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B1G vs. SEC for Miami: Realignment Reality Check - Poll

Choose the conference:

  • Total voters
    176
futurecane said:
Everyone keeps debating where Miami should end up when the inevitable happens and it’s time to go to a Power 2 conference. Please vote below, and explain why (especially if you prefer the B1G)…

For the purposes of this, I added FSU, Clemson and NC to the SEC, and Notre Dame to the B1G.

I vote for the SEC, and here is why:

1. Roster Footprint
  • SEC Territory (~79% of current roster): Nearly 80% of the entire locker room comes from SEC country (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina). That means families can actually drive or catch quick 1-2 hour flights to almost every single road game.
  • B1G Territory (~17% of current roster): We pull some talent out of California, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska, but that's still under a fifth of the team. Sending South Florida kids to Eugene, East Lansing, or Iowa City is a much tougher sell for local families, especially in November!
  • Other (~4%): Nevada, Virginia, Idaho, and international roots.

2. Travel Math

If Miami visits every road venue in each league:
  • SEC: ~26,900 total round-trip miles (~1,790 miles per trip)
  • Big Ten: ~48,820 total round-trip miles (~2,870 miles per trip)
Joining the Big Ten adds nearly 22,000 extra flight miles (+81%). In fact, just four West Coast trips (USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington) equal almost half of an entire SEC schedule.

3. Culture & Non-Revenue Sports

B1G travel would butcher baseball, soccer, and volleyball schedules with 5-hour midweek flights. Plus, regional SEC matchups (Florida, FSU, Clemson, UNC, LSU, Georgia) match our fan culture far better than cold November trips to Minneapolis or Madison.

Member Teams:

SEC (19): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.

Big Ten (19): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin.

I know about the AAU status, media rights, etc - but looking at it from a pure football standpoint, the SEC makes sense. We’ve played and won National Championships and huge games against Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, FSU, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas A&M… I couldn’t say that for 80% of the B1G, except Ohio State, Notre Dame, and maybe a Michigan/UCLA.

Do you really want to go to a game in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Maryland or Ohio in November? Seriously?
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Amen, 100% agree, will give you a very rough comp on this question. Nebraska joined big 10 smart move $$ wise however
they lost ground recruiting ground in TX and talent wise still have not made it back to their former glory.
SEC all the way
 
futurecane said:
So far, 48 votes for the B1G, and the only posters to respond so far basically say:

“More money” - That will change in the future. SEC will easily command more TV $$$

“Easier schedule” - two loss SEC team is easily in the playoff. 2 loss B1G team stays home unless your name is OSU or ND. Also, that’s not the U dammit - anytime, anywhere.

“Hate SEC” - then whip them each and every week.

I still don’t understand how fans of this university actually WANT to never play FSU or UF again, instead swapping them for Iowa and Minnesota.

I’m reminded of this quote:

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.
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H.L. Mencken
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Care to explain how the SEC “will easily command more TV money…in the future?”

Why would FSU automatically be removed from the schedule?
UiF has taken us off their schedule repeatedly.
Iowa and Minnesota would get rotated through every few years like playing at Stanford now.

If you want to be in the SEC and that’s your opinion, no problem. Your reasons you listed were meh at best, hence my mild pushback.
 
CliftonCane said:
Joining B1G would put us at a competitive disadvantage with heavier travel constraints compared to the traditional B1G schools. I also don't think people realize how much of a disadvantage it would be for us to play a B1G game on the road in November when it's absolutely frigid. We need to stay regional and compete on the field against the programs we recruit against (SEC). It's what's best for the long-term health of players and the program.
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I realize to Floridians, frigid is anything under 50 degrees. But, frozen tundras are mostly a myth from the past. Games end in November and it ain't what is used to be. I remember taking our daughter to visit Miami is Fed 1998, when our son was already a freshman there. It was about 54 and we were walking around in shorts. Miami students were in fleece, winter coats and hats. Average high temperature for Ann Arbor in November is 52 degrees and average snowfall for the month is 4.6 inches.
 
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Care to explain how the SEC “will easily command more TV money…in the future?”

Why would FSU automatically be removed from the schedule?
UiF has taken us off their schedule repeatedly.
Iowa and Minnesota would get rotated through every few years like playing at Stanford now.

If you want to be in the SEC and that’s your opinion, no problem. Your reasons you listed were meh at best, hence my mild pushback.
Click to expand...

