Navy to Big Ten
I haven't seen anyone put Navy in the pool of candidates for the Big Ten's 12th team and am wondering why not? Personally I think that they would be a good fit. They have good academics, lots of history with their football team, not to mention one that is currently decent to good (at least better than Notre Dame). They are currently Independent so no need to pry from any conference. Navy would also expand the Big Ten to the east coast which seems to be a plus to many. Notre Dame to me is the most perfect fit, but seeing as there is no chance for them to join I say take a good look at Navy.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:26 AM ^
Military academies just can not compete on a consistent level with BCS conference talent.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:31 AM ^
what proof are you presenting of this?
December 16th, 2009 at 2:01 AM ^
History
December 16th, 2009 at 8:42 AM ^
Air Force showed from the late 80's through this decade that they can play with teams if given the chance. They were the first service academy to break through against ND in the 90's. Also, they beat tOSU in the 1990 Liberty Bowl. Navy has also proven that they can play with the big boys as well. Again, look at them against ND this decade and tOSU this year.
I believe if you put Navy in the Big Ten, they may not compete very well in hoops, but in football they're good enough to beat Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana and Minnesota most years.
I'm not sure how they compete in the non-revenue generating sports, but Navy would not be a horrible option. Not the best, but also not the worst.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:05 PM ^
No Air Force.
One reason.
2008 Hockey.
Edit: I thought your entire post was referencing Air Force, not just the first paragraph. my bad.
December 16th, 2009 at 9:38 AM ^
Why would we add Navy? They bring nothing to the table. Pretty sure the B10 is trying to get stronger, to close the gap with the SEC, not add another scrub Indiana like school/team
December 16th, 2009 at 1:30 AM ^
Both Army and Navy have made it pretty clear that they prefer to remain independents, which is very helpful because it allows them to make schedules that are much more likely to get them into bowl games. Also, I'm pretty sure that both academies remember Army's run in Conference USA, which went rather badly.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:34 AM ^
Has any school's Conference USA run gone well? That conference has zero identity, it's made up of a bunch of spare parts.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:38 AM ^
Well, at least the name "Conference USA" seems like a logical choice then...
December 16th, 2009 at 1:38 AM ^
But its the conference for the United States of America doesnt that make it actually the best by default? It gave teams like Cincy and and and.....
December 16th, 2009 at 4:07 PM ^
Fuck Yeah!
December 16th, 2009 at 1:44 AM ^
Cincy dominated the conference for the most part when Huggins was there (although they usually fell short in the tourney), and Memphis dominated while Calapari was there.
Agree though about the spare parts. It was a decent basketball conference until the Big East took Louisville and Cincy away. Although Louisville wasn't that great when they were in the conference, they at least added some name recognition during bball season.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:00 AM ^
Both Louisville and Marquette made Final Four runs during their stay in C-USA. I believe the conference sent five teams to the NCAA tourney a season or two before the Big East ripped it in half.
Football-wise, the only thing that stands out is Tulane's 12-0 season (98?). I believe a certain Michigan coach played a part in that.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:47 AM ^
East Carolina has done decently under Skip Holtz, including a couple conference championships and bowl wins.
/shameless plug for my undergrad school
December 16th, 2009 at 1:37 AM ^
Academics certainly are good enough, but athletics just aren't comparable. The military schools have strict standards as to who can attend or who can be recruited. They'd be at a competitive disadvantage. Their basketball team is a non-official member of the Patriot League, and they aren't even a top-tier team in that to say the least. Don't get me started on some of their other Varsity sports.
And in addition, they have 4,400 undergraduates. Even Northwestern has 8,000ish, and that is EXTREMELY small compared to most big ten schools. Why would the Big Ten want to bring in such a small school?
While it's a nice thought, it unfortunately just wouldn't work.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:51 AM ^
Their academics are good, but they're not the kind of academics the CiC is looking for. The CiC isn't about quality undergrad education, it's about advanced research and doctoral training, neither of which Navy features, for good reason ... it has a very different mission.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:46 AM ^
Navy also brings a massive, nation-wide fan base, but it's true that this just wouldn't work. Service academy athletics aren't consistently good. Not that Navy couldn't beat or at least give hell to most of the Big Ten football teams this year.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:26 AM ^
"Not that Navy couln't beat or at least give hell to most of the Big Ten football teams this year."....like, oh I don't know, OSU's (Big Ten champ) first game of the season where they barely squeaked out a win against...Navy.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:09 PM ^
Like I said, beat or give hell
December 16th, 2009 at 2:16 AM ^
Another factor to consider is that Navy's out of conference schedule would be locked in annually. They would play Army, Air Force, and Notre Dame every year. And this is incredibly unlikely but say they run the table in the nouveau Big 10+2, earn a trip to the national title game, and then lose to Army. How freaking frustrating would that be?
December 16th, 2009 at 8:20 AM ^
The chances of any school that isn't a member of the Association of American Universities being asked to join the Big Ten are essentially zero. The only way a non-AAU member will be asked to join is under the condition that the invited institution take specific steps to become the research-oriented school that all the AAU members are. Proposing any school that isn't already a member of the AAU is a complete waste of time.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:13 AM ^
Fair enough. Do you happen to know where one can find a list of schools that are AAU members?
December 16th, 2009 at 9:01 AM ^
I would become extremely concerned during flyovers......
December 16th, 2009 at 9:53 AM ^
How can you invite them when their fight song was written and sung by The Village People?
December 16th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^
Navy and Army need to be in the Big East. Makes perfect sense. Navy would even be capable of competing at a 7-5/8-4 level each year. And, now that Temple is not horrible, they should be invited back to the Big East.
This will be even more necessary after Pitt leaves for the
Big10(12)
December 16th, 2009 at 11:13 AM ^
The problem with adding Navy (or really any of the other teams being bandied about not named ND) is that they are, at best, a unilateral addition to the conference. Most people agree that Navy's ceiling in the Big 11 is 5-7, 6-6, 7-5, 8-4 (with a random 9-3 or 3-9 season thrown in), which would put them on par with MSU, Purdue, Illinois, Minny, etc. They are not going to challenge the upper-echelon teams for supremacy, and most likely would just push the middling teams down a notch in the bowl hierarchy. That might lead to a better bowl record, but this move shouldn't be to made to improve the conference's winning percentage in the Insight.com Bowl.
The best move begins and ends with ND. Adding a team like Pitt, Missouri, or Navy, while perhaps bolstering the conference's revenue a bit with the creation of a conference championship game, doesn't make it a better conference overall. When PSU was added, it was because it was a big-name school that could at least compete nationally and for conference supremacy. Nothing against teams not named ND, but they are simply not going to bring that potential to the table. Listen, I think Navy would be a great addition academically and would be a feel-good story, but the conference doesn't need another MSU or Illinois; it needs another PSU or Miami (YTM).