Six-Page Document on Expansion.
-
The Ancient Enemy
- Official BleacherCoach
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- Joined: October 30th, 2004, 2:47 pm
Six-Page Document on Expansion.
My buddy John at work asked for a run-down of the B10 expansion so I gave him a novel.
Big Ten expansion…
Since 1993, when PSU joined, the conference has existed with 11 member schools. The conference has been very slow to add a 12th member. Football is the mealticket for almost every university nowadays. That being said, the B10 has been under scrutiny as of late because of poor bowl performances. That is mostly attributable to the fact that the Big Ten finishes their regular season 3 weeks ahead of the other conferences, which sets them back in bowl preparation (you are only allowed a certain number of practices). The other conferences play conference championship games, which not only give them millions of dollars and national exposure, but also gives them another game closer to the bowl season.
In 2010, the Big Ten will implement a mandatory bye week. This will cut the 3-week deficit to 2 weeks. And a conference title game would cut the deficit to one week.
But to play in the conference championship, under NCAA regulations you must have a 12th member. Conversely, if you have 12 member schools in your conference, the title game is mandatory.
With everyone tightening their belts financially and looking for ways to increase revenue, the Big Ten brass has acknowledged that they are looking at a 12th member. Two regional divisions will drastically reduce travel times and expenses. Instead of PSU sending all their non-revenue teams to places like Wisconsin, now they will travel what could potentially only be as far as Indiana.
But who is the 12th member???
There are criteria that the additional school must meet.
Like the Pac-10, the Big Ten was not created as an alliance of schools who wanted to play football against one another. This is an academic conference first and foremost and that has been made abundantly clear over the past week when this discussion has been brought up. The Big Ten thrives on the research and academic collaborations that exist within the conference. They will add someone with equal research opportunities and strong academics.
They will also be looking at the location. Does the university expand the Big Ten market? How much market value does the school possess? With the Big Ten Network generating so much income now, they will look to add a school who can really contribute to expanding the viewer base.
The additional school must also field a lot of sports teams. When Penn State joined, they were forced to start programs in certain sports per the Big Ten criteria.
The obvious choice is Notre Dame, who is already in Big Ten country and has established rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Penn State. But ND has refused the B10 twice in the past, and there is a bitterness amongst the B10 to extend an offer again. ND has national appeal and academic prestige, but they are losing money. Every Big Ten school cleared more revenue last season than ND, who has a very lucrative NBC TV deal. There are also reports that NBC is losing money on ND. The Irish participate in the Big East in all sports other than football. The Big Ten will not extend another invitation to ND, and ND doesn’t want them either, which in my opinion is incredibly arrogant and stupid on Notre Dame’s part. If the B10 raids the Big East for a 12th member (or more), ND loses their safety net. They know they can join the BE any time they want. But what if there is no Big East left?
Rutgers is another university in serious consideration. Paterno has stated many times that he wants them to expand eastward. This certainly helps Penn State. Paterno has been one of the leading advocates for expansion for years. Rutgers has very good academics, great research, a huge alumni base and undergrad enrollment, and most importantly they extend the Big Ten into the NYC market, which is saturated with B10 alumni.
There are some who say that the B10 Network is already available in many NJ/NY areas, and that adding RU is essentially pointless if you consider the B10 is already available to much of that market base. This to me is very retarded, because you are trying to weigh RU home games versus South Florida and Louisville against potential home games versus Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State in all sports. If you already have millions of B10 alumni living in that area, from all B10 schools of which most have huge enrollments and alums, how can you possibly compare the fanbases and revenue of a Big East home game versus that of a Big Ten home game? There is absolutely no comparison.
Rutgers, in my opinion, is a launching pad. If you inject the Big Ten revenue and fans into that university, they will skyrocket. The conference said that over the next 12-18 months they will consider schools for admission. In my opinion, this is a slam dunk. It took me personally about 4.3 seconds to realize how much Rutgers can bring versus Missouri, UCONN, Pitt, Syracuse, etc. In addition to that stuff, the NJ area is a hotbed for recruiting in basketball and football. There is a 0% chance that the Big East can out-recruit the Big Ten in New Jersey if RU joins. There are just way too many benefits to having RU as a member school in comparison to the others in consideration.
