I'd say the odds of WVU leaving the Big East are as likely as Kentucky leaving the SEC, slim to none. They aren't a charter member, but they are so committed to the conference that I doubt they would ever leave.
I'd say Missouri or Pitt to the Big Ten (might as well just rename it the Midwest Conference). If Missouri goes, then I would much rather see the Big XII take Arkansas. As much as I am a SEC fan, I think Arkansas would fare a LOT better in that conference than Houston. C-USA really isn't much of a conference anymore and I think the Cougars would be slaughtered playing the other Texas schools and Oklahoma on a yearly basis.
The Big East could replace Pitt with East Carolina.
If the B10 is looking to expand in 12-18 months, the Big East needs to be ready with an expansion plan in 6-12 months (even if that means fracturing the basketball/football setup). No sense being caught with your pants down if the B10 is announcing their intentions ahead of time.
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The Big East is the red headed stepchild to the other large conferences. Its a shame but it is the reality. ACC came in and poached their top teams a few years ago. The Big 10 may come in and poach a team and all the Big East can do is watch. What is sad about this is the Big East is a great basketball conference. The problem with that is basketball doesn't bring in the potential revenue that football does.
Lets take UC as an example. Compare the Big Ten's and Big East's bowl affiliations. You don't think a team like UC would jump at the potential bowl payday associated with the Big Ten. Also consider that the Big Ten does a good job of placing a second team in the BCS at around $12M. Also don't forget about the extra money coming in from the Big 10 network. The Big East and its commissioner did a pretty poor job of securing the best possible bowl affiliations, which hurts the Big East when going up against other power conferences.
Big 10 fans if you could have anyone who would you choose?
I'm guessing the popular choice would be Notre Dame, but I'm not sure as an Ohio State fan I wouldn't rather have West Virginia or Cincinnati.
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I'm fine with Rutgers because I don't want the conference to add a school that will seriously challenge the status quo in the revenue sports. The change is about money, so it makes sense to bring in a school that's more mercenary than marauder.
I don't really have a second choice. Most of the other names being tossed around are in smallish media markets or overlapping media markets that do nothing to enhance the conference's TV appeal. Notre Dame would be the exception, but I don't believe they're ready at Notre Dame to make a move like that.
IMO the conference should be renamed the Big Big after the expansion. No other conference will be able to top that name.
/r/reds
ND and it wouldn't even be close. They have an athletic department that is very similar to the big boys of OSU, UM, PSU, and MSU. Surprisingly the Big 10 also prides themselves on academics which Notre Dame would also bolster.
I don't UC fits in right now. The athletic facilities, mainly Nippert and the Shoe aren't up to standards. If I had to pick a school not ND it probably would either be Missouri or Louisville. Both have the facilities and also have midwest roots. Although I wonder what the perception of Louisville would be being that it is located in Kentucky.
The real problem in trying to consider WVU and UC from an athletic standpoint is that all the other Big 11 schools are the top academic public universities(save Northwestern) and are the top research universities in their states.
When factoring that in, Mizzou and Rutgers are probably the closest fits.
I'd like Missouri ahead of everyone including Notre Dame.
Notre Dame would obviously be the best choice, but like others have said pretty unlikely.
Rutgers would be ok, but the conference is really spread out then. It is a long ways from New Jersey to Minnesota.
Missouri makes a lot of sense except they don't add any media markets.
I think Nebraska would be a great add, but there is no chance they are leaving the Big 12.
I'm not a fan of Syracuse being added.
I don't think OSU would sign off on Cincinnati being added and I don't think the Big 10 wants to go south for Louisville.
I know Pitt doesn't exactly fit the mold, but I would be happy with them.
Either Kansas or Kansas State I think would work, but also unlikely to leave the Big 12.
On another board someone threw out Maryland which I think has the same problem with Rutgers in terms of geography, but I would rather add Maryland over Rutgers.
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