Big Ten Expansion

[Moranis]

I don't know Roy. The Mountain West had an outstanding year last year and a good one the year before but historically it is a very weak conference. Adding Boise State would be key but the Big East has always been a much stronger conference and with teams in big cities has better recruiting bases to start with.

Also, Kansas and Kansas State are more basketball schools and the Big East is one of the top 2-3 conferences in the country, easily.

If the Mountain West can get Boise State and maybe steal someone from another conference that has a good football program, then maybe they get the Big 12 bid to the BCS but a seriously doubt it.

The BCS wants the elite teams and if the power conferences get deeper, I see them dropping the Big 12 bids, adding more at large bids and offering up to 3 bids to each power conference. That way they could get Texas, USC and Oregon from the PAC 10 and/or Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State from the Big 10 and/or Florida, Alabama and Tennessee from the SEC if that's where the best teams are that year.

nick, BCS automatic births are decided every 4 years.  We are halfway through the period now and the Mountain West is currently on pace to get an automatic birth.  It doesn't have to take a birth from anyone as theoretically every conference could have an automatic birth or it could be less then 6.  And it doesn't have to add anyone.  In fact when adding it has to be very careful not to add someone that would hurt its automatic birth chances, like say Baylor.

And the Big East isn't going to exist if the Big Ten expands past Nebraska.  All the money is in football and when the football teams all leave the Big East, I think it really might fold up shop overall.

[Moranis]

This is what I think plays out

Pac 16 - 10 + Colorado, T. Tech, T. A&M, Texas, Okie, and Okie State

Big Ten - 11 + Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri, Rutgers, and Maryland (not sure here if not them, then just swap with UConn or Syracuse)

SEC - 12 + Florida State, Miami, Louisville, West Virginia

ACC - 9 + Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, South Florida, and Memphis

Mountain West - 9 + Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Boise State, Fresno State, and Louisiana Tech

Rest of WAC merges with Sun Belt and adds Tulane for 16

CUSA has 10 teams and MAC has 13 teams with Army and Navy remaining independent (or joining CUSA to push that conf to 12).


Top 4 have automatic BCS births no problem and I suspect the Mountain West would also end up with one.  The other 3 conferences would have virtually no chance at ever getting one.

Ultimately I think this leads to an 8 team playoff to decide the champion (the 4 big conferences get automatic births, the others would get an automatic if finishing inside the top .  This would not destroy bowl games as most teams would still get to go to those.

[nickagneta]

I don't know Roy. The Mountain West had an outstanding year last year and a good one the year before but historically it is a very weak conference. Adding Boise State would be key but the Big East has always been a much stronger conference and with teams in big cities has better recruiting bases to start with.

Also, Kansas and Kansas State are more basketball schools and the Big East is one of the top 2-3 conferences in the country, easily.

If the Mountain West can get Boise State and maybe steal someone from another conference that has a good football program, then maybe they get the Big 12 bid to the BCS but a seriously doubt it.

The BCS wants the elite teams and if the power conferences get deeper, I see them dropping the Big 12 bids, adding more at large bids and offering up to 3 bids to each power conference. That way they could get Texas, USC and Oregon from the PAC 10 and/or Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State from the Big 10 and/or Florida, Alabama and Tennessee from the SEC if that's where the best teams are that year.

nick, BCS automatic births are decided every 4 years.  We are halfway through the period now and the Mountain West is currently on pace to get an automatic birth.  It doesn't have to take a birth from anyone as theoretically every conference could have an automatic birth or it could be less then 6.  And it doesn't have to add anyone.  In fact when adding it has to be very careful not to add someone that would hurt its automatic birth chances, like say Baylor.

And the Big East isn't going to exist if the Big Ten expands past Nebraska.  All the money is in football and when the football teams all leave the Big East, I think it really might fold up shop overall.

On pace to get a berth and getting one are two different things. The MWC had two outstanding years, but historically they are weak and it could easily revert back to having two bad years and not get that berth. That is why they want to invite Boise State and get them to be a member for the 2011 season because then BSU's record for the 2008-2010 seasons would count towards the MWC's record for BCS consideration.

While your super conference theories may eventually come to fruition, I think it far fetched to see that much movement that quickly. I have it on extremely good authority that two of the schools you have moving into the Big 10 are not going anywhere any time in the near future.

