The Real Big One?

A year ago as the BT began to test the waters of mega expansion, the college sports nation reacted. But when it was all said and done and the B1G had made its move, a super conference in the midwest wasn't a reality, but a 12-team Big Ten was.

The Big 12 tried to slap a band-aid on its wound with a hastily- designed TV deal and conference re-structuring and everyone knew it wasn't a permanent solution...little did we know how temporary it would be.

The 10-team Big 12 will soon be an 9 team and with Texas A&M leaving...and like when the BT was changing, rumors are swirling about other parts- Mizzou (who clearly wants out of the B12), FSU and Clemson could all move to the SEC as well, and help form a 16 team, all-sport super conference. If this were to happen, what would happen in the BT?

My thought is that without a whale wanting to join and a greater stake in the Northeast TV market, no move will come from Delany and Co. In fact, I would guess it would take other schools coming to the B1G boss, not vice-versa.

EsPN was first to report the rumors of the new quasi-Southeast Mega Conference...and some reports directly contradict the whispers...but why wouldn't Mickey & Co. try to grease the wheels a bit? EsPN already has a heavy vested interest in the SEC and making this conference have longer arms and more TV interest would do nothing but help Disney.

We'll see what happens in the coming days/weeks...but it's getting interesting...Again.

Might not be smiling for too long

A Relieved Handsome Hour: 3/30/11

The Handsome Duo rejoice together about Matty's decision to stay...
They talk about this guy playing (and others) playing for this guy again...
And they take a look at what the future might hold due to this week's events.

Our sources say, you need to tune in now...if you know what's good for you.

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JPC Reports Morgan Burke Has Made "Investment" In Matt Painter

Boiled Sports has learned that the following note was sent to John Purdue Club members approximately a half hour ago:

Dear John Purdue Club Members:

Thanks for the outpouring of support for Matt Painter and for your concern for our Purdue men’s basketball program.

In an effort to allay many of your concerns and dispel much of the misinformation by “unnamed sources”, Athletics Director Morgan Burke has asked me to share with each of you that he is working diligently with President France Córdova and our Board of Trustees to ensure that Matt remains our head coach for many years to come.

Proactively they have made an investment in Matt that was communicated last evening, clearly reinforcing their continued commitment to him and to our championship program.   They did not wait to counter anyone else’s offer.  It is my hope that the words and actions of our President, our Board and Morgan will encourage Matt, Jerri and their family to remain with Purdue.

Personally, I have been overwhelmed with the number of e-mails pledging to join the John Purdue Club or increase support.  Ironically, I believe we would not be in this situation had more than 11% of our current membership participated in the Mackey Challenge and more than 150 of our nearly 9,000 members recruited at least one new member.  More of the Big Ten television revenues could have been allocated for compensation for the basketball coaching staff members and less toward the critical path of updating Mackey Arena. 

As a self-supporting university auxiliary, we can spend only what we raise, so everyone’s participation will ensure that we retain Matt and provide championship-quality experiences for every single one of our Boilermaker student-athletes.

Thanks for your continued loyal support and passionate commitment….stay tuned!

BOILER UP, HAMMER DOWN, and HAIL PURDUE!

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I'll be sure to check in with Dick Weiss of the NY Daily News for his take on this, but before I do that, let's just think about a few things.

For one, if Burke is indeed making this sort of an effort and attempting to let Matty know how much he means to all of us, then that's good and I am happy Burke is doing so. Should it have gotten this far? Probably not. But all any of us can do is look forward and do what we can from this point onward. If this is accurate, that's what Cordova and Burke are doing. 

If I sound a bit skeptical, it's because I am. There's also the possibility that this is smoke being put out by Purdue to soften the blow they will surely receive from irritated Purdue fans and JPC members with deeper pockets than the wealthy and handsome Boilerdowd. Yes, it could be propaganda. 

For now, I'm going to give this some measure of credence, since nobody else out there has been able to confirm anything other than that Mizzou really loves our Matty. This content actually comes from a source that could/should know something -- the University. (Well, technically, it comes from the JPC but there's no way they would release something like this without Purdue's consent.)

Also, let's not overlook the fact that if more of you cheap a-holes had joined the JPC, we might not even be in this position. So yeah, it's kind of your fault, fans. Well said, JPC and Purdue. You do your best collectively to make us all dislike you, don't you?

Let's hope this is the potential good news it could be and that the Painter-Burke relationship isn't so far gone it cannot be salvaged.

(Thanks to the JPC'ers who forwarded us this info.)

A Look at Matty and Mizzou

Commanding Attention

We make it a point to post when Purdue news is coming down the pike. But honestly, Sunday's loss was like a punch in the gut to both of us. So in the wake of the unusual tourney upset for our Boilers, it's been a bit harder to do what we usually do- read articles, listen for the buzz and watch TV for emerging stories in a Purdue-centric sports world. All that said, the interwebnet is buzzing about something that needs to be addressed.

Matty's been named by a couple sources as a target of Missouri's coaching search. Sure, there's nothing from Mizzou or Painter that indicates he's been contacted. But, there's definitely smoke here...and why wouldn't there be? Painter's teams have averaged just under 25 wins/season the last five years. He took a Purdue program that was in the can in the wake of a legend retiring and made it a national story once again.

He's been able to lure big time talent to God's country, has helped develop players that were a bit off the radar and helped make Purdue a fixture in the national rankings again after a few years away from spotlight.

So when we hear that Missouri's athletic department might want to go after Purdue's head man, we understand why. Anderson, surprisingly to some (me included) has moved to SEC country to replace Pelphrey at Arkansas. Anderson had to pick up the pieces at Mizzou following Quin Snyder bringing NCAA scrutiny, and subsequent embarrassment, upon the program. Anderson did a great job...and like Painter, helped rebuild a program that was in bad shape (albeit for different reasons).

Missouri is kind of like Purdue in the fact that it tends to live a bit in the shadow of a couple monsters in their conference. And like Purdue, they've been able to even the playing field with a coach who recruits well for his system and gameplans and motivates even better. While Painter doesn't run a high-energy press like Anderson, he has a defense-first philosophy as well and knows how to win.

Missouri offered close to $2million to try keep Anderson in Columbia...That's a pretty large number and is hundreds of thousands of dollars more than Painter currently earns in West La La. Of course, Painter's numbers vary depending on the season and the incentives reached in that season. Burke and Painter negotiated a contract through '16 & '17...but one of the compromises reached was Painter had a free out clause in the summer of '11. Sure, that wrinkle in his contract only amounts to a $750,000 difference in buyout...and its timing isn't advantageous for a potential suitor, but it's still there.

Matt Painter is a loyal guy...but he's also a smart one. He's got a group of coaches who might be along for the ride if he decides to get into conversations with Mizzou. He also has a damned good Senior class and a bunch of players behind them that want to know he'll be leading them next season (and the seasons after that). Is Painter prepared to play poker with this situation? Who knows...but in my opinion, it's time to pay Matty as the market demands before this becomes an issue.

On the flip side, I'd rather not hear any of these negotiations see the light of day. If Painter decides to interview for this position, in my opinion, this exercise will have already gone too far. Back in the 80s and 90s, Coach Keady flirted with a few jobs outside of God's country, and no one won, in my opinion. It hurt Purdue's recruiting, it pissed off alums and Keady stayed at Purdue.

Everyone in the basketball offices has a chance to conspire together and make this all disappear before it's even an official story. Here's to that happening.