Off Tackle Empire
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
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Dusty May leaves Michigan Wolverines Basketball for the Dallas Mavericks
Bolting the Blue Headline says it all, no? After compiling a 64-13 record, two Big Ten titles, and a national championship, Ol’ Musty Day appears poised to leave Ann Arbor for the dustier, cow-townier pastures of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Per USA Today, he was poised to make $4.85 million in 2026-27, with a buyout […]
One B1G Beautiful Guide: A College Football Fan’s World Cup Guide to USA, Turkiye, Paraguay, Australia
Dear God, how many B1G West teams can play in one World Cup? Thus continues my sure-to-be-ill-fated attempt to write Big Ten-centric guides to all 48 teams in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. If you’d like to know how to watch these games, as well as whether you should watch them, I’ve already covered and solved all the […]
One B1G Beautiful Guide to Group B: Canada, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Switzerland, Qatar
Cheap shots, daddy’s money, a loud American, plus quiet competence…YOU TELL ME WHICH BIG TEN TEAMS YOU THOUGHT OF. Thus continues my sure-to-be-ill-fated attempt to write Big Ten-centric guides to all 48 teams in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. If you’d like to know how to watch these games, as well as whether you should watch them, I’ve […]
Michigan State Football 2026 Preview, Horseshoe
A horseshoe wild enough to make Kirk Cousins use a naughty word! A long, long time ago, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various teams of the Big Ten: any big transfers, important news, […]
One B1G Beautiful Guide: Mexico, South Africa, Czechia, South Korea
It’s a matchup of 2010s-era wisconsin vs. 2000s-era Rutgers! What does that mean? READ DOWN! Thus begins my sure-to-be-ill-fated attempt to write Big Ten-centric guides to all 48 teams in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. If you’d like to know how to watch these games, as well as whether you should watch them, I’ve […]
How to Watch the World Cup as a Fan of a Big Ten Team
Can you ethically watch the World Cup? You already watch college football, so… You may have heard a soccer tournament is about to happen. It was news to me, but there you go. The World Cup starts today, and one of the questions I get constantly—don’t fact check that—as the premier college football Big Ten […]
Michigan Football 2026 Summer Preview: Making Beautiful Music Out of Horse Meat
Courtesy of Kyle Whittingham, author of How to Cook Your Horse: 25 Recipes You’ll Be Glued to, from Appaloosatizer to Mane Course A long, long time ago, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various […]
Maryland Football 2026 Spring Catch-Up, Horseshoe Crab Sandwich
Route 1 is both my approach to this article AND a major thoroughfare in College Park, Maryland! A long, long time ago, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various teams of the Big Ten: […]
Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 Spring Recap, Horseshoe Sandwich
9-3. Rinse, repeat. A long, long time ago, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various teams of the Big Ten: any big transfers, important news, or anything else. But to sweeten—or savory—the pot, I […]
Indiana Football 2026 Catch-Up, Horseshoe Recipe
How do you follow up 16-0? With a big-ass pork tenderloin, of course. A long, long time ago, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various teams of the Big Ten: any big transfers, important […]
A Horseshoe in Every Pot: What’s new, Illinois?
Orange. Blue. Horseshoe. We’re working on something here. A long, long time ago*, I promised that, in lieu of starting B1G 2026—The Last One Ever?(!)—until, give or take, the Fourth of July, we would be doing drop-in updates on the various teams of the Big Ten: any big transfers, important news, or anything else.* I […]
The SEC is losing its collective mind, and I’m jealous
Is it weird that I feel…left out? The SEC is going through it right now. It’s SEC spring meetings, and just headline after headline has you wondering if we’re not watching a crack-up happen in real time. There’s Jon Sumrall, formerly of Tulane and Florida simultaneously, Tulane before that, and now just Florida, talking about […]
Counterpoint: You’re a Good-Looking Genius, Tony Pettiti
Please: at LEAST a 24-team College Football Playoff. But might we make a recommendation? Dear Commissioner Pettiti, Hi. MNWildcat here. Thanks for putting your thumb on the scale earlier this week to prevent SBNation from being sold to the Murdochs along with Vox. I know you’re too humble and good-looking a genius to take any […]
NCAAF Roster Management – Part 5. Athlete Options, Moneyball
How will teams balance depth and talent in the NIL era? Player compensation provides athletes a real choice to delaying their entry into the NFL. Surprisingly there isn’t a lot of multi-year information available, but references were all similar to those in this chart. It still generally holds true that a player not projected to […]
Farewell to Canvas: A Live Q&A on Big Ten Football?
