Campus Clips: Commissioner Jim Delaney Threatens Big Ten Downsizing if O’Bannon Wins; Missouri Valley Commisioner Upset with CBS Blackout

Compiled by Brandon Costa, Senior Editor, Sports Video Group

The Ed O’Bannon case could have widespread impact on college athletics, and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany believes that it could very much affect the status of his conference. Delany states that the Big Ten might have to relegate the importance of college athletics or transition it to a Division III-type model where schools do not offer grants to athletes. In an interview with Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, Delaney said, “it has been my longstanding belief that The Big Ten’s schools would forgo the revenues in those circumstances and instead take steps to downsize the scope, breadth and activity of their athletic programs…”

…Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Doug Elgin told the AP last week that he was upset that viewers in certain viewing areas were pulled away from the conference championship by CBS, stating that he received hundreds of complaints after CBS swapped some viewers to the start of Indiana’s victory at Michigan for the Big Ten regular season title. “They’ll never be able to make this up to us,” said Elgin, adding the conference had received “hundreds” of complaints from irate fans. “Our concern is our most important game of the year carries nationally — all of it. That’s certainly what we bargained for.”

…Xavier University will formally accept its invitation into the new Big East Conference on Wednesday in New York. The league, created from seven Catholic non-football schools that withdrew from the current Big East, also will include Butler and Creighton, starting this fall. Xavier President Father Michael Graham will be in New York for the 11 a.m. ET announcement. The new league will keep the Big East name and keep its men’s basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden. It also has been negotiating a television contract with the new Fox Sports 1 network…

…Notre Dame is jumping to the Atlantic Coast Conference even earlier than expected. The Fighting Irish announced last week that it had reached an agreement with the Big East to quicken its defection to the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football and hockey beginning this fall. Louisville is still set to join the ACC for the 2014-15 season.