But, let’s take a look at who else is in the mix.
Missouri is making no bones about wanting to leave the Big XII for the Big Ten. The governor of Missouri is also advocating the move, saying: “I’m not going to say anything bad about the Big 12, but when you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at,” Nixon said in an interview with The Associated Press.“If a significant conference with a long history of academic and athletic excellence talks about you joining them, you shouldn’t just say, ‘We’re from the old Big 8 and I remember when … “If they want to talk, we should talk, and we should listen,” Nixon added.
The argument from Missouri is that all schools besides OU and UT get treated as second class citizens by OU and UT. It is very heavily dominated by Texas and Oklahoma. The Big XII also has poor bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than rival conferences. This has hurt Missouri in recent years, as it has the other Big XII schools.
Some say that adding a 12th member to the Big Ten will hurt their shared revenue (obviously dividing by 12 leaves a smaller individual pot than dividing by 11) but that’s not necessarily true. The Big Ten will almost definitely get another bowl tie-in that will even it out.
Missouri has the St. Louis and KC markets that can be tapped, as well. The problem with Mizzou is that the overall academics of the B10 take a hit if they get added, and I am not sure how much Mizzou dominates St. Louis anymore than Illinois already brings in.
Pitt is another school in consideration. Pitt has high academics and a long-standing PSU rivalry, but they do not add anything to the market base (PSU already dominates the area) and they have an off-campus stadium, which is something the B10 does not like. Pitt is also having attendance issues in their athletics, and recently almost dropped a few non-revenue sports because they were having trouble funding their athletics department. Granted, that will never happen in the Big Ten, but that’s not something that looks appealing to the B10 committee. I would rate Pitt as the 3rd choice, behind Rutgers and Mizzou.
Syracuse has also been in consideration. Problem with the Cuse is that the market is small, their academics have dropped off, and they do not add the NYC market.
Here is a comparison of Rutgers and Syracuse.
Syracuse Enrollment = 19,000 students
Rutgers Enrollment.. = 53,000 students
Syracuse 2009 Football Attendance = 39,000
Rutgers.. 2009 Football Attendance = 49,000
Syracuse 2008 Total Revenue(including Basketball) = 44 Million
Rutgers.. 2008 Total Revenue............................ = 50 Million
Here is a newspaper breakdown of the schools in comparison.
Missouri
Undergraduate enrollment: 23,042.
Average SAT scores: 1,080-1,310
U.S. News ranking: 102
Why the Tigers: Solid football and basketball programs, a "Braggin' Rights" rivalry with Illinois, geographically friendly campus, access to St. Louis and Kansas City markets, top-notch journalism school
Why not the Tigers: So-so football stadium that seats 71,004 but rarely sells out, a perceived lack of buzz for the program.
Bottom line: The blog Mizzou2bigten.com sees a perfect fit. Missouri would get richer through Big Ten revenue sharing and boost its TV presence via the Big Ten Network.
Pittsburgh
Undergraduate enrollment: 17,427.
Average SAT scores: 1,160-1,360.
U.S. News ranking: 56.
Why the Panthers: Strong football program with rich history, home games at Steelers' Heinz Field, a U.S. News ranking that's higher than five current Big Ten schools, geographically friendly, solid TV market (23rd), powerful basketball program and, hey, it's Da Coach's alma mater.
Why not the Panthers: Some smallish crowds at Heinz Field. A low Director's Cup ranking of 93rd in 2008-09 that reflects weakness in the overall athletic program.
Bottom line: A lot of pluses here, but the Big Ten would not be able to expand its recruiting base.
Rutgers
Undergraduate enrollment: 28,031.
Average SAT scores: 1,090-1,310.
U.S. News ranking: 66.
Why the Scarlet Knights: Access to the nation's largest TV market, solid academics (ranks above Indiana, Michigan State and Iowa in recent U.S. News list), a football program on a solid five-year run, a newly renovated (for $102 million) stadium.
Why not the Scarlet Knights: Long trips from western schools such as Iowa and Minnesota. Until recently, Rutgers football was a joke.
Bottom line: Here's guessing Big Ten schools would rather fly into Newark, N.J., than State College, Pa. And Rutgers would love to make the leap to the Big Ten because of the Big East's crummy bowl tie-ins (last four years, including 2009): Texas, International, Papajohns.com and St. Petersburg.
