#1 Under Armour
This can’t possibly be understated. In 2010 Under Armour was an up and comer. It was involved in the college football scene heavily. However in 2015 even Phil Knight admits that it is a dangerous competitor. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimor...-knight-pats-under-armour-on-the-head-as.html . Under Armour isn’t killing Nike, it’s killing Adidas. UA will start eating at Nike once Adidas dusted.
#2 The Big Ten
For years the ACC’s two power house football programs were Clemson and Maryland. When Maryland left the ACC, Maryland had won the third most conference championships behind FSU and Clemson. FSU and Georgia Tech were added to the ACC to improve their football profile. When the Big Ten brought in Maryland and Rutgers it was primarily due to the eastern markets and recruiting grounds they added. The birth place of college football for Rutgers and Maryland’s preseason #3 basketball team and football national championship were considered bonuses.
#3 New Cole Field house
This can’t possibly be understated. In 2010 Under Armour was an up and comer. It was involved in the college football scene heavily. However in 2015 even Phil Knight admits that it is a dangerous competitor. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimor...-knight-pats-under-armour-on-the-head-as.html . Under Armour isn’t killing Nike, it’s killing Adidas. UA will start eating at Nike once Adidas dusted.
- Under Armour isn’t just an apparel company it is evolving into a tech company. Any Maryland coach will have access to cutting edge technology with their analytics and wearable technology and information. http://fortune.com/2013/11/14/with-acquisition-under-armour-muscles-into-wearable-tech-apps/ It’s not the money Under Armour gives Maryland it’s the competitive edge. Surely the Oil Tycoons and big boosters at Texas have more money than Under Armour. Under Armour is on the edge of uniforms, fabric, and technology in sport.
- A new coach is going to be rubbing shoulders with Under Armour hot celebrities in Jordan Speith Fed Ex Cup Champ, Seth Curry NBA champ, Tom Brady Super Bowl Winner, and Bryce Harper MVP. It seems Under Armour does nothing but pick winners.
- If you compare Nike to Under Armour is 19 years old and Nike when it was 19 years old it was on the verge of signing Michael Jordan when converse was big. A new coach is going to be a partner with a company that looks to double its revenue in the next few years. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/16/under-armour-ceo-expects-revenue-to-double-by-2018.html Sure there is a $155 million dollar facility by 2017. A new coach who can win might make a case for a renovated and expanded Byrd stadium or *wink wink* Under Armour Arena in 10 years.
- Kids are wearing Under Armour, the Under Armour All American game is the most popular. The old men of the 80’s are Nike, the young kids of today are Under Armour. Being part of a flagship school that is as synonymous with Under Armour gets you into any living room into the country.
- There is nothing like selling the American dream to your recruits and players. A football player on THIS field founded Under Armour and is now a billionaire. Who in college football can say that?
#2 The Big Ten
For years the ACC’s two power house football programs were Clemson and Maryland. When Maryland left the ACC, Maryland had won the third most conference championships behind FSU and Clemson. FSU and Georgia Tech were added to the ACC to improve their football profile. When the Big Ten brought in Maryland and Rutgers it was primarily due to the eastern markets and recruiting grounds they added. The birth place of college football for Rutgers and Maryland’s preseason #3 basketball team and football national championship were considered bonuses.
- If a coach is looking for a big stage to play on, and he can’t coach at Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan State, he can coach against those schools. The big Ten has three of the largest stadiums in the world, not just college football the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity Few teams can promise any recruit they will play at six times in a four year period at venues of that size
- The Big Ten offers many nationally relevant schools. Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, Nebraska and Wisconsin that are usually annually ranked and move the needle nationally. It’s headline news when any of those schools lose. Compare that to the ACC where only FSU, Clemson and sometimes Virginia Tech could command that attention. Critics will complain that Maryland is the 4th or 5th best program in the Big Ten East alone. Yet no one complains at jobs in the SEC west. Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M offer the top four spots. Yet Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have all had very successful years recently. Playing with the Big Boys off in attracting good coaches.
- A coach with ambition and intelligence who is unafraid to go up against three of the best coaching minds in college football in D’antonio, Meyer and Harbaugh would jump at the chance to enter that fraternity.
