Inside the Big Ten Meetings

Three times a year Big Ten football coaches meet to continue to improve the conference making it the best in the country. For a few days in May the football coaches are joined by their athletic directors as well as men's and women's basketball coaches to addres concerns that affect all of their programs. Each entity breaks out and focus on issues of their own sport.

Within the smaller session the football coaches had the opportunity to learn about the advancments in video technology. Along with myself, Rob Porteus of Wisconsin and Phil Bromley of Michigan had the one-time opportunity to speak of the transition to HD for video exchange. Already the Big Ten Network is utilizing HD and relies on video from the team's video department for segments of their "4-Pack" shows. The upcoming 2010 season will be the first for HD replay. The last piece of the puzzle is coaching video.

Currently there are no college or NFL teams operating a full HD network, so there are many questions that need to be answered. What will be the HD format? Will the teams continue to exchange video over the internet at the same speed teams are accustomed to today? How will each school pay for the upgrade? Already teams have begun to transition to HD, but not one have all the necessary components. By early 2011 all the necessary parts will be available and the act of teaching from video will be taken to a new level as the clarity will be significantly improved.

Within the HD presentation was the proposal to mandate the H.264 8MB HD codec. The advantage of this "flavor" is to provide HD quality video in a smaller video file than the current Standard Definition DV25 file. With the smaller video file, less storage will be necessary and the exchange times of video between schools will be quicker.

Currently all Big Ten schools are in different phases of the HD transition. Those with newer facilities already have HD monitors and projectors. However there are still a couple of schools that need to upgrade their software, replace current hardware or are still deciding on the best camera set up for them. While the ideal time frame to convert all schools to HD is following the 2010 season, many of us know that it will be a gradual upgrade for others. The SEC also discussed the topic at their Video Coordinators meeting earlier this week. Their time frame is still two years away, and the knowledge they have on the subject is not as in-depth as that put in by us in the Big Ten.

It's Official--Three Night Games

(Doesn't that grass look great)

The Big Ten announced today three Iowa Football games will begin under the lights. Rematch of last season's upset of then undefeated Penn State will begin at 8pm (et) on ABC / ESPN in State College. The Hawkeye's Homecoming game with Michigan will also appear on ABC / ESPN beginning at 7pm (ct). Iowa's lone evening appearance on the Big Ten Network will be at East Lansing for the battle with Michigan State.

Ticket Demand

While sitting in my hotel room awaiting team meetings for Saturday's game with Iowa State, rather than watching it rain in an already drenched downtown Cedar Rapids I decided to take a look at ticket prices on a well-known broker site, StubHub. I have used StubHub once with great success. My son and I were able to sit high behind home plate at Busch Stadium for a Cardinal - Brewer game this summer for $18 a piece.

For those of you who are looking into attending Saturday night's clash between Ohio State and USC at the L.A. Colisseum can pay a reasonable $383 for seats high on the 50 yd line. When I say reasonable, you can expect to pay top dollar for a game of top five teams which attracts many of Hollywood's A-list. $383 for a mid-field seat isn't bad. However, to attend the Notre Dame - Michigan match-up on the same day, you'll need to pony up $160 to sit on the 25 yd line. Tickets are no longer available for the Iowa's in-state battle.

Play-off baseball is very interesting. Typically a very tough ticket is the World Series. Although only one team has qualified for extra baseball, teams are able to begin selling for the post-season. To purchase through StubHub, the individual is given a money back guarrantee for your money back if your team does not qualify. Let's take a look at some prices.

1. Chicago Cubs--$1749 is the cost of admission to Wrigley Field for the first home game of the WS. That is Standing Room Only. The cheapest seat goes for $1850. Bleachers, $2024.


2. Milwaukee Brewers--The cheapest seat is upper deck outfield for $398. Upper deck infield is $399.


3. L.A. Angels of Anaheim--The cheapest seat is upper deck behind first base for $369. $375 for outfield seats. For the same price that it takes to enter Wrigley Field, you can have a seat in the Angels' park just rows behind first base.

Obviously, if you are a baseball fan and just want to see a World Series game, you'll cheer for the Brewers to make it far into October. Otherwise Cub fans, dig very deep into that wallet.

College Football Week 1

After the first week of college football, a couple of observations.

The ACC is a basketball conference. Clemson is pummeled by Alabama, East Carolina surprises Virginia Tech, North Carolina State is throttled by South Carolina and Southern California punishes Virginia. North Carolina narrowly beats McNeese State, Maryland is a touchdown better than Delaware and Boston College defeats Kent State 21-0. The most impressive victory is by conference doormat Duke. They beat James Madison 31-7.

Clemson...ENOUGH! We consistently are led to believe the Tigers will be battling for the national title. This year they enter the season ninth in the nation, on national television and get thoroughly beat. Nothing new. Remember, it is better to have your fifteen minutes of fame at the end of the season, not the beginning.

The Big Ten proved they can beat the wannabes of the college football world, but Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois did not make the conference proud. When was the last time Michigan lost back to back home season openers to non-BCS conference teams. I do believe Michigan State has a promising future. Playing on the west coast is tough duty.


Did anyone else notice that Texas A&M lost at home to Arkansas State? And Arkansas was behind by ten entering the fourth quarter against Western Illinois?

Pittsburgh, I'll hold off on my comments until September 21, the day after the Hawks travel east.