Big 10 looks for 12th team

[Slyder]

Nebraska is one of the most storied program's in the history of college football with quite possibly the most passionate fanbase in the sport. I'm not sure why it's a surprise that their leaving would cause quite a bit of turmoil.

I really don't see peeling away UVA, Maryland and BC as exposing cracks in the ACC. It would be more like plastering over those cracks IMO.

Youre choices (not including Notre Dame) at this point (if the Big T(welev)en are adding the following teams (without getting geographically insane no Ga Tech):

BC
UConn
Kansas/KSU
Maryland
Missouri
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Virginia

Thats it. The Big T(welv)en isnt going to sniff at Iowa State and any Texas school besides Texas and that gets shot down because they are not likely going to want to take on TT, Baylor, and the rest of the little sisters. Same with Oklahoma/Ok St. So lets leave those and ND out of the equation for now. You want to talk about tradition which of those schools really add much to tradition?

Missouri: Would probably make the most sense giving Nebraska another rival. St. Louis market, little tradition.

UConn: Very little football tradition, strong basketball tradition. The stadium would be by far the smallest in the Big T(welv)en.

Pittsburgh: yes about 25 years ago. What else do they add? They are covered by OSU and Penn State. They would be a kick back to Penn State to give them a "closer" game.

Kansas/ KSU: They didnt get a sniff from the Big 10 the last time for the same reason ISU didnt, it is believed they wouldnt add to the football side and football $. Plus they'd be a packaged deal, Kansas MIGHT get a look for the basketball tradition if they were seperate.

Rutgers: Played in the first football game 140 ish years ago. What have they done since then? Squat. They bring the NY tv market about as much as WVU would bring Washington DC.

Syracuse: School with some tradition and hasn't been good since Donnovan McNabb was running around and pulling miracles out his... backside. Upstate NY, good basketball. Again as likely to truely bring the NY market as WVU would bring Baltimore.

Virginia: Founded by Thomas Jefferson has one of the largest alumni polls and research grants in the US. Population of 7 mil in the state. One possibly big problem Va Tech. Also help open up the Tidewater region for recruiting for the rest of the Big T(welv)en.

Maryland: Would get you on tvs in DC and Baltimore. Maryland should help more on the basketball side. Has had some successful years throughout its history. Also has a largish base for research funds. And judging by the willingness of all conferences at playing at Fed Ex field that adds to the value of Maryland.

If youre looking at expansion I believe that Maryland and Virginia add more (even if its not immediate) than the Big East Schools.

[Hoosier Red]

It might be a self-serving prophecy, as those teams do something that allow the Big Ten to expand. After all, Notre Dame won't likely sit tight too much longer as the conference numbers dwindle and the sizes increase. And the Big 12 is on a very tentative short term fix that didn't solve many of their distribution problems.

I've heard the two sides are continuing to engage in informal talks even still. I have a feeling the quiet period is all about taking the steps necessary to get Notre Dame. Either way, I'll be surprised if another Big Ten expansion doesn't begin in the next year or two.

My wildcard surprise prediction? At whatever point the Big East tells Notre Dame to *##) or get off the pot, Notre Dame becomes an independent.

Along with BYU, Navy, Army, and ...wait for it....
the University of Texas.
With no credible team left in the Big 12 North, Texas will explore all of its options but will ultimately not be happy with any of them. If they stay in the Big 12, it's essentially the old SWC days with a few weak sister hangers on with no history or meaning in Texas like Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State and Iowa State.
Sure they'll still play Oklahoma but they played every year anyway.

Seeing the success BYU is going to enjoy broadcasting almost all of their sports on the BYU network, Notre Dame will be happy to take out it's own network. Maybe they still farm out some things to NBC like now, and like BYU will do with their football games. The Texas Longhorn network will become so necessary for every cable operator in Texas, along with DirectTV and Dish the rights to it will go through the roof. Those three will play each other every year, and be free to schedule whomever else they want,

This will cause utter chaos. Texas A&M will bolt for the SEC along with one other maybe Texas Tech? Oklahoma and OkState will be courted because where ever they go will benefit from the big time cash infusion. I'm thinking Mountain West with that conference taking over the Big 12's BCS bid.
Baylor will be left over and eventually have to slum it in Conference USA or something similar and will benefit from playing similar schools.

That leaves the four Big 12 North schools who all have some positive attributes, and a lot of negative ones to be picked over by the remaining conferences.

[Brutus]

My wildcard surprise prediction? At whatever point the Big East tells Notre Dame to *##) or get off the pot, Notre Dame becomes an independent.

Along with BYU, Navy, Army, and ...wait for it....
the University of Texas.
With no credible team left in the Big 12 North, Texas will explore all of its options but will ultimately not be happy with any of them. If they stay in the Big 12, it's essentially the old SWC days with a few weak sister hangers on with no history or meaning in Texas like Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State and Iowa State.
Sure they'll still play Oklahoma but they played every year anyway.

Seeing the success BYU is going to enjoy broadcasting almost all of their sports on the BYU network, Notre Dame will be happy to take out it's own network. Maybe they still farm out some things to NBC like now, and like BYU will do with their football games. The Texas Longhorn network will become so necessary for every cable operator in Texas, along with DirectTV and Dish the rights to it will go through the roof. Those three will play each other every year, and be free to schedule whomever else they want,

This will cause utter chaos. Texas A&M will bolt for the SEC along with one other maybe Texas Tech? Oklahoma and OkState will be courted because where ever they go will benefit from the big time cash infusion. I'm thinking Mountain West with that conference taking over the Big 12's BCS bid.
Baylor will be left over and eventually have to slum it in Conference USA or something similar and will benefit from playing similar schools.

