So the big ten is seriously looking to expand, and Being a big ten fan I was wanting to see what others thought of who might join the big ten


I hope it isnt Norte Dame, They really wont make the big ten tougher

Going to is different than will, but I certainly think it is a possibility. The Big Ten would be idiotic to pass up on Notre Dame if they'd join. Notre Dame would not join a conference though unless it was clear we were switching to format on the order of four 16-team conferences where ND would get left out. Notre Dame is worth a lot of money and has great tradition. ND isn't an AAU school but it does have significant quality education for undergrads.

Missouri is a decent fit location/culture-wise.

Pitt isn't really a good fit being a city school, however they are an AAU member. Penn State already brings in every PA television so it is questionable that they would bring any revenue to the table. They are a good geographic and academic fit despite that.

Rutgers is far away and is not a sports power house. They are unlikely to bring the New York market in any meaningful way, however if YES got on board then they would add real value to the Big Ten network.

Syracuse is a lot like Rutgers except they have better athletics.

Marshall would be a location and tradition fit in many ways, but is a lesser academic institution and would be unlikely to increase revenues.

Basically I think Notre Dame and Missouri are the only two schools that make sense for the Big Ten to add and Notre Dame won't.

There have been reports (more like rumors considering how much remains unconfirmed or thought to be wrong) originating from WHB 810 AM, a sports radio network out of Kansas City, that Notre Dame, Mizzou, Nebraska, and Rutgers have all been offered invitations.

I believe this is the actual report: http://www.810whb.com/article/3530


One thing on Rutgers - you don't necessarily have to have people watching to have them bring in the NYC market. All you have to do is convince the cable companies that they should pick up the Big Ten network (I think I heard that currently only one of the big 3 cable providers offer the network).

Specualtion has also included UConn, despite the fact that their football program was 1-AA only ten years ago (or whatever). Plus Connecticut doesn't add too much population wise. However, I don't think the presence of ESPN can be overlooked. Its kind of scary how much impact they have on sports. Seeing the league up close could help convince them to promote the league more than it would've done otherwise. Suddenly, a league they used to think was slow and plodding doesn't seem quite that way when they see a well played conference game in their off time. I call it the Hartford Whalers effect :-)

Sorry, but...

The bottom line is that the Big Ten is expanding for monetary reasons. Adding at least one team gives them a championship game. Adding Rutgers "gives" you NYC, while Mizzou gives you KC and StL. Nebraska brings a lot of eyes to the TV. they may not be a true "National" team, like a Notre Dame, but they're closer, at least when you look at the TV numbers and how they travel, than most people would expect.

At the end of the day, just remember: Its all about the money.

I know the big ten wants the championship game, And no disrespect to norte dame, but as a Big Ten Fan I am wanting them to add a team that brings alittle more toughness to our schedules


I would love to see a nebraska or mizzo join, i think rutgers would just get destroy and it would be a bad move for them, I just cant see Nebraska or Missouri would leave there current conference.

I wouldnt even mind seeing BC or WV be considered

What do you mean when you say toughness? There are a number of ways people use that term in CFB. I think I know what you mean but I'd like to clarify before making assumptions.

Nebraska might join, Mizzou would love to, I could see WV doing it since it would be good for them, BC would be a good get by adding Boston but really BC is not a midwest school in any way.

WV would be a nice fit, I think. We had a decades long rivalry with Penn State and Ohio State is in our back yard. so to speak. That, and pretty much every WVU fan would love to see the Mountaineers get an annual shot at Rich Rodriguez up there at Michigan.

However, I think that WVU would end up in an expanded ACC. Former Big East members Miami, BC and Virginia Tech went to the ACC so it seems logical for WVU to head that direction as well.

ND would be an obvious choice but as has been said, they're unlikely to commit their football program to a conference commitment when they have such a sweetheart deal as an Indy.

Speculation that Mizzou or Nebraska would leave the Big 12 is just crazy, IMO. Why would they do that?

There are "emerging" programs like Cincinnati that might be a logical fit into the Big 10, but the problem is that they haven't put together a long string of winning seasons and top 25 finishes to prove they can compete in a powerful conference.

Pitt was another program mentioned in the article I read a while back. Pitt HAS won National Championships and DOES have a tradition and IS geographically suitable to play in the Big 10.

Rutgers? NYC audience? Bah. IMO, the Big Ten is all about the Midwest. But college football anymore is all about the $$$$, so who knows?

What I mean by Toughness is simple How much stronger it would make our conference.

Would Ohio state, Penn state be viewed as having a tougher schedule having to play Norte Dame every year, or would they say beating Norte dame is no big deal. No Doubt ND use to be a CFB powerhouse but have fallen off allot, we already have to play teams like Northwestern, and Indiana.

I would like to see a Nebraska or Mizzou because of the respect Big ten teams would get for having to face them. Now I know the Big ten did a great job in the bowls last year, but right now we have the stigma of being a weak conference outside our top 2 or 3 teams, I mean I hate Michigan but them being so far down right now is hurting our conference bad!!

so I would love to see which every team that joins the big ten be one that makes it to where we have a solid 4 or 5 teams every year, Right now it is

Ohio State
Penn State
Michigan**** They will be back eventually****
Wisconsin

Then one of our others usaully steps up
Iowa
Michigan state
Illionis
Purdue

then we have the few i would love to trade to off

Indiana
Northwestern
Minnesota

I think WV is a much better fit for the ACC than the Big Ten. The Big Ten needs to fill out and expand their TV network which WV doesn't do a whole lot of. Sure facing Rich Rod is fine and dandy, but once he is gone then that has lost all meaning.

ND actually would make more on the Big Ten Network than their NBC deal, by $1-2M. They however have then lost their independence and that contributes to their allure. Plus they no longer have the guaranteed TV slot to themselves every Saturday.

Mizzou and Nebraska get no respect from the Big-12 South, being in the North. They are also unhappy with revenue sharing. The Big-12 does not equally share revenue and the schools who bring in the most money are unhappy they don't earn more and the ones who make less money are unhappy they are getting shorted. Nebraska is a Big-12 school fit all the way, but money-wise they have a lot of interest to join the Big Ten.

Cincinatti already gets the Big Ten network so adding them as a school doesn't really do anything. Without Brian Kelly they will probably fade back into obscurity for football.

So you think that Mizzou has a higher ceiling than Nebraska? ND is down right now, but they have a lot easier time drawing top recruits than Mizzou (or Nebraska does). There are a lot more reasons to think ND will have sustained success than Mizzou. Nebraska does have a lot of tradition and can be expected to play at a high level similar to Oklahoma, even though they draw from small population bases. Plus ND is the most over-rated school of all time. Teams get a lot more credit for beating Notre Dame than they are due. I don't think the whole toughness of conference thing is an issue.

Nah I dont think Mizzou has a higher ceiling than Nebraska, and i actually think they would be a btter fit to Big Ten style football, Than Mizzou. But Missouri is Still close to the other big ten teams, we dont already have a Team in that state as with ND we already have Indiana. Nebraska's only down fall would be travel expenses for the teams traveling there and ther road trips.

WV would be a good fit also, just be cause of there proximity and the Natural rival OSU and PSU fans have with them already and they are not currently in our Conference

Re: Nebraska's travel costs... Can't be any worse than Penn State trying to get from Happy Valley to Minnesota or Iowa.

Big 11 would be a stupid name

GO ACC