Big Ten wants to adding a member

[Billy B]

I could see Southern Illinois. They would do fairly well in basketball. I don't know about football though.

I don't think that Southern would be able to compete in any sports other than basketball. That's the same reason I can't see Northern Illinois in the Big Ten. Other than football, Northern Illinois isn't close to the level of Big Ten school's athletic programs. It seems that the Big Ten might be looking for a bigger market too, and Carbondale would not be what they're looking for.

[Ben5]

I just can't envision any of the candidate schools mentioned in this thread playing in the Big Ten. If anything, the Big Ten should get rid of one team (*cough*Northwestern*cough*) and go back to really being the Big Ten again.

Northwestern is in the Big Ten for the same reasons Vanderbilt is in the SEC, Wake Forest is in the ACC, Baylor is in the Big 12 and so on......because they give the conference a better overall academic image.

I take that as a compliment. Thanks!

[pcgd]

I just can't envision any of the candidate schools mentioned in this thread playing in the Big Ten. If anything, the Big Ten should get rid of one team (*cough*Northwestern*cough*) and go back to really being the Big Ten again.

Northwestern is in the Big Ten for the same reasons Vanderbilt is in the SEC, Wake Forest is in the ACC, Baylor is in the Big 12 and so on......because they give the conference a better overall academic image.

I take that as a compliment. Thanks!

Wake Forest isn't the only good school in the ACC.

Duke and UNC are always well up there on the national college rankings. I think both were top 15 this last year.

Same with the Big Ten.

Illinois and Michigan are very good schools. Michigan has the number 3 business school in American and Illinois is usually a top 5 or so engineering school. Plus every big ten school is accademically great.

Southern is 1-AA (or is it just D1 now?...whatever, they aren't in the same division as the other Big Ten schools)

[Fred T. Jane]

Wake Forest isn't the only good school in the ACC.

Duke and UNC are always well up there on the national college rankings. I think both were top 15 this last year.

Same with the Big Ten.

Illinois and Michigan are very good schools. Michigan has the number 3 business school in American and Illinois is usually a top 5 or so engineering school. Plus every big ten school is accademically great.

Southern is 1-AA (or is it just D1 now?...whatever, they aren't in the same division as the other Big Ten schools)

As well as the fact that several SEC schools are academic heavyweights also (See: Florida, Auburn, LSU, Georgia).

Perhaps Vandy stays in the SEC because it's just a charter member like everyone but Arkansas and South Carolina?

BTW Pat, you forgot Georgia Tech in terms of ACC academic heavyweights.

[rams80]

I think hell would freeze over before the Big Ten would add a team from the MAC.

It depends on how fast, easily, and badly you want to get to "12". Peeling a team off from the MAC would be the quick and dirty option, as well as being relatively painless in both the media and your relations with the rest of the "Big Bowl Six".

[pcgd]

BTW Pat, you forgot Georgia Tech in terms of ACC academic heavyweights.

My bad! I should have thought of them. I was just recently looking at the list and saw Duke and UNC in the top 15 or so on national universities.

[JBPerry]

this is why i'm glad Texas A&M, Texas & Oklahoma are all in the same conference & division. they WILL NO MATTER WHAT play each other every year.

[Ben5]

BTW Pat, you forgot Georgia Tech in terms of ACC academic heavyweights.

My bad! I should have thought of them. I was just recently looking at the list and saw Duke and UNC in the top 15 or so on national universities.

Yeah, but I really don't count UNC because they will let anybody in if they are a state resident. (I was looking for a good smiley to put after this, but none of them really captured the way I was feeling. So I chose Vader and Luke.)

[Luigi74]

I think hell would freeze over before the Big Ten would add a team from the MAC.

It depends on how fast, easily, and badly you want to get to "12". Peeling a team off from the MAC would be the quick and dirty option, as well as being relatively painless in both the media and your relations with the rest of the "Big Bowl Six".

Going by the Big Ten's own long standing bylaws(which they will NOT change) the only MAC school they could add is SUNY-Buffalo as they are located in a state next to Big Ten territory and are a member of the Association of American Universities. The Big Ten would never add Buffalo when Syracuse would jump in a heartbeat.

The Big Ten doesnt want or badly need to get to 12 teams they want Syracuse(strong NYC following) or Rutgers(NYC media market) because it would help the Big Ten Network get off the ground and expand the overall conference footprint.

[illwauk]

Notre Dame has too much to lose by giving up its independent status (and the traditionalist in me does NOT want to see ND football in a conference). After them Iowa State would make the most sense. I suppose they could go after Pitt or Cincy since both play in the Big Ten's territory, but the former doesn't have its own stadium (and won't for quite some time) and the latter is even less up to the Big Ten's standards than Iowa State. Besides, the Big East can't afford to lose any more football teams (wouldn't hurt them to shed a few hoops teams though).

I guess Mizzou's an option too. But ISU is already within the Big Ten's borders. And if the Big 10 did nab ISU or Mizzou, the Big XII could go after TCU or Colorado State and not have to extend its borders. Preferably Colorado State since it wouldn't mess up the North/South allignment.

But does anyone know if there's actually a practical reason for the 12 team requirement for a championship game rule? All it seems to do is encourage the larger conferences to cannibalize the smaller ones and cause an uneven distribution of quality? I don't see why any conference should need more than 10 teams. And if there must be a minimum # of teams rule, it should be 8, not 12.

[illwauk]

Could you imagine seeing OSU-Michigan playing in Lambeau or Soldier Field for the Big Ten title?

No. The Packers most likely wouldn't allow it for fear of the damage it would do to the field. They're REALLY protective of it.

Cool idea, but highly unlikely.

