Official Welcome to the Big Ten Nebraska thread
To avoid 90 different threads popping up with the equivalent of Bleacher Report verification, here is one thread to rule them all.
Per ESPN, Nebraska officials are looking at Friday as merely a formality and that the deal is done.
An athletic director in the Big 12 told ESPN's Joe Schad that Nebraska has had discussion with the Big Ten and that there was a "good chance" Nebraska would join the Big Ten as early as Friday.
ESPN's Mortensen further reports that Nebraska AD Tom Osborne has specifically "informed staff that school will make move to Big Ten." (Twitter) The Dallas News does a report of a report confirmation. All Hell Breaks Loose.
Now, as Pat Forde notes, the ND waiting game begins as schools are expected to jump and looking to not be left in the cold/with the check/metaphors are fun. This is further increased by the fact that, per the aforementioned Dallas News article, "Big 12 sources have confirmed that Texas and Texas A&M boards will be meeting Thursday." That's, like, TOMORROW!
This post will be updated as information comes through.
The shit... has officially hit the fan...
Holy shit that is funny.
Aside: Wisky is going to hate being the "other red and white team."
Let the great MI v. NEB games begin!!
that Cornholes is already as annoying as using tO$U
...I propose use of Cornhole earns -10K MGoPoints. It's definitely in the same league as the dreaded term that feminizes Spartan.
Agreed. And also, Husker fans are actually pretty nice. And they're freaking saints compared to our couch-burning buddies in Columbus and East Lansing.
They actually cheer the opposing teams as they run onto the field. Say whatever you want, but you can't deny that their fans are classy.
Cornholers is the dumbest nickname since the female version of Spartan.
I'm from Nebraska and am a HUGE Michigan fan, but the fans here are 2nd to none we make a tunnel as the opposing teams enter the field and cheer them as they enter to the field. This is huge considering my entire family are Huskers to me this is going to one hell of a rivalry.
Go Blue!
I appreciate your sentiment, but it won't be a rivalry. Just sayin'.
and I thought it was tUoO$...
Happy to have Nebraska in the Big Ten. I think they're a great fit and give a Penn State style addition in terms of history and football prowess. That being said, what the hell is with continued talk about Rutgers? Is it necessary to add a garbage program to counterbalance an historic one? And when did the press give up on Texas to the Big Ten?
Why not aim for Texas? They're the top "pick on the board". If we want to be THE conference, we should aim for the best...not anything from the Big East.
We should probably pick up Oklahoma, USC, Florida, and Alabama while we're at it.
If they were in play, we'd be crazy not to consider them and target Rutgers instead. Of course, Texas is in play, so...
Good to have another great football program in the Big Ten.
We are looking forward to giving you the same warm welcome we gave Penn State!
Why not aim for Texas? They're the top "pick on the board".
Texas passes in every way but would not pass the BigTen admissions board.
How do you know they're not crazy glue sniffers? "Building model airplanes!", says the administration. Next thing you know, there's change missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up. I've seen it a hundred times...
you're worried that Nebraska will be a bad influence on little brother?
Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time.
New conference brothers don't shake hands. New conference brothers gotta hug!
Either way, Tom Osborne could sell a ketchup popsicle to a women in white gloves.
He is a deity in NE.
Nebraska wants to take your corn....and eat it.
Joe Schad is quoting Osborne as saying there is a "good chance" this will happen and be announced by Friday. That is code for "this is not a done deal yet". ND is now on the clock.
but Big Ten must have reached the "magic number" of schools willing to say yes so that they could move forward with a solid "definite" school that few, if any, would have complaints about joining so as to start the clock you mention on the schools on the fence.
in this way, Nebraska can announce and leads to ND and Missouri agreeing (14 teams). however, should ND still hold out, the Big Ten is able to shore up with the backups of teams like Rutgers, 'Cuse, etc.
Basically Nebraska was the domino start-up. Big Ten most likely has shored up its bets and is ready to make shit happen.
I did the same thing for my senior prom.
Please note all of this is speculation. Including my prom comment.
I don't think going above 12 without ND or Texas is the right move. Risk watering down the league without a "knockout" on added revenue.
KC and St Louis would be a pretty nice peach, revenue-wise. Plus, though they aren't a traditional powerhouse in football, MO fans are probably as rabid as Iowa in regards to the pigskin.
