Big 10 Now Dominates College Sports, Says Nick Saban
Nick Saban credits the Big 10's investments and title wins for outshining the SEC in college sports. Is the Big 10 the best conference in NCAA football?
Video Transcript
So it looks like there's a new horse right now leading the race here when it comes to college sports, and that's the Big Ten, according to Nick Saban.
He's saying right now that the Big Ten is now a more dominant conference than what the Southeastern Conference is.
Saban has gone into the SEC meetings here in Tampa and made those comments and said, "Look, the Big Ten is spending the money, and the Big Ten right now is the premier conference over the Southeastern Conference."
Well, if you take a look at what they've done, three straight national championships in college football with three different programs.
Both men and women, they own the national championship.
Those are the money makers, folks.
Those are the ones that move the needle when it comes to generating revenue.
The rest of the programs, track and field, baseball, what have you, those are minor compared to college basketball in the men and the women, and also college football.
And here's why.
The Big Ten has the money on the table now, and when the money was put on the table, the Southeastern Conference all those years were paying people under the table.
All those side deals that the conferences were doing back in the day or the programs in the conference were doing back in the day, now when you had to put that money on the table, now it's a fair fight, and the Big Ten is now battling the SEC.
Why?
How has that happened?
Well, you've got more money being dished out by the Big Ten because the Big Ten is now being proactive when it comes to NIL.
They're spending buckets of money on getting these programs and all of their programs.
They're not just looking for some of their programs.
Folks, Indiana winning the national championship.
You know, I saw the ESPYs last week and I made the comment, "Are you really telling me you think the New York Knicks are the number one story and the number one team in all of America?
Are you crazy?"
For over 136 years, 136 years of college football, Indiana football blew.
It was terrible, and now they're the national champions?
16-0, that program is gone.
Incredible.
That's the story, and they did it with spending money.
Look, that col- that conference is now the preeminent conference in all of college sports because they're spending the money.
They're getting great ways of how they're bringing money in, they're generating buku money, and they're also paying their college coaches.
What does the Southeastern Conference do?
The Southeastern Conference, at their meetings in Tampa, said, "Hey, you know what might be in the best interest for us?
Let's get out of the NCAA and become more like the Premier League."
Hey, you wanna take your bat and ball because the Big Ten is beating you over the head with that bat now when it comes to economics and finances, and they're beating you at the gate, and they're beating you on the field, and they're beating you on the court.
They're doing everything that you used to do to them because the money is on the table.
Look, I'm gonna say it again.
Them getting USC, UCLA, and Oregon into the Big Ten has been a massive influx of money that has gone into the Big Ten.
Southeastern Conference has a m-- they got a big haul here to try to get back into that picture.
That's why they're spending the money like they're spending at LSU to go and get a guy like Lane Kiffin.
Look, Alabama's not where it once was because why?
Look at where the money is now going in the SEC.
The money is now going to Texas.
All those Texas schools that you're seeing pour money in, get used to it.
You're gonna see more schools out of the state of Texas that are gonna spend all of this money when it comes to trying to win a national championship.
And you've got great television deals going on right now in the Big Ten for the football and basketball programs.
Look, the Big Ten right now is rolling, and the Big Ten, could they even more so expand to try to put a team down in the state of Florida, like maybe bring in a team like USF in?
They are being proactive.
That conference is definitely taking the lead over the SEC, which I thought was not possible.
Look, when you still look at the NFL Draft, the Southeastern Conference right now are still putting the most players into the NFL Draft, but that's changing.
Look at the teams that right now that put all those first-round draft choices in this recent NFL Draft.
The SEC fell behind the Big Ten again.
And Saban is right.
All that money that used to go and being poured into the SEC is now being poured into the Big Ten.
Look, SEC's gotta change their road, and they've gotta get things rolling in the right direction here because at the end of the day here, the Southeastern Conference, they have won three straight national titles in football with three different programs, and they own the women and the men's national championship in hoop.
That's where your money comes from.
That's where all the generating income is going into all these programs in the Big Ten.
SEC's got a problem, and it's called the Big Ten, and they've gotta do something, and that's called winning, because right now, the Big Ten is taking it
