Big Ten NOT expanding
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4141080
So obviously Delaney put the kabbash on the Big Ten expanding to 12 teams. They're adding an additional Bye Week so the season goes one more week into November, but if they did ever decide to add another team, who would you want to join?
I personally would like to see Notre Dame join but seeing how that won't happen, the most realistic choices I could see happening are: Iowa State, Syracuse, or Pitt.
Missouri would be a sweet addition and I could see them adding some fresh blood into the conference.
Pitt. However Big Ten sucks so really who cares?
Why are you here?
Why are YOU here?
LOLBUTTS
Why, to read your genius posting of course.
I think WV would be better than any of those mentioned. It fits better with our theme of large public universities named after states (we should just kick Northwestern and Purdue out).
Wouldn't work...the Big Ten prides itself as a conference that combines world class athletics with world class academics and WVU doesn't come close on the academic side.
Currently, Michigan State is the lowest ranked school in the Big Ten in the USNews College Rankings at number 71 (yeah, I know that's a flawed ranking methodology, but it's the easiest to reference). WVU is categorized in Tier 3 and doesn't even get ranked in the top 130 schools.
all of that may be true but West Virginia leads the way in adult toothlessness
I think it's much easier for a team to join the big ten when they're not presently part of a conference (think ND). I don't think that the Big East etc have much control in letting teams leave to join the Big Ten, but there would be some PR issues with "stealing" a team from a conference that already only has 8 teams. Getting a team from a non-BCS conference would be much easier because it's an obvious step up, but if anyone does join, I'd put my money on ND. Remember, these decisions are made by AD's, and ND does not have the same one from the last time this was all attempted.
The thing that gets to me is how frequently Jim Delaney always seems to shove off any interesting or controversial topic by saying it's "on the back burner". I would like to know what this guy has on the front burner now that the BTN is in place.
You have to look at the AAU and pick a school from there. Interestingly, I don't believe that Notre Dame is a part of it. I like the idea of Pitt, but they are entrenched in the Big East. I also like the idea of Iowa State, but there is no benefit for the Big Ten in T.V. revenue, seeing as we already have the bigger Iowa school. That leaves Mizzou as the most likely candidate. It also provides an automatic BCS school for an OOC to schedule every year (Kansas), bringing the rep of the Big Ten up a bit.
I don't know, it really seems unlikely for the big 12 to give up a team and lose their championship game. Also, what's in it for Mizzou or Iowa State? I just don't see any incentive. They're currently in an arguably more competitive conference, Mizzou has a good rivalry there with Kansas, etc. Yeah, I just don't see why they'd chose to switch conferences. Granted, the Big 12 could replace them with someone like TCU if they left, but eh, I just don't see any reason for it to actually happen.
This would allow a Boise State or TCU to join the Big 12 (probably Boise State to fill in the Big 12 North vacancy) forcing the Pac 10 to allow BYU and Utah in to their conference, setting the stage for a basketball-like championship in every conference.
I would very much like to see 6 BCS conferences, each with 12 teams and a championship game, with the winner getting an autobid into a playoff. TCU, Utah, and Boise State are the obvious choices to upgrade, with hopefully SMU following along shortly. Too bad there is such a dearth of decent teams on the East Coast to round out the Big East.... That being said, I still like all the natural tie-ins for ND into the Big Ten. I just really don't like all the special consideration ND gets for being an independent. They really think they're something special because of it. Maybe the answer is to throw them into the Big East. Yeah, that sounds better I think... If I were God
Seriously. They are Big East for everything else. I just worry about BCS schduling for OOC in the times of big money for football. Many mid level teams want that home and home too much, so we're left with handouts from EMU, WMU, et. al. Having ND out of conference keeps at least 1 BCS school in there for credibility.
I didn't think about that. I could definitely see that happening because I think the Pac-10 would be willing to add more teams and those two teams I think would be more than willing to move up. Moving to the Pac-10 would equal more revenue and better bowls for those teams if they made it through their schedules.
I think TCU would be the more likely candidate to move to the Big-12 if there was an opening.
I think that the Mountain West, with BYU, Utah, TCU, could possibly not be a laughing stock in the BCS. At least on par with the PAC10 this past season. There are plenty of reconfigurations that can be thought of, but let's be honest, it just ain't gonna happen... How far out into the future does the BCS television contract go? The year 3400 or something? Yeah, we're gonna have to wait awhile for anything to change.
