rams80

But what about how Notre Dame makes a glorious commitment to America by playing against Army and/or Navy? And what about how just about every other FBS school makes a glorious commitment to playing a tough gauntlet by playing against [insert favorite FCS school here]? MDWM That said I will acknowledge how Notre Dame plays Navy out of a real sense of World War Two obligation for how the Navy kept their doors open then. Although I'm sure the fact that the Middies typically remember their present place in the pecking order when they face Notre Dame also helps.

1. North Carolina is a bigger TV market than Kansas. 2. The Big 12 teams aren't leaving the Conference. The TV money is centrally distributed by the Conference to which they just signed their TV money and broadcast rights over to for the next decade. And no, the Big XII won't give you the money even if you ask nicely, because Baylor, TCU, and Iowa State have everything to lose by giving up on said Conference and nothing to gain. So, nobody's leaving.

The worst of both worlds.

YES! Here's what happens once the ACC falls apart. (In a dream world!) Big East adds Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Duke, Wake Forest and Notre Dame for a mega-basketball-conference that is just as good as the other super-conferences in basketball. The New York City Tournament is even cooler now! Big East schools sign an agreement that football will not be as important as basketball and forms a small football league. Syracuse BC Pittsburgh Connecticut Duke Wake Forest Notre Dame (plays a majority of these teams anyway and it only occupies 6 spots on the schedule for ND so they can still play Navy, Stanford, USC, Etc.)

The following is a list of ACC Bowl tie-ins: Peach Bowl Russell Athletic/Champs Sports Bowl Sun Bowl Belk/That Game In Charlotte Bowl Music City Bowl Independence/WeedEater Bowl Military Bowl Quite the lineup of fail/safes there folks.

If the choice is riding the ACC down to fiery destruction or grabbing a life raft but sacrificing a Conference rivalry with Duke...well Duke can always be a non-Conference game in basketball, especially post-K Duke. "Half a League, Half a League, Half a League Onward. Into the Valley of Death, rode the 600"

How in the heck did BC wanted to get in the BIG? Where did you hear them McD29? The past page of mumbling Mind you, this presupposes that a Notre Dame entry into the Conference would be on their terms, which is incredibly off base; any expansion is going to be completely on the Big Ten's terms.

Which as a Maryland fan would be dumb to bring them back right away. They need to look at this like an investment. They need to sink the extra Big Ten money into the revenue sports and get them to the point where they are producing enough revenue. The you can think about brining back and adding sports. Maryland's financially boned BECAUSE they sank money into the revenue sports.

Nobody in the Big XII is leaving. The media rights contract is cost-prohibitive.

Minimal impact upon them unless they get tapped to flesh out an eviscerated conference.

It wouldn't be a permanent 13 team league. The Big Ten would never start a season with 13 teams. The Big Ten would invite Maryland and then go after Virginia, UNC and either Duke (becuase UNC wants to stay with Duke) or Georgia Tech-more likely. If all of those teams decline, then invite Rutgers. That would potentially put the Conference on the hook for $200 million. No, that's a non-starter. And Duke's not worth adding. Georgia Tech's likely not worth adding either. Virginia may be a bridge and North Carolina best fits the Big Ten profile (barring massive academic sanctions for their fraud issues) but even that's iffy for addition. And there is the possibility of everybody saying no too. Just avoid the risk and wait to announce until you have 14.

It's stupid to have a 13 team football league if you can avoid it. The B10 hung with 11 for a while. See "if you can avoid it". That said, 13's a lot more unworkable than 11 because of unbalanced divisions and the unpleasantness of having an odd number of teams is not something the Big Ten is keen on repeating.

It's stupid to have a 13 team football league if you can avoid it.

Duke is irrelevant. There is no point in adding them.

Kansas State has beaucoup federal research dollars coming in. Their academic credentials are not a problem.

Ehhh...Rutgers isn't that crappy a school from an academic/research perspective. That was never an argument against them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From my Dad, the Nebraska alum comes one gem of good news in all of this: Now that Illinois is in the West Division, he can watch Nebraska play in person on a biannual basis. Mind you Iowa City's only another hour one way than the trip to Chambana for him, so he probably could have already, but that's besides the point. I think he thinks he can get tickets for the Illinois game for pennies on the dollar just by walkup though at Chambana forever, and he may actually be right.

As other people pointed out, adding Rutgers and Maryland does zero for competitiveness outside of Maryland basketball, but is all about getting the Big Ten Network into 15 million extra homes. Offering the bigger boys a chance to get in on that revenue stream is going to be the main attraction of a potential offer. This is what happens, BTW, when you let contemporary businessmen run your Conference. Nebraska is never going to play Indiana in football, is it? EDIT-Hey....Indiana has a winning record against Maryland in football. Welcome new meat.

Miami is in there too. Wackiness a plenty. Hell, grab North Carolina and Miami and just double down on the whole "postseason ineligible" thing. Lol, be careful what you wish for. They have been mentioned too. The B1G will go to 16 sooner rather than later. Hence why I mentioned them. At least North Carolina has the appropriate academic profile for the Conference (large Public Ivy). At least until their accreditation gets pulled for the little "football and basketball grading scandal".

Miami is in there too. Wackiness a plenty. Hell, grab North Carolina and Miami and just double down on the whole "postseason ineligible" thing.

So Georgia Tech shows up in some Big Ten rumors. Anybody want to take a stab at naming something more quixotic than the Big Ten trying to establish a presence in Atlanta?

At least one Conference had to make a move that was objectively insane to pull this off. We weren't wrong. Can't wait to get off the sinking ship that is the BE. If Louisville goes, the Big XII better bring Cincinnati or Boise State. Cincy has the rivalry factor and Boise, for many years, a staple for the BCS. What makes you think Hicktown Kentucky Community College is in a position to make demands?

I will admit to being vaguely amused by the notion that the Big Ten has gone full yandere towards Notre Dame and is hellbent on burning down both the ACC and Big East so Notre Dame will be left without a home and be theirs forever. Makes about as much sense as pursuing NYC and Baltiwash.

It's a gentleman's agreement, which is neither. That said, there was some thought that the agreement might get binned if the SEC wanted to go to 16; especially if you could outvote Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky

The Big XII better take Louisville with FSU. You don't bring anything to the table. Top 25 football team, Powerhouse Men's Basketball team, Rising Women's basketball power. That and $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks.

The Big XII better take Louisville with FSU. You don't bring anything to the table.