Syracuse
Undergraduate enrollment: 13,651.
Average SAT scores: 1,070-1,270.
U.S. News ranking: 58.
Why the Orange: Top-notch basketball, a football legacy of Ernie Davis and Jim Brown, a superb communications school with alumni such as Bob Costas and Fox Sports President Ed Goren.
Why not the Orange: Tiny TV market (83rd) and so-so-football program that plays in the rundown (and not air-conditioned) Carrier Dome.
Bottom line: The 'Cuse fits the profile, but who, exactly, longs to take winter trips to central New York?
Here are some academic tidbits.
The US News and World Report Rankings of the academic capabilities of the 11 existing Big Ten schools and the 8 schools getting the most consideration as a potential 12th school are being provided here for everyone's convenience. The US News and World Report Rankings include many schools that do not have Football programs so they may appear to be lower than you might have thought.
Northwestern.... 12
Notre Dame...... 20
Michigan.......... 27
Boston College.. 34
Illinois.............. 39
Wisconsin......... 39
Penn State....... 47
Ohio State........ 53
Maryland.......... 53
Pittsburgh......... 56
Syracuse.......... 58
Minnesota...... .. 61
Purdue............. 61
Rutgers............ 66
Indiana............ 71
Iowa............... 71
Michigan State...71
Nebraska.......... 96
Missouri.......... 102
The 4 year Academic Progress Ratings of the 8 programs getting the most consideration as a potential 12th team are being provided here for everyone's convenience. They are not indicative of the academic capabilities of a school overall. But, they do show the commitment that each Football program has in getting their players graduated.
Rutgers........... 980
Penn State...... 976
Notre Dame..... 974
Boston College. 970
Syracuse........ 956
Missouri.......... 951
Nebraska........ 950
Pittsburgh....... 944
Maryland......... 931
There is also discussion that the B10 could expand to 14 or 16 universities. If this happens, the college football world will be in utter chaos. If the B10 adds Rutgers, Mizzou, and Pitt, the BE will almost instantly lose their automatic BCS bid and will scramble to find at least 2 members. Those will more than likely come from Conference USA. C-USA in turn will have to add 2 schools in order to keep their coveted conference championship game. So where do those schools come from? The Sun Belt?
The point is, even with 1 school jumping to the Big Ten, dominoes will fall all around the nation. If the Big XII loses one, someone must be added to keep the conference title game. Who? TCU or Colorado State? TCU seems logical (DFW market) but who plays in the North Division?
Then there is heavy discussion of the Pac-10 expanding as well. If they go to 12, who do they take? They take an academic hit no matter who they include. There is talk of Colorado heading there. Boise’s academics are poor, and what does Utah give the Pac-10 that BYU does not? Why take both when you can snag UNLV or Nevada and expand the Pac-10’s market? New Mexico? Forget Hawaii. Hawaii has terrible facilities, no alumni, very questionable academics, and no money. Fresno State wants an invite, but that’s a state school that offers no research opportunities. In addition, Fresno is a massive **** hole with bad facilities, no real fanbase, and a small market. I was there in August, and trust me, you would not go to school there.
The Pac-10 situation, I can forsee, will get to the point where the B10 is right now. The Pac-10 recently has also been under scrutiny as the Big 1, Little 9, with USC being the only real football program nationally. The Pac-10 has always boasted that they love playing eachother every season. That is not entirely true, as many coaches and ADs have become outspoken about expanding, for essentially the same reasons as the Big Ten. The Pac-10 suffers from a lack of national exposure, but a conference championship can go a long way in alleviating that. They need 2 more. They will act quickly once the Big Ten does.
If you are wondering about Cincinnati, WVU, or UCONN as possible B10 members, I can answer that.
WVU has a history of poor academics. They have no real market value. Next?
Cincinnati also has below average academics and there is no way in hell that B10 heavyweight OSU allows another in-state institution into the league. Sorry. Next?
UCONN is very competitive in the revenue sports but basketball differs greatly from football. Division 1 basketball is loaded with so many teams that the difference between winning seasons and losing (and attendance) can hinge on 2-3 recruits. It is too shaky to stake your athletic income on basketball alone. In addition, the Hartford area has a little over a million households. Not big enough. The football stadium is also 24 miles from campus. No way the B10 agrees to be a part of all that.