Of course! Current media rights give the B1G a slight advantage, the next contract negotiation will flip that. Here is why:

Average Game Viewership:
SEC: 4.90 Million viewers
Big Ten: 2.80 Million viewers

Weekly Top 25 Presence:
SEC: Captures ~18+ of the top 25 most-watched slots per week
Big Ten: Captures 3–5 slots per week

Top 10 Most-Watched Games 2025:
1. Texas vs. Ohio State — 13.99M
2. LSU vs. Ole Miss — 10.90M
3. Texas vs. Tennessee — 9.75M
4. Ole Miss vs. Florida — 8.29M
5. Oklahoma vs. Michigan — 8.22M
6. Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame — 8.10M
7. Alabama vs. Kentucky — 7.28M
8. Florida State vs. Alabama — 7.01M
9. Clemson vs. LSU — 5.76M
10. Texas A&M vs. LSU — 5.71M

Money follows eyeballs, you will see a massive flip in the money status during the next media contract negotiations. (2030 B1G, 2034 SEC)

You join a conference for several decades, by the time we are in either the media contract is about due - so even using the “money” argument, it’s the SEC.
 
CaneMutiny06 said:
BIG. More money and as crazy as it might sound to some, it’s still the easier conference. Our peers would be OSU, Oregon, Michigan and USC (If they ever get their heads out of their ***) and that’s it as far as teams that recruit at our level.
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Oh how quickly do you forget, Indiana will be a factor moving forward. They have money and tons of alumni.
 
futurecane said:
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Care to explain how the SEC “will easily command more TV money…in the future?”

Why would FSU automatically be removed from the schedule?
UiF has taken us off their schedule repeatedly.
Iowa and Minnesota would get rotated through every few years like playing at Stanford now.

If you want to be in the SEC and that’s your opinion, no problem. Your reasons you listed were meh at best, hence my mild pushback.
Click to expand...

Of course! Current media rights give the B1G a slight advantage, the next contract negotiation will flip that. Here is why:

Average Game Viewership:
SEC: 4.90 Million viewers
Big Ten: 2.80 Million viewers

Weekly Top 25 Presence:
SEC: Captures ~18+ of the top 25 most-watched slots per week
Big Ten: Captures 3–5 slots per week

Top 10 Most-Watched Games 2025:
1. Texas vs. Ohio State — 13.99M
2. LSU vs. Ole Miss — 10.90M
3. Texas vs. Tennessee — 9.75M
4. Ole Miss vs. Florida — 8.29M
5. Oklahoma vs. Michigan — 8.22M
6. Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame — 8.10M
7. Alabama vs. Kentucky — 7.28M
8. Florida State vs. Alabama — 7.01M
9. Clemson vs. LSU — 5.76M
10. Texas A&M vs. LSU — 5.71M

Money follows eyeballs, you will see a massive flip in the money status during the next media contract negotiations. (2030 B1G, 2034 SEC)

You join a conference for several decades, by the time we are in either the media contract is about due - so even using the “money” argument, it’s the SEC.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I noticed that the playoff games were omitted from your list. I suppose that’s fair. A couple counter points worth considering (and to be fair, we are now both talking about future stuff so who knows):

With the addition of Miami and presumably ND, the B1G will add the #3 market and whatever South Florida is currently ranked (I’ve never understood why FLL and PB aren’t necessarily included with the 305).

B1G would have the NY (Rutgers is weak and NY doesn’t carry the clout in CFB that it does in other sports), LA, Chicago, Miami, etc. Top 3 markets for tv, but also for non-TV revenues. I don’t know how to attach a metric to that, but it’s not something to ignore. The larger markets is why I took the position I did. I also think the B1G schools have more money, but I haven’t vetted that out and I could be wrong. I would have to pull the endowments for each school and tally them up then account for booster wealth. I don’t have the time or energy for that.

Your comment about the next tv renegotiation has merit. I don’t know how the calendar looks for when the B1G will renegotiate, but I would imagine the two conferences will simply leverage each other’s deals against the networks at that time. Isn’t that exactly what coaches currently do? Kirby gets a pay raise if some other coach gets a pay raise in order to keep Kirby at/near the top.

Maybe you’ll be right and I’ll be wrong. Maybe not. Either conference would be a massive upgrade from where we currently sit.

And I responded to you without any insults or snarky comments.
 
If this were a video game decision, im picking the Big10.

So many storyline matchups that would be so fun.

1. Miami v Indiana - became a storyline the second the beat us.
2. Miami v Oregon - Cristobal storyline
3. Miami v OSU - revenge storyline
4. Miami v Penn State - old school rivalry
5. Miami v USC - not a rivalry but two very similar private school, flashy brands.
6. Miami v ND (if they join) - Catholics v....
7. Miami v Michigan - UM v UM

These matchups ****. These venues are awesome. Whereas SEC, would only really be UF. They have other good teams but no storylines.

However, non video game wise. The logistics point to SEC all day. Recruiting territory, travel, weather, etc.

So I voted SEC.
 
If the Big Ten were able to add Miami and Notre Dame, you're talking about a conference that would have an incredible collection of major markets, national brands and games capable of drawing huge audiences.