3402. But, this rearrangement could still be okay with the BCS and just serve as a stepping stone until television obligations are over with. Plus, the Pac 10 and Big 10 get an extra game on TV and pull down more money. Championship game at Ford Field or Soldier Field would be pretty sweet.
Thank God someone mentioned the AAU before I had to. It drives me crazy when people mention WVU when they are likely not even in the conversations the brass has.
Seriously: the top two questions the Big Ten will ask itself if they are ever looking for a school to invite are: 1, are they an AAU member, and 2, will they increase the BTN viewership by a big enough margin?
The fan perspective alone, which would lead to West Virginia as quite possibly the most natural candidate, is inadequate for this discussion. WVU is probably not even discussed because it fails both #1 and #2.
If Notre Dame can't be brought in, I want Nebraska. It's kind of pipe-dreamy and does absolutely nothing for basketball and its answer to question #2 is probably mildly disappointing unless there are more NU alums in KC than I think there are, but I want Nebraska anyway.
Nebraska would be sweet, but I feel like they have too much identity/tradition as a Big 8 team/Big 12 team. It'd be hard to pull them from the Big 12. Besides, with Mizzou you'd also have a natural rivalry with Northwestern; you know those journalism schools like to fight it out.
Yeah, WVU definitely fails test #2 — people in West Virginia don't have televisions. Ba-zing!
Your statement is so ignorant I can't even believe it.
Everyone knows they don't have the electricity to power a television in the first place.
I wish Notre Dame would just join. They are the closest team (distance wise) of all mentioned, plus they already schedule big ten teams. They are just stupid.
A buddy once told me (so this could be wrong) that ND signed a $15 Million per year contract(through 2020) with NBC, that would be null and void if they joined a confrence. If that is true then why in the world would ND want to join the B11. They have a big enough name that they get picked for a bowl as long as they win 6 games no matter what if they get those wins. Why would they want to give up $15M Per year just so that they can split the bowl winnings with the rest of the confrence. Even if we had 2 teams go to BCS Bowls it would not make up for the $15M. Iowa State does not have enough of a following to justify moving them(not to mention that the B12 needs them as a door-mat), Mizzou is entrenched well enough into the B12 that it would not make any sense for them to leave and join us, Nebraska even more so than Mizzou. That only leaves the speculation over the B East teams. Pitt and Cuse would both have a big enough following but what would become of the B East then, only 7 teams would not make for much of a confrence, so I am sure that the powers that be would not allow it anyway. As much as I would like to see another team join so that there is a championship game I don't think it will happen anytime soon. In answer to the question about the BCS contract, I think it is up in 2012. I have heard speculation (and this is only speculation) that there would eventually be only 4 confrences, Notheast, Nothwest, Southeast and Southwest. Then if this happened there would be a confrence championship in each confrence (which could be a minor tourney) and then say the top 2 teams in each confrence play in a major tourney. If that is to come well I say bring that on. One more thought here before I get off, if there were a confrence championship every year, the odds are that most of the time it would be UM on one side of it and tO$U on the other side of it. As nice as it sounds to have a 2nd game against them every year I think it would lose its' luster. I would not want 2 christmases every year especially one 2 weeks after the last one.
the odds are that most of the time it would be UM on one side of it and tO$U on the other side of it. As nice as it sounds to have a 2nd game against them every year I think it would lose its' luster.
Obviously, that would depend on how the divisions were split. Taking a look at the last 10 year, it actually would only have happened 4 times. Also, you have to account for another quality team being thrown into the mix, which will make the tuos vs. UM Big10 championship matchup even more infrequent.Per noshesnot and MGoAero's above conversation, would the BCS conferences resemble this?
Big Ten North:
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Big Ten South:
Ohio State
Purdue
Penn State
Indiana
Iowa
Missouri
I think the priority in splitting up divisions here would be (no offense to the other schools) ensuring that Michigan and Ohio State are in opposing divisions so that they could meet in the conference championship game.