- The Big Ten Network now has 60 million viewers now. http://adage.com/article/media/east-young-man-expansion-a-boon-big-ten-network/300748/ Not only will you have all your games televised, but you will have coverage dedicated solely to our conference and sport. The Big Ten Network in conjunction with its expiring TV deal paid out 32 million this year. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...revenue-shares-jump-to-32-million-per-school/ Compare that to the 20.2 million the ACC paid FSU http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/12/accs-record-revenue-surpasses-300-million/ this year. Now Maryland is receiving a high percentage of that 32 million and it is currently unclear what that number is, but if it is more than 66% then Maryland would make more money at the END of a deal than the ACC has made with a new deal in place. When the Big Ten negotiates its new contract in a bidding war between Fox and ESPN, the payout for tier one and tier 2 rights are expected to make between 45-50 million depending on the report http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...-projected-to-get-45-million-with-new-tv-deal Now proponents of cord cutting feel the deal may be smaller. One thing though has been apparent. Sport fans watch commercials and are willing to pay for premium content. With the amount of Big Ten fans and their locations in major markets ESPN/ABC/BTN are all on standalone streaming apps already cord cutting is not likely to majorly effect this deal. What does that mean for a new coach? That means his school will receive more than TWICE what Maryland was receiving in the ACC. That can be used to recruit, retain top coaches, and renovate or expand the stadium.
- The Big Ten schools to have won a national championship are Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan State, and yes Maryland. There is something to be said about having the championship in your trophy case. Winning a championship is not impossible at Maryland.
#3 New Cole Field house
- Traditionally indoor practice facilities were for schools in extreme climates that lost weeks to snow fall. Syracuse as four for example. That is why ½ of the ACC still does not have an indoor practice facility. It simply wasn’t practical for the money involved for most schools. The lost days of practice might cost one game a year. However, practicing in the elements may also gain a win a year by toughening up the team and becoming familiar with coping methods. Think this is baloney? Ask Bill Belichiek? http://sports.yahoo.com/news/here-s...stions-about-frigid-conditions-185624508.html The patriots practice outside under almost all conditions. The best application would be to use the indoor facility when practice is unsafe or unworkable. However, a Maryland team should know how to deal with the frigid temperatures and conditions it is likely to face in late November games in Michigan. So why is an indoor practice facility so important? The reason it is so important is that everyone else has one. This is used to recruit against Maryland. Missing a player or two in a recruiting class because of something so simple as having a practice facility can cost you several games a year. Maryland certainly could use a few quarterbacks right now. A new coach will not have to deal with not having a indoor practice facility.
- Maryland lost Bobby Ross because of the lack of an indoor practice facility that was promised due to the wake of the Len Bias tragedy. This goes to rectify that promise made Ross 30 years later . http://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-07/sports/sp-1507_1_bobby-ross
- So if a practice facility is 15 million, why are we spending 155 million? The practice facility is only part of New Cole Field house. There will be new offices, weight room, lounges, academic support, medical research, entrepreneurship labs. This is here the coaches and players will spend 300 days a year training, studying and practicing. The goal is to educate the students so they can become the next Kevin Plank and train the players to be the next Stephon Diggs. It’s not all about the ability to practice in rain. It’s about having the best education and training possible to sell kids on Maryland as a educational institution and athletic development center to get them to the next level. A new coach now can walk kids through a facility that is on par with Oregon and out paces every Big Ten School.
- A rising tide raises all ships. Not only can a coach find happiness in knowing his football players are are being taken care of, the old Gosset team house will be turned over to the non-revenue sports now housed in the Varsity house. The non-revenue sports will get a major upgrade to their facilities and the football coach won’t have to worry about huge inequalities causing problems at the school.
- Game time, there are a lot of ideas and plans floating around New Cole Field house. Everything from a walkway to a tunnel to Byrd. It’s unclear what will be built in ways of a pregame entrance. Ideally Maryland would want something like Howard’s Rock at Clemson for the Terps to go through. However, for now New Cole Field house will be visible from the North side seats. Maryland will be able to use lights, and special effects to amaze the fans from New Cole. Again something that will add to a unique feature of a Maryland program that a new coach is walking into.