Look at the lineup: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Oregon, Notre Dame and Miami. That's an insane collection of football brands, and you're adding Miami and Notre Dame to a conference that already has one of the strongest media-rights positions in the country.

The timing is important too. The Big Ten's current Fox/CBS/NBC media agreements run through the 2029-30 academic year, while the SEC's ESPN agreement runs through 2034. That gives the Big Ten a much earlier opportunity to reshape its membership and go into its next media-rights cycle with potentially even more valuable inventory.

If Miami and Notre Dame were sitting in the Big Ten when those negotiations happened, you're talking about USC vs. Miami, Notre Dame vs Ohio State, Michigan vs Notre Dame, Penn State vs. Miami, Ohio State vs. Miami, and all the other combinations that become possible. That's not just adding two teams. That's adding two brands that could significantly increase the number of premium games the conference can put in front of television audiences.

And that's where I think the SEC could have a problem. If the Big Ten makes another major move before the next big media cycle, the SEC could find itself reacting rather than dictating the direction of the sport. It would still be an incredibly powerful conference, but the Big Ten could have positioned itself with a collection of brands and media inventory that's extremely difficult to match.

The SEC has the advantage of having its ESPN deal locked in through 2034. The Big Ten has the advantage of reaching its next major media cycle earlier. If Miami and Notre Dame were added before that cycle, that's a **** of a position to negotiate from. Another part of the equation. If the Big Ten adds Miami and Notre Dame, it doesn't just strengthen the Big Ten, it potentially limits the SEC's ability to expand its national footprint. That's the difference. The Big Ten wouldn't just be building a conference with great teams. It would be building a conference around major national brands that reach different parts of the country.
 
SEC is better for location and style of play. Big 10 fits our academics. ACC is a basketball conference until Clemson and FSU get back on track.
 
futurecane said:
Everyone keeps debating where Miami should end up when the inevitable happens and it’s time to go to a Power 2 conference. Please vote below, and explain why (especially if you prefer the B1G)…

For the purposes of this, I added FSU, Clemson and NC to the SEC, and Notre Dame to the B1G.

I vote for the SEC, and here is why:

1. Roster Footprint
  • SEC Territory (~79% of current roster): Nearly 80% of the entire locker room comes from SEC country (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina). That means families can actually drive or catch quick 1-2 hour flights to almost every single road game.
  • B1G Territory (~17% of current roster): We pull some talent out of California, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska, but that's still under a fifth of the team. Sending South Florida kids to Eugene, East Lansing, or Iowa City is a much tougher sell for local families, especially in November!
  • Other (~4%): Nevada, Virginia, Idaho, and international roots.

2. Travel Math

If Miami visits every road venue in each league:
  • SEC: ~26,900 total round-trip miles (~1,790 miles per trip)
  • Big Ten: ~48,820 total round-trip miles (~2,870 miles per trip)
Joining the Big Ten adds nearly 22,000 extra flight miles (+81%). In fact, just four West Coast trips (USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington) equal almost half of an entire SEC schedule.

3. Culture & Non-Revenue Sports

B1G travel would butcher baseball, soccer, and volleyball schedules with 5-hour midweek flights. Plus, regional SEC matchups (Florida, FSU, Clemson, UNC, LSU, Georgia) match our fan culture far better than cold November trips to Minneapolis or Madison.

Member Teams:

SEC (19): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.

Big Ten (19): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin.

I know about the AAU status, media rights, etc - but looking at it from a pure football standpoint, the SEC makes sense. We’ve played and won National Championships and huge games against Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, FSU, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas A&M… I couldn’t say that for 80% of the B1G, except Ohio State, Notre Dame, and maybe a Michigan/UCLA.

Do you really want to go to a game in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Maryland or Ohio in November? Seriously?
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You can't just calculate the travel to and from every road venue though because no team is actually visiting every road venue each year. The football team would like play 4 or 5 conference road games. The basketball and baseball teams wouldn't even play at every road venue each year.
 
BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
Thanks.

I noticed that the playoff games were omitted from your list. I suppose that’s fair. A couple counter points worth considering (and to be fair, we are now both talking about future stuff so who knows):

With the addition of Miami and presumably ND, the B1G will add the #3 market and whatever South Florida is currently ranked (I’ve never understood why FLL and PB aren’t necessarily included with the 305).

B1G would have the NY (Rutgers is weak and NY doesn’t carry the clout in CFB that it does in other sports), LA, Chicago, Miami, etc. Top 3 markets for tv, but also for non-TV revenues. I don’t know how to attach a metric to that, but it’s not something to ignore. The larger markets is why I took the position I did. I also think the B1G schools have more money, but I haven’t vetted that out and I could be wrong. I would have to pull the endowments for each school and tally them up then account for booster wealth. I don’t have the time or energy for that.