The darkhorse is Maryland, who is reportedly unhappy in the ACC. This would open the Baltimore and DC markets, they have wonderful academics and research opportunities, a huge undergrad, wealthy, and good facilities. I would bet Maryland becomes a player in all this, whether it’s a B10 invite or even a Big East one. But… what does the ACC do then? Add South Florida? They’re a BE team! The ACC is spread very thin along the Atlantic seaboard as it is. Do they plug UCONN in between Boston College and Virginia Tech? Lots of possibilities.
My personal choice for 3 schools is Rutgers, Maryland, and Pitt ideally. I think cooler heads will ultimately prevail (these school presidents and boards are crusty, old conservatives who hate change) and they will only end up adding 1 member. I think it will be Rutgers.
Things will get very, very, very interesting over the next year or so, and I am equally as excited. I personally would like to see the Big 10 go to 14 and prompt the SEC and ACC and others to all go to 14, which would dissolve garbage conferences like the Big East as football entities. The BE exists with an automatic BCS bid even though they have 4 less conference football members than most other conferences. Is that fair? Will be very interesting.
Big Ten expansion…
Since 1993, when PSU joined, the conference has existed with 11 member schools. The conference has been very slow to add a 12th member. Football is the mealticket for almost every university nowadays. That being said, the B10 has been under scrutiny as of late because of poor bowl performances. That is mostly attributable to the fact that the Big Ten finishes their regular season 3 weeks ahead of the other conferences, which sets them back in bowl preparation (you are only allowed a certain number of practices). The other conferences play conference championship games, which not only give them millions of dollars and national exposure, but also gives them another game closer to the bowl season.
In 2010, the Big Ten will implement a mandatory bye week. This will cut the 3-week deficit to 2 weeks. And a conference title game would cut the deficit to one week.
But to play in the conference championship, under NCAA regulations you must have a 12th member. Conversely, if you have 12 member schools in your conference, the title game is mandatory.
With everyone tightening their belts financially and looking for ways to increase revenue, the Big Ten brass has acknowledged that they are looking at a 12th member. Two regional divisions will drastically reduce travel times and expenses. Instead of PSU sending all their non-revenue teams to places like Wisconsin, now they will travel what could potentially only be as far as Indiana.
But who is the 12th member???
There are criteria that the additional school must meet.
Like the Pac-10, the Big Ten was not created as an alliance of schools who wanted to play football against one another. This is an academic conference first and foremost and that has been made abundantly clear over the past week when this discussion has been brought up. The Big Ten thrives on the research and academic collaborations that exist within the conference. They will add someone with equal research opportunities and strong academics.
They will also be looking at the location. Does the university expand the Big Ten market? How much market value does the school possess? With the Big Ten Network generating so much income now, they will look to add a school who can really contribute to expanding the viewer base.
The additional school must also field a lot of sports teams. When Penn State joined, they were forced to start programs in certain sports per the Big Ten criteria.
The obvious choice is Notre Dame, who is already in Big Ten country and has established rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Penn State. But ND has refused the B10 twice in the past, and there is a bitterness amongst the B10 to extend an offer again. ND has national appeal and academic prestige, but they are losing money. Every Big Ten school cleared more revenue last season than ND, who has a very lucrative NBC TV deal. There are also reports that NBC is losing money on ND. The Irish participate in the Big East in all sports other than football. The Big Ten will not extend another invitation to ND, and ND doesn’t want them either, which in my opinion is incredibly arrogant and stupid on Notre Dame’s part. If the B10 raids the Big East for a 12th member (or more), ND loses their safety net. They know they can join the BE any time they want. But what if there is no Big East left?
Rutgers is another university in serious consideration. Paterno has stated many times that he wants them to expand eastward. This certainly helps Penn State. Paterno has been one of the leading advocates for expansion for years. Rutgers has very good academics, great research, a huge alumni base and undergrad enrollment, and most importantly they extend the Big Ten into the NYC market, which is saturated with B10 alumni.