Not for that reason, though. Teaching is tiring enough as it is—at baseline, I’m annoyed, frustrated, and underpaid. Happy Finals Week. Students don’t read, can’t write, and yet Michigan State’s admission rates aren’t getting any better. (This is a Big Ten blog, remember.) Use of artificial intelligence abounds, and some Big Ten institutions are just […]
NCAAF Roster Management – Part 4. Conference Revenue
Private equity? Advertising? Also see: NCAAF Roster Management – Part 1. Quick Takes NCAAF Roster Management – Part 2. NIL and Shared Revenue Structure NCAAF Roster Management – Part 3. Program Revenue Private Equity Partnership At the time of writing this [ed. note: my bad], the B1G private equity partnership with 3 firms appears dead. […]
NCAAF Roster Management – Part 3. Program Revenue
Financing isn’t just an issue for G6 (few of which will keep pace), the power conferences are facing rapidly increasing costs. Also see: Program reserves were wiped out during Covid as most had to look to the University for assistance, and pay back the University the following years. Coaching staff cost has skyrocketed. It isn’t […]
NCAAF Roster Management – Part 2. NIL and Shared Revenue Structure
We’re at the front end of the new NCAAF landscape with paid athletes, program GMs, and program managed NIL collectives. Programs have been adapting quickly to the new challenges of the additional NCAA and court requirements, but a new structure has taken form. Also see NCAAF Roster Management – Part 1. Quick Takes Note: this […]
NFL Draft Round 1 Preview: Which Big Ten Players Will Be Drafted?
It’s Fernando Mendoza and…who? Good morning. We’ll be back to talk about horseshoes and NIL as soon as I can get out from under this mountain of grading and this new book of mine. Exciting times in the MNW household. Tonight, I’m told, begins the NFL Draft. People really care about this. So let’s tell […]
A Horseshoe in Every Pot: Off-Season Big Ten Football Updates
A word on the future of Off Tackle Empire, a couple hundred words on the Big Ten and how Iowa are dirty cheaters, and then 1,000 more on a delicious sandwich. We have run over 10,000 posts here at Off Tackle Empire dot blogspot dot biz, soon to be acquired and saddled with tons and […]
Hail to the Victors! Michigan Wins the National Championship
Michigan spent most of this season playing its game – and playing it well. Blessed with an abundance of talent, size, playmaking ability and depth, the Wolverines like to open it up on offense. And when Michigan gets rolling, it can be hard to handle. Michigan not only won a program-best 37 games this season, […]
NCAA Football Roster Management, Part 1: Quick Takes
How do you distribute NIL and shared revenue funds in a modern NCAA Football roster? Note: this is the first in a four-part series from longtime OTE reader and commenter ProveIt on roster management, revenue sharing, and NIL distribution in our new era of college football. One of these will run every couple days for […]
Well, they did it.
The Big Ten now holds the national championships in men’s and women’s basketball, as well as football and probably all of hockey, too. In a whistle-marred game, Michigan shot 21/55 from the field and 2/15 from deep, but did just enough as UConn hit just 9 of their 33 threes, part of a putrid 31% […]
Michigan Steamrolls Arizona | Plays for the National Championship
It was clear early in the season that this Michigan team was different. The Wolverines have had plenty of good teams in recent years. Over the past fifteen seasons, they’ve reached the Sweet Sixteen nine times, advanced to two Final Fours (2013 and 2018) and captured multiple Big Ten titles. But this team, with its […]
Final Four Saturday: Open Thread
Plus: A Crown of Thorns, with no hope of resurrection for the Big Ten in Las Vegas The Crown: Updates Don’t lie to me, these are what you’re here for. The Games That Were (April 1-2) Oklahoma Sooners 90, Colorado Buffaloes 86 (OT) Baylor Bears 67, Minnesota Golden Gophers 48 At halftime I sent the […]
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