Your comment about the next tv renegotiation has merit. I don’t know how the calendar looks for when the B1G will renegotiate, but I would imagine the two conferences will simply leverage each other’s deals against the networks at that time. Isn’t that exactly what coaches currently do? Kirby gets a pay raise if some other coach gets a pay raise in order to keep Kirby at/near the top.

Maybe you’ll be right and I’ll be wrong. Maybe not. Either conference would be a massive upgrade from where we currently sit.

And I responded to you without any insults or snarky comments.
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I really appreciate the direct response, exactly what I wanted by starting this thread. I do think we would do well in both conferences, but given the aspects I’ve mentioned, would likely wither on the B1G vine if that was our path.

We’d be a respectable Auburn/A&M/Penn State equivalent - likely reduced in our most fertile recruiting grounds, and I’m not sure Minnesota or Iowa would make up for that.

Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey, Reggie Wayne, Damion’s Lewis… all from SEC states. Football is growing in the South, fading in the North.

I don’t want us to hitch the wagon to a conference that isn’t in our most fertile recruiting markets, isn’t as valued (or overrated, depending on your point of view), and gives us a geographic disadvantage.

Heck, the closest B1G school is Maryland, and it’s almost as far as the furthest SEC school from Miami!
 
sdaly12 said:
Amen, 100% agree, will give you a very rough comp on this question. Nebraska joined big 10 smart move $$ wise however
they lost ground recruiting ground in TX and talent wise still have not made it back to their former glory.
SEC all the way
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Nebraska was already dead when it got to the B10. It wasn't leaving the Big 12 that killed them, it was the losing, failure to adapt, and bad coaching hires.

Nebraska also failed to schedule Texas or Oklahoma prior to them joining the SEC so they hurt themselves.
 
wnycanesfan said:
You can't just calculate the travel to and from every road venue though because no team is actually visiting every road venue each year. The football team would like play 4 or 5 conference road games. The basketball and baseball teams wouldn't even play at every road venue each year.
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That’s why I calculated the way I did, I didn’t mention that it happens yearly. In a 2-3 year cycle, you visit all of them, so the difference always occurs. The closest B1G school is almost as far as the furthest SEC school, no matter who you travel to play each year you will have significantly more miles in the B1G than the SEC.
 
B1G is superior academically. We are not a massive southern public school full of rednecks that only care about football, beer, and hunting. This is a small private school that would fit in with the B1G much more. I understand a lot of our fans did not even go to the school so they don't get this part, but it is a prestigious school and needs to stay that way.


On the football side, how awesome would it be to join the B1G and from day 1 the conference goes through us.
We show up at Penn State, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State, and beat the **** outta all those snooty arrogant old school traditional fanbases.

They would HATE IT. Nothing would boil their blood more than Miami winning the B1G year one. Come into their place and win it all.

They don't care when Michigan wins instead of their team. Or Indiana. Or Ohio State. Or even fkin Oregon.

But MIAMI is dancing in their end zone?????

God I would love it.





Our team by the time we join will also be multiple classes like the 27 class in. We will be MUCH better as a program than we are today. We will be a full on Alabama 2010s type of roster and I would guess by the time we join the other competitors will decline a bit. If y'all don't recall, those Alabama teams would put BTA on big strong and slow B1G rosters every time they matched up.

This is also not wishful thinking. Our rosters are going to be completely ridiculous soon. On a level we have not seen since 2001. For example, that Indiana team beat us because of a miracle season with a miracle quarterback. The ultimate story. Our teams coming up will beat that Indiana team by 20+. You wanna beat us? You gotta field some serious squads then. Alabama would have won maybe 6+ national championships in a row if Dabo didn't field those championship squads to take them down.

The competion will field worse teams partly from not being able to recruit south florida stars anymore, and partly because I don't think the recruiters in the conference in general are that great.

Ohio States are legit, but they are the team hurt the most by our return. No more JJ Smiths on that team. They don't have Hartline anymore. I think of Day as a David Shaw at Stanford. Take over a team at the highest program point and watch it steadily decline over time. It is the snowball rolling down the mountain effect. Once the administration and fanbase realizes what is happening, the snowball is too big and too fast to stop.
 
SPAMM said:
I realize to Floridians, frigid is anything under 50 degrees. But, frozen tundras are mostly a myth from the past. Games end in November and it ain't what is used to be. I remember taking our daughter to visit Miami is Fed 1998, when our son was already a freshman there. It was about 54 and we were walking around in shorts. Miami students were in fleece, winter coats and hats. Average high temperature for Ann Arbor in November is 52 degrees and average snowfall for the month is 4.6 inches.
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We play Pitt, VT, UVA and BC in late November so it’s not really a big deal. I do remember back 30 years ago when I use to travel down to Miami in December and January I remember seeing people walking around in heavy winter clothing while I was wearing just a T-shirt.
 
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