There are some who say that the B10 Network is already available in many NJ/NY areas, and that adding RU is essentially pointless if you consider the B10 is already available to much of that market base. This to me is very retarded, because you are trying to weigh RU home games versus South Florida and Louisville against potential home games versus Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State in all sports. If you already have millions of B10 alumni living in that area, from all B10 schools of which most have huge enrollments and alums, how can you possibly compare the fanbases and revenue of a Big East home game versus that of a Big Ten home game? There is absolutely no comparison.
Rutgers, in my opinion, is a launching pad. If you inject the Big Ten revenue and fans into that university, they will skyrocket. The conference said that over the next 12-18 months they will consider schools for admission. In my opinion, this is a slam dunk. It took me personally about 4.3 seconds to realize how much Rutgers can bring versus Missouri, UCONN, Pitt, Syracuse, etc. In addition to that stuff, the NJ area is a hotbed for recruiting in basketball and football. There is a 0% chance that the Big East can out-recruit the Big Ten in New Jersey if RU joins. There are just way too many benefits to having RU as a member school in comparison to the others in consideration.
But, let’s take a look at who else is in the mix.
Missouri is making no bones about wanting to leave the Big XII for the Big Ten. The governor of Missouri is also advocating the move, saying: “I’m not going to say anything bad about the Big 12, but when you compare Oklahoma State to Northwestern, when you compare Texas Tech to Wisconsin, I mean, you begin looking at educational possibilities that are worth looking at,” Nixon said in an interview with The Associated Press.“If a significant conference with a long history of academic and athletic excellence talks about you joining them, you shouldn’t just say, ‘We’re from the old Big 8 and I remember when … “If they want to talk, we should talk, and we should listen,” Nixon added.
The argument from Missouri is that all schools besides OU and UT get treated as second class citizens by OU and UT. It is very heavily dominated by Texas and Oklahoma. The Big XII also has poor bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than rival conferences. This has hurt Missouri in recent years, as it has the other Big XII schools.
Some say that adding a 12th member to the Big Ten will hurt their shared revenue (obviously dividing by 12 leaves a smaller individual pot than dividing by 11) but that’s not necessarily true. The Big Ten will almost definitely get another bowl tie-in that will even it out.
Missouri has the St. Louis and KC markets that can be tapped, as well. The problem with Mizzou is that the overall academics of the B10 take a hit if they get added, and I am not sure how much Mizzou dominates St. Louis anymore than Illinois already brings in.
Pitt is another school in consideration. Pitt has high academics and a long-standing PSU rivalry, but they do not add anything to the market base (PSU already dominates the area) and they have an off-campus stadium, which is something the B10 does not like. Pitt is also having attendance issues in their athletics, and recently almost dropped a few non-revenue sports because they were having trouble funding their athletics department. Granted, that will never happen in the Big Ten, but that’s not something that looks appealing to the B10 committee. I would rate Pitt as the 3rd choice, behind Rutgers and Mizzou.
Syracuse has also been in consideration. Problem with the Cuse is that the market is small, their academics have dropped off, and they do not add the NYC market.
Here is a comparison of Rutgers and Syracuse.
Syracuse Enrollment = 19,000 students
Rutgers Enrollment.. = 53,000 students
Syracuse 2009 Football Attendance = 39,000
Rutgers.. 2009 Football Attendance = 49,000
Syracuse 2008 Total Revenue(including Basketball) = 44 Million
Rutgers.. 2008 Total Revenue............................ = 50 Million
Here is a newspaper breakdown of the schools in comparison.
Missouri
Undergraduate enrollment: 23,042.
Average SAT scores: 1,080-1,310
U.S. News ranking: 102
Why the Tigers: Solid football and basketball programs, a "Braggin' Rights" rivalry with Illinois, geographically friendly campus, access to St. Louis and Kansas City markets, top-notch journalism school
Why not the Tigers: So-so football stadium that seats 71,004 but rarely sells out, a perceived lack of buzz for the program.
Bottom line: The blog Mizzou2bigten.com sees a perfect fit. Missouri would get richer through Big Ten revenue sharing and boost its TV presence via the Big Ten Network.
Pittsburgh
Undergraduate enrollment: 17,427.
Average SAT scores: 1,160-1,360.
U.S. News ranking: 56.
