A Jersey Guy: Welcome to the NFL (oops) Big Ten

Big Ten's new television deal takes college football to a new level

The master plan as one television guy explained it to me earlier this summer is to have a Saturday of college football, starting at noon eastern and lasting until midnight in which the viewing public could cherry pick interesting, relevant match ups of the elite of college football.

When I asked about the other parts of college football--pageantry, tradition, rivalries--he just laughed.

 ''Sure, if it comes up, but that's not the goal. The goal is to match the best teams against each other every week, just like the NFL.  And it's about ratings.''

Ah, the key word(s)--NFL, the gold standard for sports broadcasting. 

Which is why the 8 billion--yes that is the right word--dollar deal that the Big Ten unveiled this week, using Fox, NBC and CBS as primary carriers was hardly a surprise.

It was a look at the future of what major college football will look like over the next several years.

And it was another major reversal of fortune for Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, who is now flexing very powerful muscles after a shaky opening few months.

And it's all about TV.

 If you want campus atmosphere, pep rallies, Saturday morning visits to the quad before the game, catch an Ivy League or Division 2 or III game., 

Die-hard older fans may mourn the loss of atmosphere and tradition, but the folks in the Big Ten could give a hoot as they chase the money.

The new deal starts with Fox's prime Big Ten game at noon, it will then morph to a CBS game at 3:30 and an NBC game in prime time.

If you were using this season's opening weekend as a guideline, this is what Big Ten fans might see.

Notre Dame at Ohio State (Noon, Fox)

Colorado State at Michigan, (3:30 CBS)

Illinois at Indiana, (8:30 NBC)

If you went later in the year, when the conference races are under way, the Big Ten Saturday might be:

Penn State at Michigan, (Noon, Fox)

Michigan State at Wisconsin (3:30, CBS)

USC at Notre Dame, (8:30, NBC)

TV will control everything, which is why you might see an Ohio State at USC game starting at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Coast time to get into the Fox Noon window.]

The battles for conference championships will serve only as launching points for the soon to come 12 team playoff system.

Welcome  to the Big Ten.