And the Big East as a football conference isn't going to disappear because of the strength of it's basketball conference. While football drives everything, college basketball is also a huge money maker( the second largest for school athletic programs) and most of those Big East schools do not want to give up the money that Big East basketball pulls in from basketball as those schools make more money from basketball television money than they do football money. The Big East schools also make more money from basketball than Mountain West schools do from all of their television money from their basketball and football television revenues combined.

Big East schools are located in the biggest markets and have the largest exposure in those markets. In basketball, they reach more people than any other conference nationwide. Big East basketball will keep Big East football alive and well. In that you are wrong. At least for now you are.

[nickagneta]

Just heard from my friend who is an SID at an ACC school, Maryland is going nowhere. The Big-10 may very well stop at 12 teams but if they go to 16 teams, Maryland wouldn't be looking to move as the increase of money from the Big-10 television money might not offset the increase in traveling costs for them across all sports.

Just heard from my friend who is a AAD at a Big-12 school. The move to the Pac-10 for the 5 Texas teams could have a major wrench thrown into it if the SEC decides they would want to add Texas A&M. Texas A&M does NOT want to go to the Pac-10 but might have to to maintain football viability if the SEC doesn't show any interest in them. If SEC doesn't show A&M any love before Tuesday they will go to the Pac-10, but they really don't want to and are under tremendous political pressure in the state to stick with the rest of the Texas college football contingent.

[Moranis]

joe schad says that UT, TTech, OU, and Okie St. have already informally agreed to go the Pac Ten and that A&M is on the clock and has 72 hours to figure out what it is going to do.

[Donoghus]

Sounds like reports of the demise of the Big 12 may be a bit premature.  Per SI.com.  I think this is good for college athletics.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Big 12 has risen from the dead.

The University of Texas announced Monday evening that it will remain in the conference, likely meaning the exodus from the league will be limited to Colorado's move to the Pac-10 and Nebraska's switch to the Big Ten. The Longhorns turned down an invitation from the Pac-10, and they may have staved off a major restructuring in college athletics. Texas officials, including president Bill Powers, men's athletic director DeLoss Dodds and women's athletic director Chris Plonsky will hold a press conference at 11 a.m., ET on Tuesday to discuss the decision. The press conference will be streamed live at TexasSports.com.

Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M also issued statemetns saying they'll remain in the Big 12. There has been no word on the decisions of Texas Tech.

In recent days, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe had tried to convince his member schools that in the next few years, the league could close the television revenue gap that divides it from the richer SEC and Big Ten. The plan appears to have worked.

The decision also means Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri will remain in a Bowl Championship Series automatic qualifying conference. When the Big 12 appeared ready to implode, those schools appeared on the verge of being left without a conference to call home.

The University of Texas board of regents canceled a Tuesday meeting to discuss conference alignment. Texas Tech had a board of regents meetings scheduled for Tuesday, while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State had regents meetings scheduled for Wednesday. The higher education committee of the Texas House of Representatives also has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to discuss college athletics. Committee chair Dan Branch (R-Dallas) said that despite Monday's news, the hearing will go on as planned.

"We will still have a hearing," Branch said. "This sounds like a promising result. We're grateful for all the good work done by our schools today. We look forward to having a dialogue Wednesday, but this looks like a very promising development for the state of Texas."

[nickagneta]

Not only will the Big 12 stay intact and probably go raid two schools to stay at 12 and keep a Big 12 Championship game(can you say Houston and TCU), but it looks like the Pac-10 just became the Pac-12 as Utah is leaving the Mountain West to join the Pac-10.

Link

So as things start to calm down it looks like the Pac-10 will be more than happy to be just the Pac-12 and not the Pac-16, the Big-10 will stay at 12 teams and figure things out regarding divisions and location of the Big-10 Championship game, the Big 12 will probably add a couple of teams to keep things consistent, the SEC and ACC and Big East will remain unchanged, and the poor Mountain West, that just a couple of weeks ago looked to be going big time with a possible BCS bid might remain a lower tier conference as the addition of Boise State has been off set with the loss of Utah and maybe has to look at TCU as getting an invite from the Big-12.

Wow! What a couple of weeks in college athletics!!!

[Hoops]

Not only will the Big 12 stay intact and probably go raid two schools to stay at 12 and keep a Big 12 Championship game(can you say Houston and TCU), but it looks like the Pac-10 just became the Pac-12 as Utah is leaving the Mountain West to join the Pac-10.