Absolutely, I am sure they have the votes to approve NU. But, I also think that they really want ND and even Osborne did not say they had received and offer or were definiitely joining the B10. He said there was a "good chance". Remember, the process technically is that a school must apply and then the application is reviewed and voted on by the B10 members. It is possible B10 has told Nebraska that ND does not look like it is coming so, with that understanding, go ahead and put in an application (i.e. prepare it immediately and have the NU regents vote to submit it on Friday) and assuming no ND by Friday then it will be approved.
Also, if this does happen on Friday, I bet the B10 pauses to see what happens with B12/P10 before adding MO (assuming we still want them) or anyone else. They still want to find a way to get ND and I don't think they are worried MO is going anywhere.
Will this be included in NCAA Football '11?
Can't you reorganize conferences already?
You can't in NCAA 10. You can switch spots with another team in Dynasty mode, but not rearrange the conference itself afaik. I really hope they let you do this in 2011 (which ironically comes out in 2010; demo out next week and game out early July).
Paterno handing the big bag of cash to Bo Pelini has taken the sting out of a crappy day.
I hope Nebraska continues to improve...I think this could be a great series. At the bare minimum, we'll have a shot to get revenge (re: Ecker-gate) many, many times.
The offseason sucks, but nobody can say this one hasn't been entertaining...
Ecker-gate? If I recall correctly, he didn't PITCH THE DAMN BALL TO BREASTON!!!
Unless you are referring to the players on the field part, I guess that may qualify as a "-gate"
Even though it wasn't a direct matchup, my animosity to Nebraska arises out of the ricidiculously absurd off-the-foot-in-the-endzone catch made by Matt Davidson that led to our sharing of the national title. That punk cost us an outright national championship!
IIRC Osborne also hinted at an illness or some such BS that made everybody think he was dying. Then, he gets a split "National Championship" and next thing you know, he's fit as a fiddle and running for Congress.
Am I still bitter? Why yes I am, thanks.
Nebraska to the Big Ten (which everyone knows by now), and TCU to the Big 12 to fill the void. That's what will happen, 100% positive, I'd bet at least $20.00 on it. And that's all that will happen. No Pac-10 super-conference nonsense will happen. I guarantee it.
I could still see them taking Colorado and Utah, then BYU filling in for Colorado in the Big12.
If the Big 12 flies apart, it's due to their intransigence, greed, and arrogance. We don't need that in the Big 10.
We've been trying to get ND on board for years.
This is win.
Extremely interesting tidbit via Orangebloods:
And to complicate matters for Missouri, the Tigers appear to be falling down the list of priorities for the Big Ten.
An athletic director with knowledge of the Big Ten said, "Missouri is getting cold shoulder from Big Ten."
Joe Schad of ESPN reported Wednesday that the Big Ten list of interest for expansion goes like this: 1) Notre Dame 2) Nebraska 3) Rutgers and/or Maryland.
Kill me now if we take Rutgers or Maryland. And what about Texas? If the Pac 10 won't take Baylor, they've got to be back in play, right?
Texas is not happening. Maryland at least has a basketball team as opposed to Rutgers who brings nothing.
Agreed. I think Texas kind of likes being king of its little hill. If a PAC 16 happens, Texas gets to be king of half a super conference.
Look at the BigXII, title game in Texas, headquarters in Texas, revenue heavily favoring UT. The conference is a Texas-centric one (both state and school). Texas in the Big 10 is a big fish, but it isn't a dominate fish by any stretch. In a PAC-16 scenario, Texas is king of the "East" division and can spend the regular season dominating a Texas centric eastern division.
Maryland is indeed a much better option than Rutgers, but I still don't understand how we went from "our main priority is expanding our reach toward the south" to "Texas? Never."
I think Maryland is worse. If you grab Rutgers at least there's the vague hope of getting BTN on in New York. Also raiding the Big East scares Notre Dame.
Maryland gives you a vague hope of getting the BTN in the DC Market and/or the Baltimore market. It all comes down to what people things the odds are. The NYC market is the first prize, but a say 60% shot at the DC market is better than a 15% shot at the NYC market.
Plus Maryland has less work to do in terms of becoming a strong basketball school. That's really the next step for the B10. We have the football programs, the next step in sports revenue is getting ourselves a bigger slice of the basketball pie.
Edit:
The other revenue question is of course federal research grants via the CIC. Maryland is close to DC and basically serves as a forward base for the rest of the conference to launch lobbying efforts form.
I agree 100% with this. Making the Big10 Network succeed will also require programming the other 8 months of the year. That means Basketball, Hockey, Baseball. Getting a good conference in basketball would be a great start. Adding a Big10 hockey conference would be another good addition for content.