Why the Panthers: Strong football program with rich history, home games at Steelers' Heinz Field, a U.S. News ranking that's higher than five current Big Ten schools, geographically friendly, solid TV market (23rd), powerful basketball program and, hey, it's Da Coach's alma mater.
Why not the Panthers: Some smallish crowds at Heinz Field. A low Director's Cup ranking of 93rd in 2008-09 that reflects weakness in the overall athletic program.
Bottom line: A lot of pluses here, but the Big Ten would not be able to expand its recruiting base.
Rutgers
Undergraduate enrollment: 28,031.
Average SAT scores: 1,090-1,310.
U.S. News ranking: 66.
Why the Scarlet Knights: Access to the nation's largest TV market, solid academics (ranks above Indiana, Michigan State and Iowa in recent U.S. News list), a football program on a solid five-year run, a newly renovated (for $102 million) stadium.
Why not the Scarlet Knights: Long trips from western schools such as Iowa and Minnesota. Until recently, Rutgers football was a joke.
Bottom line: Here's guessing Big Ten schools would rather fly into Newark, N.J., than State College, Pa. And Rutgers would love to make the leap to the Big Ten because of the Big East's crummy bowl tie-ins (last four years, including 2009): Texas, International, Papajohns.com and St. Petersburg.
Syracuse
Undergraduate enrollment: 13,651.
Average SAT scores: 1,070-1,270.
U.S. News ranking: 58.
Why the Orange: Top-notch basketball, a football legacy of Ernie Davis and Jim Brown, a superb communications school with alumni such as Bob Costas and Fox Sports President Ed Goren.
Why not the Orange: Tiny TV market (83rd) and so-so-football program that plays in the rundown (and not air-conditioned) Carrier Dome.
Bottom line: The 'Cuse fits the profile, but who, exactly, longs to take winter trips to central New York?
Here are some academic tidbits.
The US News and World Report Rankings of the academic capabilities of the 11 existing Big Ten schools and the 8 schools getting the most consideration as a potential 12th school are being provided here for everyone's convenience. The US News and World Report Rankings include many schools that do not have Football programs so they may appear to be lower than you might have thought.
Northwestern.... 12
Notre Dame...... 20
Michigan.......... 27
Boston College.. 34
Illinois.............. 39
Wisconsin......... 39
Penn State....... 47
Ohio State........ 53
Maryland.......... 53
Pittsburgh......... 56
Syracuse.......... 58
Minnesota...... .. 61
Purdue............. 61
Rutgers............ 66
Indiana............ 71
Iowa............... 71
Michigan State...71
Nebraska.......... 96
Missouri.......... 102
The 4 year Academic Progress Ratings of the 8 programs getting the most consideration as a potential 12th team are being provided here for everyone's convenience. They are not indicative of the academic capabilities of a school overall. But, they do show the commitment that each Football program has in getting their players graduated.
Rutgers........... 980
Penn State...... 976
Notre Dame..... 974
Boston College. 970
Syracuse........ 956
Missouri.......... 951
Nebraska........ 950
Pittsburgh....... 944
Maryland......... 931
There is also discussion that the B10 could expand to 14 or 16 universities. If this happens, the college football world will be in utter chaos. If the B10 adds Rutgers, Mizzou, and Pitt, the BE will almost instantly lose their automatic BCS bid and will scramble to find at least 2 members. Those will more than likely come from Conference USA. C-USA in turn will have to add 2 schools in order to keep their coveted conference championship game. So where do those schools come from? The Sun Belt?
The point is, even with 1 school jumping to the Big Ten, dominoes will fall all around the nation. If the Big XII loses one, someone must be added to keep the conference title game. Who? TCU or Colorado State? TCU seems logical (DFW market) but who plays in the North Division?
Then there is heavy discussion of the Pac-10 expanding as well. If they go to 12, who do they take? They take an academic hit no matter who they include. There is talk of Colorado heading there. Boise’s academics are poor, and what does Utah give the Pac-10 that BYU does not? Why take both when you can snag UNLV or Nevada and expand the Pac-10’s market? New Mexico? Forget Hawaii. Hawaii has terrible facilities, no alumni, very questionable academics, and no money. Fresno State wants an invite, but that’s a state school that offers no research opportunities. In addition, Fresno is a massive **** hole with bad facilities, no real fanbase, and a small market. I was there in August, and trust me, you would not go to school there.
