Why did B10 announce looking into expansion?

hysteria from when the actual decisions are made.  Politicians and businessmen long ago learned to leak information to ascertain how to best manage/manipulate public perception when actual news is released.  I suspect it is also designed to get one or more of the offerees [read: ND] to make a choice when they realize that the world is going to move forward with them or without them.  A free opinion, worth what you paid for it.

I'm pretty sure expansion was actually a hot topic for a lot of people inside the conference and out even before the official announcement.

When's the last time the Big Ten received this much positive buzz?  Instead of spending the offseason talking about how the Big Ten has struggled in football or basketball or whatever (some of which is just BS, some of which is deserved), the discussion revolves around how awesome the conference is, how much money it is making thanks to the BTN, and how it could single-handedly change the landscape of college sports. 

Plus, as others have said, it probably wouldn't be a great decision to suddenly announce one day, "By the way, we're expanding."  There would have been rumblings that would have forced the Big Ten to say something, so better to do it early on rather than just spring it on people.

Better to announce it than have some lowly researcher who's looking at the pro's and cons of Missouri to run his mouth to a local paper and then have to damage control.

The moment they made the decision they knew it would be well known whether they wanted it to be or not.

If you were to add four to six new houses to your development you would like to get some idea if there is a market for them wouldnt you? Thats exactly what Delaney, Big Ten PR representation, Athletic Directors, Presidents etc are doing. Delaney is very shrewd and calculated plus Im happy he is doing it.

My take is that it wanted to take the pole position in something it saw as inevitable.  Other rumors recently are that the SEC is targeting Florida State, Miami, and Georgia Tech from the ACC.  This would likely force the Big Ten's hand on the New York market since if it takes only Rutgers and/or Pitt, the ACC will definitely add Syracuse and UConn and if you know the alumni and fanbase breakdowns in the northeast, the ACC will go after taking the New York/Northeast market for itself with SU, UConn, BC, etc.  If the Big Ten wants to take the NY market for itself, it's going to have to take SU and Rutgers as a couple.

and to laugh as reporters throw away their credibility printing baseless rumors.

is the same purpose that Bill Martin had for publicly announcing his intent to interview Les Miles... maybe in reality they don't want to expand.

Because Jim Delaney is a television market away from being the man Ted Turner day dreams of being.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

Basically he can greatly enhance his odds of getting exactly what he wants by leaking info and seeing how others react (caugh Notre Dame).

things are moving quick and now pressure may shift back to Delaney (B10) to act before another conference does.  Pac10 and Big 12 are looking into aligning to form their own dedicated TV network.  This could put more money into Nebraska and Missouri's hands encouraging them to stay. 

If they didn't announce they were looking to expand there would be way too many rumors and false reports.  Wait a second........

1.  As SeanMSC said, the positive buzz has been great.  Just a year ago, national pundits were referring to the Big Ten as a quaint artifact of a bygone era.  Now, they are suddenly leaders in the evolution of college football.  All of this was accomplished mainly on the strength of one announcement.

2.  It lets them know who is interested and who is not.  Imagine how much clandestine communication there had to be within hours of the initial announcement.

3.  It rattles ND's cage.  This is probably the most enjoyable effect for me.

4.  It gives advertisers who may be looking to the future a chance to "get in on the ground floor now," thus increasing BTN revenue.  At the very least, it is brought BTN to the attention of many advertisers, regardless of whether or not they are acting now.

5.  Because he can.

You're not the only one that can expand!  Watch this, stupid Universe!

By announcing that the Big Ten was looking into expansion and being serious about it, Delany lost nothing, as any target school that we could have gotten by not making a big deal in public about it will still come to take advantage of the money the Big Ten offers, which are unmatched by anyone (except perhaps the SEC). However, by announcing that the Big Ten intended to expand, an atmosphere of uncertainty has taken over, and there is a reasonable fear by both the Big 12 and Big East that their conferences could fall apart. As such, it can make other schools who wouldn't consider leaving their conference under normal circumstances debate leaving because their conference is under threat of falling apart.

they wanted to hear what Woody Page had to say about it

Acually, Delaney is working with leaders of the Illuminati to further a New World Order plot for an oppressive World Government. 

I agree it would have been better to just put up a profile on e harmony