"Skyrocketing unemployement, record forclosures, mediocre football teams, diminishing academics and the ugliest cheerleaders in the NCAA - this Big Ten Country" - so who cares??

What's the point of the network?

Oddly enough (and I am not sure if you live here or not) but the Mid-West is crazy about the Big-Ten not only for football but for every sport in general.

I live in Chicago, the home of the Big Ten headquarters and I will tell you that there are more passionate fans out here then there are in say SEC country...Don't get me wrong...SEC loves their football and probably blows the Big 10 out of the water in that sport alone, but collectively the Big 10 is tough to beat top to bottom...but in the long run, those fans that love their Big 10, just found a program guide to spend $$$ on and that is the bottom line...$$$$$

I know this isn't the best answer that you will get and I am not getting points for it, but as long as you get the point I am making then that is all that matters.

The Big Ten network was funded by the gov't for all Big Ten school students to use as a real life entry level intership. It will be ran by students, broadcast by students and even the commercials will be sold by students. It was an easy way to get the gov't to pay for the startup fees and is actually a good way to teach college students about the broadsating industry. They project the Big Ten network to take in about 300 students from the 11 colleges. I agree this will be a very cheaply ran network, but it is educational for the students

Yeah, Big 10 Net. Ain't it great? I was a little thrown aback by it at first too. But then I realized that the Big 10 is pretty much the premier conference in all of college athletics, when you consider the schools and the sports they compete in. I think lots more people care than you think. I mean, who wants to watch Notre Dame every damn week????? Touchdown Jesus may as well be asleep. And what other conference could seriously compare? Look at the schools in the Big 10. Sorry you disagree, but I'm sure the other conferences will follow suit when they can afford it.