Link

So as things start to calm down it looks like the Pac-10 will be more than happy to be just the Pac-12 and not the Pac-16, the Big-10 will stay at 12 teams and figure things out regarding divisions and location of the Big-10 Championship game, the Big 12 will probably add a couple of teams to keep things consistent, the SEC and ACC and Big East will remain unchanged, and the poor Mountain West, that just a couple of weeks ago looked to be going big time with a possible BCS bid might remain a lower tier conference as the addition of Boise State has been off set with the loss of Utah and maybe has to look at TCU as getting an invite from the Big-12.

Wow! What a couple of weeks in college athletics!!!

I think the Big 12 is going to stick with 10 teams - this is apparently their preference right now. They actually don't like having a conference championship game.

[Donoghus]

I hope the Big Ten puts their title game in Chicago.  That'd be a fun event to go to.

Have to think Indy & possibly Detroit would be others in the running.

[nickagneta]

I hope the Big Ten puts their title game in Chicago.  That'd be a fun event to go to.

Have to think Indy & possibly Detroit would be others in the running.

I'm thinking they go dome and put it in Indy though money-wise Chicago makes the most sense.

[Donoghus]

I hope the Big Ten puts their title game in Chicago.  That'd be a fun event to go to.

Have to think Indy & possibly Detroit would be others in the running.

I'm thinking they go dome and put it in Indy though money-wise Chicago makes the most sense.

I know in recent years they've rotated the Big Ten basketball tourney between Indy & Chicago.  Wouldn't be surprised they rotate the football one, also.  Ala Big XII (or former incarnation of it)

[Moranis]

I hope the Big Ten puts their title game in Chicago.  That'd be a fun event to go to.

Have to think Indy & possibly Detroit would be others in the running.

I'm thinking they go dome and put it in Indy though money-wise Chicago makes the most sense.

I know in recent years they've rotated the Big Ten basketball tourney between Indy & Chicago.  Wouldn't be surprised they rotate the football one, also.  Ala Big XII (or former incarnation of it)

There are three domes in Big Ten Country, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the game rotated between Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Detroit, though Mineapolis may be determined to not be neutral (given the Gophers play there) and may be out of contention.  I don't think the Big Ten wants its title game outside, if it did that would certainly open up Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland as possible destinations.

The real question is though how is the Big Ten going to divide.  I think they go East/West with OSU, MSU, UM, PSU, IU, and Pur in the East and UW, NU, UN, IA, Min, Ill in the West.  I could certainly see some iteration where PSU and Neb end up in the same division to even out the traditional powers maybe something like this

OSU, Mich, MSU, Iowa, Ind, NW
PSU, Minn, Wis, Neb, Pur, Ill

Where each team has a "rival" in the other division that it would play every year (which I have lined the teams up in that order i.e. OSU v PSU, Mich v Minn, etc.).  I'm not sure the Big Ten is really going to want to go to that sort of unbalanced schedule, but it is certainly rumored that they may have a rival game much like the SEC has.

[Donoghus]

Call me a sucker for history and tradition but Big Ten football has always been "rough & tumble". Put the game outdoors in December.  Put it at Soldiers Field.

That being said, I wouldn't be shocked one bit if the Big Ten answers to the all-mighty $$$ and puts it in Indianapolis.

[nickagneta]

Could you imagine what the city of Chicago would be like if in the same weekend they had a Northwestern versus Michigan State Big 10 Championship game on a Saturday Night and Green Bay Packers versus Chicago Bears Sunday night game in a year where the Bears and packers were fighting for the division title late in the year?

WOW!!! I might fly out there to take that in. I love Chicago and the atmosphere in the city that weekend would be better than most Superbowls.

[Donoghus]

Could you imagine what the city of Chicago would be like if in the same weekend they had a Northwestern versus Michigan State Big 10 Championship game on a Saturday Night and Green Bay Packers versus Chicago Bears Sunday night game in a year where the Bears and packers were fighting for the division title late in the year?

WOW!!! I might fly out there to take that in. I love Chicago and the atmosphere in the city that weekend would be better than most Superbowls.

You should've seen the scene out here the last month or so with the Blackhawks, then.  Unreal.  Brought me back to what Boston was like during the Sox '04 run.