That leaves the four Big 12 North schools who all have some positive attributes, and a lot of negative ones to be picked over by the remaining conferences.

The Longhorn Network has already been given a go. Thing is, Texas projects a high end of about $5 million a year in revenue from the network. Even if it runs a bit higher, I'm not sure it will be enough to sustain true independence. I really think BYU will wind up jumping back in a conference when the next round of expansion happens.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with several of those moves. I'm just not sure independence is the way to go for even a school like Texas. Even Notre Dame will find out soon enough it can't continue to remain independent while schools from the Big Ten nearly double & triple television revenue to that of Notre Dame, thanks to also keeping their own advertising dollars.

[Hoosier Red]

Maryland: Would get you on tvs in DC and Baltimore. Maryland should help more on the basketball side. Has had some successful years throughout its history. Also has a largish base for research funds. And judging by the willingness of all conferences at playing at Fed Ex field that adds to the value of Maryland.

Great synopsis Slyder. The more I think about it, the more sense Maryland makes. IU and Penn State are playing an "IU home game" at FedEx field this year. I bet one of the reasons the other Big 10 schools voted to allow this is to use it as a test to see if both schools would travel well and/or reach alumni living in DC well enough to travel to Maryland for regular games.

[Yachtzee]

I don't think bringing in Texas has the same drawback of having to bring half the stat of Texas along with them that it used to. Really, the only school that actually had the pull to demand to be brought into the Big 10 with UT was A&M. Now that it's apparent that A&M is more than happy to go it alone and join the SEC, there isn't much to hold UT back from joining the Big 10. If the Aggies had expressed their desire sooner, it's likely that UT would have already jumped.

[Slyder]

I don't think bringing in Texas has the same drawback of having to bring half the stat of Texas along with them that it used to. Really, the only school that actually had the pull to demand to be brought into the Big 10 with UT was A&M. Now that it's apparent that A&M is more than happy to go it alone and join the SEC, there isn't much to hold UT back from joining the Big 10. If the Aggies had expressed their desire sooner, it's likely that UT would have already jumped.

Theres still Texas Tech and maybe Baylor depending on the power in the capital. I dont see the Legislature sitting idly by while at least Tech is left out. Also is anyone sure that SEC was actually interested in aTm or was it more to try and throw a wrench in the Pac 10's plans?

[KronoRed]

Theres still Texas Tech and maybe Baylor depending on the power in the capital. I dont see the Legislature sitting idly by while at least Tech is left out. Also is anyone sure that SEC was actually interested in aTm or was it more to try and throw a wrench in the Pac 10's plans?

Most of the stories at the time had the SEC going after Texas A&M and Oklahoma, with Virginia Tech also being mentioned, there is zero interest in going after a Miami/Fsu/G-Tech, as the markets are already covered by the conference.

[reds44]

Purdue gets a pass. Their starting QB and best WR both have torn ACLs so far this season. That would be tough for Ohio State, Bama, or Florida to overcome and remain at the same level, for Purdue is a season killer.

They lost to Northern Illinois last year with everybody healthy.

Fun fact, NIU has played 4 Big 10 teams the last two years:
@ Wisconsin 28-20 L
@ Purdue 28-21 W
@ Illinois 28-22 L
@ Minnesota 34-23 W

2-2, and again all of them were on the road.

[Slyder]

Some new updates:

Hawaii Joins the MWC.
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-footbal...ence-expansion

Question becomes is the MWC getting ready to go to 12 or are they just replacing someone else?

TCU in discussions with the Big East Conference:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...U_Horned_Frogs

If the choices for #10 are UCF and Temple give me UCF. But I would rather see ECU be given a bone. I highly doubt Nova ever goes D1 unless the entire league pretty much pays for everything.

I still believe that TCU would be a better add if we are going for 12-16 team conference and expanding westward.

[Brutus]

Some new updates:

Hawaii Joins the MWC.
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-footbal...ence-expansion

Question becomes is the MWC getting ready to go to 12 or are they just replacing someone else?

TCU in discussions with the Big East Conference:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...U_Horned_Frogs

If the choices for #10 are UCF and Temple give me UCF. But I would rather see ECU be given a bone. I highly doubt Nova ever goes D1 unless the entire league pretty much pays for everything.

I still believe that TCU would be a better add if we are going for 12-16 team conference and expanding westward.

If the Bleacher Report says it, then it's probably not true.

[Chip R]

Are they going to change the name of the conference to the Big South East?

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf...ory?id=5862368

[Slyder]

Are they going to change the name of the conference to the Big South East?

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf...ory?id=5862368

Goto 12 and add someone like Memphis then you could have 2 divisions 1 the Big East and the other the Big Midwest?

[Unassisted]

Are they going to change the name of the conference to the Big South East?

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf...ory?id=5862368

If I was a student athlete playing a winter sport at TCU, I wouldn't be too excited about getting to make road trips to Syracuse, DePaul and UConn in January and February.

[Brutus]

Are they going to change the name of the conference to the Big South East?

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf...ory?id=5862368

I prefer the Big East -- Half of the Country

[Slyder]

Add Boise, Nevada, and Fresno then you can name it the CCC. Coast to Coast Conference. Ya you could go to the ACC but 3 C are much cooler than 2!