Big 12 South:
Texas
Texas A&M
Baylor
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
TCU could fit here but it would give the Big 12 a 13th team and the division's fifth school in Texas. I would suggest TCU replace Baylor but Baylor is actually fourth in total conference championships with 34, taking all sports into account, so there's no way the Big 12 would or should kick them to the curb.
Big 12 North:
Nebraska
Colorado
Kansas
Iowa State
Kansas State
Boise State
Pac-10 North:
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Utah
BYU
Pac-10 South:
Cal
Stanford
USC
UCLA
Arizona
Arizona State
I suppose it's conceivable that TCU also becomes part of the Pac-10, although its geographic disparity to the rest of the conference is almost as egregious as Boise State's to the Big 12. It's not impossible for a conference to operate across multiple states, but even when it does "work," it can't help but seem a little goofy. The Summit League is the perfect example of this; its schools are primarily in the Midwest (perhaps a stretch of a description unless the Dakotas are part of your "Midwest") but it has schools in Utah and Louisiana. Not necessarily a problem, but it would cause some headaches logistically and placed undue strain on the traveling athletes.
UM and OSU would be in the same division like UT/UF, OU/UT, Auburn/Alabama (or LSU/Bama). Otherwise they could meet twice per year. It would still be the last game before the championship game, with the winner having an easier path to the best BCS bowl available depending on record, and the loser of the UM/OSU game still eligible (and likely to get the bid if 1 or 2 losses) for an at-large berth.
Additionally, Boise will never join the Big12 before TCU. TCU would probably join the South, and Okie State would join the B12 North.
Pac-10 could be a nice 12 team conference like you have them.
Understood. And I like your Big 12 rearrangement.
Beat to the punch.
it would be as big as a stretch as say the Great West which stretches from the great state of New Jersey to California, and contains such great teams like Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, NJIT, Utah Valley State, Houston Baptist University, Chicago State, Cal Davis, North Dakota, South Dakota,Southern Utah, Texas Pan America.
A wise man once said, "To hell with Notre Dame!"
They just aren't coming. For them, being indpendent in football is part of their tradition. They will give that up about the same time that we go with solid gold helmets, all-maize home jerseys and an only night game schedule. (I certainly hope I am long dead before any of that happens.) Besides, Notre Dame would lose rivilaries like BC and USC and the ability to stack cupcakes like Navy every other game. Oh, and, yeah - they need the money to pay Jabba's salary. Forget it.
I have always thought that the Big Ten has been hoping that a MAC team would emerge as a solid and sustained program, given the overlap in geography. But that hasn't happened and looks less and less likely. I have no source for this belief, but since we are taking shots in the dark here, that's mine.
Hardly. Missouri joined what eventually became the Big 8 in 1907, the same year as Nebraska. Since Nebraska left the conference for two years in 1919, Missouri has MORE years in the conference than Nebraska does. Because of their longevity in the conference the Tigers have long, long rivalries with a number of B12 teams, rivalries that are as long and passionate as most of Michigan's B10 rivalries are. This is not to say that it's impossible that Missouri could join the Big 10, but anyone who thinks that it would be easily and lightly done by Missouri's upper administration is really naive. You can bet that the Big 12 would fight like hell to keep Missouri in the conference.
True...Missouri has a rivalry with Illinois but that's like their warm-up rivalry. Kansas is what gets them stoked. I don't think Mizzou would be any more likely to leave than Nebraska (hence why I called Nebraska a pipe dream.)
The only Big 12 team that the Big Ten might find it easy to pry away is Iowa State, which has no real rivals except for Iowa. I think the Big 12 would publicly put up a fuss but privately let 'em go as soon as they'd lined up TCU as a replacement. So if the Big Ten wanted ISU, it'd be solely for the sake of hosting a championship game and they'd have done it already. Fortunately they're not 100% retarded.
You could say the same thing about Northwestern and Michigan. Do you identify Michigan with the Big Ten moreso than, say, Northwestern? But Michigan wasn't in the conference for 8/9 years, and Northwestern never left. Personally, as an outsider to the Big 12, I identify Nebraska as "more Big 12" than Missouri. Again, that is a personal view. Of course, I hope no one thinks that it would be "easy" for Missouri to leave the Big 12, but it would make the most sense for the Big Ten.
There are no good mathes for a 12th team beyond Notre Shame. I'm glad the conference isn't expanding.