The Pac-10 situation, I can forsee, will get to the point where the B10 is right now. The Pac-10 recently has also been under scrutiny as the Big 1, Little 9, with USC being the only real football program nationally. The Pac-10 has always boasted that they love playing eachother every season. That is not entirely true, as many coaches and ADs have become outspoken about expanding, for essentially the same reasons as the Big Ten. The Pac-10 suffers from a lack of national exposure, but a conference championship can go a long way in alleviating that. They need 2 more. They will act quickly once the Big Ten does.
If you are wondering about Cincinnati, WVU, or UCONN as possible B10 members, I can answer that.
WVU has a history of poor academics. They have no real market value. Next?
Cincinnati also has below average academics and there is no way in hell that B10 heavyweight OSU allows another in-state institution into the league. Sorry. Next?
UCONN is very competitive in the revenue sports but basketball differs greatly from football. Division 1 basketball is loaded with so many teams that the difference between winning seasons and losing (and attendance) can hinge on 2-3 recruits. It is too shaky to stake your athletic income on basketball alone. In addition, the Hartford area has a little over a million households. Not big enough. The football stadium is also 24 miles from campus. No way the B10 agrees to be a part of all that.
The darkhorse is Maryland, who is reportedly unhappy in the ACC. This would open the Baltimore and DC markets, they have wonderful academics and research opportunities, a huge undergrad, wealthy, and good facilities. I would bet Maryland becomes a player in all this, whether it’s a B10 invite or even a Big East one. But… what does the ACC do then? Add South Florida? They’re a BE team! The ACC is spread very thin along the Atlantic seaboard as it is. Do they plug UCONN in between Boston College and Virginia Tech? Lots of possibilities.
My personal choice for 3 schools is Rutgers, Maryland, and Pitt ideally. I think cooler heads will ultimately prevail (these school presidents and boards are crusty, old conservatives who hate change) and they will only end up adding 1 member. I think it will be Rutgers.
Things will get very, very, very interesting over the next year or so, and I am equally as excited. I personally would like to see the Big 10 go to 14 and prompt the SEC and ACC and others to all go to 14, which would dissolve garbage conferences like the Big East as football entities. The BE exists with an automatic BCS bid even though they have 4 less conference football members than most other conferences. Is that fair? Will be very interesting.
Last edited by The Ancient Enemy on September 20th, 2011, 12:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I can and will be hard anytime with or without my boyz!!!" - Hollywood
"Their jerseys make me want to run through the desert and tackle a terrorist." - nLions1
"Their jerseys make me want to run through the desert and tackle a terrorist." - nLions1
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Head Roadie
- Moderator Team
- Posts: 1431
- Joined: August 22nd, 2003, 9:36 am
Re: Six-Page Document on Expansion.
Outstanding analysis, AE.
I am a Pitt fan but I can't see the Big East surviving this, especially if more than one team goes. Maryland, btw, would be foolish to move from the ACC to the Big East. Anyone entering the Big East if they lose a team or more for the second time in a few years is foolish. How fast would U.Conn jump to the ACC if Maryland left for the Big East or Big Ten? I would say about ten seconds!
Anyway, great work AE.
I am a Pitt fan but I can't see the Big East surviving this, especially if more than one team goes. Maryland, btw, would be foolish to move from the ACC to the Big East. Anyone entering the Big East if they lose a team or more for the second time in a few years is foolish. How fast would U.Conn jump to the ACC if Maryland left for the Big East or Big Ten? I would say about ten seconds!
Anyway, great work AE.
Last edited by Head Roadie on September 20th, 2011, 12:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Ancient Enemy
- Official BleacherCoach
- Posts: 7549
- Joined: October 30th, 2004, 2:47 pm
Re: Six-Page Document on Expansion.
Haha thanks. He's an older guy, so I am curious what he thought of such a big email whenever he clearly only wanted names of schools.
"I can and will be hard anytime with or without my boyz!!!" - Hollywood
"Their jerseys make me want to run through the desert and tackle a terrorist." - nLions1
"Their jerseys make me want to run through the desert and tackle a terrorist." - nLions1