Not to mention Green Bay doesn't have NEARLY enough hotel space to facilitate it (unless the Badgers were playing). They could barely handle the influx from the '96 NFC Championship.

[illwauk]

Northwestern won't leave the Big Ten as they are an original member and considered the Harvard or Stanford of the Midwest. Not to mention the Big Ten would lose Chicago as a market.

The Big Ten wouldn't lose the Chicago market as long as they still had Illinois.

Speaking of which, I don't see why Northwestern, Vandy, Rice and a few more of these academics-first schools don't just form their own conference like the UAA in Division 3.

[pcgd]

Northwestern won't leave the Big Ten as they are an original member and considered the Harvard or Stanford of the Midwest. Not to mention the Big Ten would lose Chicago as a market.

The Big Ten wouldn't lose the Chicago market as long as they still had Illinois.

Speaking of which, I don't see why Northwestern, Vandy, Rice and a few more of these academics-first schools don't just form their own conference like the UAA in Division 3.

I don't know how much the Big Ten has Chicago in general now. Yes the head office is there, but college Sports in general aren't discussed much unless a team is in a national tournament. I think they talk about UIC and DuPaul much more than Northwestern or Illinois is talked about in Chicago. The only time I heard about Northwestern in the Media much was when the women's team was in the Lacrosse championships.

Anyway, because we're talking about rankings....

Big Ten rankings in USNews rankings:

14. Northwestern

24. Michigan

34. Wisconsin

41. Illinois

47. Penn State

57. Ohio State

64. Purdue

64. Iowa

67. Minnesota

70. Indiana

70. Michigan State

And just for fun...

Ones we've disscussed to be added:

20. Notre Dame

52. Syracuse

57. Pitt

60. Rutgers

81. Iowa State

88. Missouri

Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, Louisville are unranked, or maybe they don't get ranked...not sure.

[nyk]

Big Ten expansion talk (July 28th -The Post-Standard)

Please, everyone, INHALE. Real big. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Now exhale. Again.

Things got stirred up around here this week when a story out of The Des Moines Register quoted Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany as saying the 11-member league would likely discuss expansion again. The impending Big Ten Television Network was cited as a catalyst.

The story went on to suggest that Syracuse and Rutgers were possible targets.

Of course, Delaney was not quoted mentioning either school. So who says they're targets?

In fact, there is only one school the Big Ten is even considering for expansion, and it's the same one it's always coveted - Notre Dame.

Delaney's crack about a ninth state was gamesmanship, all because the Big Ten is trying to nudge Notre Dame a step closer to considering a date.

Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross declined comment this week about the story which later made its way into USA Today for full consumption. Gross said any mention of his school is all speculation. And that's all it is.

Someone in the business that knows these things told me that if the Big Ten ever does consider a team from the Big East for expansion, it won't be Syracuse. I know the current Syracuse chancellor and her predecessor both came from Big Ten schools, so they've got their connections, but the Orange is exactly where it's supposed to be and NEEDS to be.

Did the ACC expansion not teach us anything? How stupid does Boston College look right now rubbing elbows with its so-called friends in North Carolina? The Eagles ought to be in the Big East, and truth be told, the knuckleheads probably wish they were back in the Big East because they badly misjudged the situation.

If you're Syracuse, it's great to be in the Big East right now. Take a big, deep breath. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. It's time to look forward to Friday and the arrival of the Orange for preseason football practice.

- Donnie Webb

Heres another article today about halting expansion talk in the Big Ten: http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/o...gtenupdate.html

[winghaz]

The 11 teams have always been a problem for the Big Ten. Teams need travel partners, especially in the minor sports.

When you think of the Big Ten, or any other major conference, you think primarily of football and basketball. But there are many other sports that tend to drain money from the universities.

[Shroinke]

History question: why did the conference expand with Penn State in the first place?

Was it simply a grab at their success in order to boost the Big Ten's profile?

Or had they planned all along to grab another school and build a standard 12-team, 2-division conference?

Since this is a logos/image board, I think the easiest and most logical solution to the problem, like others have said, would be to subtract a school.

That way it resumes being a true Big 10 Conference and can be seperated into divisions for a title game like they want.

People in the Midwest have long joked that either Illinois or Indiana should be kicked off the island for their embarassing play,

but I could see Penn State just as much leaving due to it's geographic location.

[Drew22]

That way it resumes being a true Big 10 Conference and can be seperated into divisions for a title game like they want.

I think per NCAA rules you have to have 12 teams to have a title game/divisions. So, even without Penn State the Big 10 still couldn't do it.

[Luigi74]

History question: why did the conference expand with Penn State in the first place?

Was it simply a grab at their success in order to boost the Big Ten's profile?

Or had they planned all along to grab another school and build a standard 12-team, 2-division conference?

Since this is a logos/image board, I think the easiest and most logical solution to the problem, like others have said, would be to subtract a school.

That way it resumes being a true Big 10 Conference and can be seperated into divisions for a title game like they want.

People in the Midwest have long joked that either Illinois or Indiana should be kicked off the island for their embarassing play,

but I could see Penn State just as much leaving due to it's geographic location.

The Big Ten's plan was to add Penn State with Notre Dame coming in a few years later but Notre Dame turned down every offer to join, but the Big Ten has kept the spot for them open.

[PeytonManningRocks]

How about DePaul??

[Billy B]

How about DePaul??

Right now DePaul doesn't have a football program. The Big Ten won't let a team in that doesn't have a football team. They wouldn't be able to have the divisions and a championship game. They also said the Big Ten Network is why they are again looking at expansion, so they wouldn't want a school that doesn't have a team in one of the major sports.