the one CFB TV deal for everybody. The BT, with help from the Pac and its Hollywood friends, arranged the system. There would be National games, chosen by 'experts,' and Regional games, likewise chosen by 'experts. By the start of the 1970s, it was clear even to the nicest of nice guys (minus the most native ACC types, who remained very naive) that the CFB TV deal benefitted the BT the most, by a good deal, and benefitted the Pac 2nd most. IT also screwed the ACC the most, by a good deal.
Almost any BT vs. Pac game in which one was ranked was a National broadcast. Almost any BT game between 2 ranked teams was a National broadcast. The BT's Region included not just the midwest but the northeast. The BT Region also included the Louisville TV market - unless UK were playing a ranked SEC foe, UK football did not get shown in Louisville, only 75 miles from Lexington, because the BT was given that market. I saw BT games on Nashville TV when I was a kid, with ranked SEC teams playing one another and televised in the Deep South. Unless Maryland was ranked and playing a ranked team, the BT would be on the Baltimore and DC stations rather than, say, SoCar vs. NCSU.
The BT loved that near-monopoly and needed it. So the BT was very unhappy when some people began grumbling about the CFB TV deal in the mid-70s. As that began, some people in the Pac began worrying about the rise of the WAC. Phoenix and AZ had grown. Phoenix was a very large and important TV market. And some AZ connected businessmen intended to have a Major New Year's Bowl in Phoenix: the Fiesta. The talk was that the Fiesta would have a slot for the WAC champ, because Arizona and AZ ST were the most important schools in the WAC.
After huddling with the BT, the Pac added Arizona and AZ St, and immediately the media tied to BT or Pac interests trumpeted the move as making the Rose Bowl even stronger. The BT was still controlling almost everything as it desired for its benefit and to the detriment of everybody else but the Pac.
INTERMISSION
edit - An English teacher in HS told us repeatedly that if you do not proofread, very carefully, at least twice, you will make big mistakes. Some of them so big they become funny.
I left out the Big 8 as Major conference even after ragging on old time Big 8 fanboy Dennis Dodd on this board just yesterday.
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