The Big Ten has thrown the world into a tizzy without actually doing anything yet. So what's the league really going to do and who's going to join? How will college football possibly look ten years from now? Why does everyone want to be in the Big Ten anyway? All the top expansion questions are answered.
-
-
I hve done some rather extensive search on this, and the reason for the Big 10 expansion is twofold. #1. MONEY. They want to make more money and by adding a team, they can expand into another market. The arguent is which team. Obviously Notre Dame is the #1 choice, but that is not going to happen unless the Irish get squeezed. Rutgers has been mentioned because of the New York Market. Missouri has been mentioned also, with about 6 other teams.
#2. If the Big 10 aqdds just one more team, they can hold a "Conference Championship" game, which means, you guessed it, MONEY. Curent rules state that a Conference must have 12 teams to hold a Championship game. The Big 10 seems to want that.
Now the big question is just how far does the Big 10 carry this out. If they really want Notre Dame to join, they can grab 4 Big East teams, basically ending that conference, and any Bowl Bid that the Irish can get except a BCS Bowl bid. The Irish count as a Big East team for all non-BCS Bowls. They would have nowheres to go. The ACC would then grab the other 4 existing Big East teams, or as many as they can that would fit their criteria. That forces the SEC to expand to 16 teams. The Pac 10 would have to expand to at least 12 teams. The Big 12 would get hurt, because the SEC would make a strong bid to take Texas, Texas A&M, OU and Okie State. That means the Big 12 and Pac 10 could raid the MWC and WAC to expand to 16 teams.Last edited by BigdaddyQH; 05-10-10, 07:34 PM.Comment -
Rumors are that their conference championship game may be a 4-team championship with each of the four winners of the mini divisions playing each other in a 4 team tournament.Comment -
Of course this would assume they expand to 16 teams.Comment -
I have heardthat rumor, but dismiss it. That is really carrying things too far.Comment -
if this process is anything like their football, it will be a very slow process.Comment -
I could have sworn I saw something on ESPN that the Big 10 extended offers to Nebraska, Missouri, Notre Dame, and Rutgers. Did anyone else see/hear this? Did they take it down?Comment -
I would like itComment -
All of this is a charade to get Notre Dame to join. If they do, it very well may be the only move.Comment -
I have heard talk that the if the SEC ever went to 16 the 4 that are atop the wish list would be TX, Texas A & M, Miami and FSU.Comment -
The SEC list is correct, with GA Tech as a backup. I believe that the ACC would try and take the remaining Big East football schools, leaving the basketball schools to form a Catholic league. If the Big East were smart, they have the New York market -- they should create the Big East network, and try to poach the ACC schools.Comment -
Nebraska will stay in the big 12Comment -
Can someone explain why in CBB that notre dame is in the big east conf while in CFB they are not?Comment -
texas. will. own. the. big10.Comment -
they weren't invitedComment -
Not hearing good things here (from the perspective of an ND student/fan). Sounds like joining a conference is a done deal.Comment -
rutgers now thats funny,no idea why the guy in the 2nd post was saying that about the big east, the big east is going nowhere and could lose 8 teams and still have alot of teams.
Conferences should have no more then 12 team ever.Comment -
All these schools (Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Missouri, etc.) would give their left nut to join this conference. Which is why all of these rumors are one-way and the interest does not appear to be mutual.
Bottom line:
- Delany is holding out for ND and ONLY ND.
- ND is the ONLY program that offers "more than just a 12th program".
- ND does NOT want to join at risk of becoming a regional program.
- The alums and donors of ND do NOT want any part of the Big Ten.
- Swarbrick does NOT want to be the AD who pulls the trigger on this.
This is all a bunch of nothing.Comment -
The fact is this. The Big 10 will expand. They will take Missouri. That is as good as a done deal. They will also go after Rutgers, to grab the New York City market. If they are smart, and really want Notre Dame to join the conference, they go after Pitt and another Big East team, giving them 15 teams. That forces the ACC to expand, talking USF, West Virginia, and UConn/Syracuse. That is the death blow to the Big East. Nebraska is also being considered.
Notre Dame is tied into the Big East for all Bowl Games except a BCS game. If the Big East folds, Notre Dame HAS to join the Big 10. Their hand is forced. The Big 10 becomes the Big 16. That is one way the Irish will join a conference. The other way is for the Big East's Bowl tie-ins to get worse than they already are. Right now, the Big East #2 plays in the Champs Bowl, the #3 plays in the Meineke Bowl, the #4 plays in the Pinstripe Bowl, the #5 plays in the Papa John's Bowl, and the #6 plays in the St. Petersburg Bowl. That is the weakest of all the BCS Conference tie in's. Do the Irish really want to settle for the Champs Bowl, or another game in Yankee stadium if they do not get a BCS bid, when they could be playing in Florida on New Years Day?
Other expansion is a bit trickier. The Pac 10 will expand to at least 12 teams, but will probably hold off to see what the Big 10 does. Utah and Colorado are the two most likely teams to join, with Colorado all but officially stating that they want to go.
The Big 12 has no idea where it stands. They could lose over half the conference to expansion. Schools rumored to be targeted if a large scale expansion comes about are Missouri and Nebraska (Big 10). Colorado (Pac 10) Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State (SEC). That would be devistating. Replacements could be Houston, TCU, SMU, Rice, BYU, Tulsa, and New Mexico.Comment -
anxious to see how this all turns outComment -
I think ESPN commented on this, but I'm not sure the SEC can overcome the politics involved in moving Texas to the SEC, whats your thoughs on that BigD? Any info?Comment -
I never heard anything on Nebraska getting any offerComment -
To answer a couple of questions. I had heard rumors about Nebraska being courted by the Big 10 and aparently these rumors are serious. The problem that the Big 12 has is the way it distributes money. Nebraska stands to make a lot more in the Big 10 than the Big 12. The question is how many teams is the Big 10 looking to take? With 11 teams, if they take an even number of teams (2, 4, etc...) they will still have an odd number of teams. If they take both Mizzou and Nebraska, and Rutgers, they will have 14 teams. If they take Rutgers and one more Big East team, and leave the door open for Notre Dame, will the loss of two Big East teams be enough to open the conference up to be raided by the ACC, thus forcing Notre Dame to join the Big 10?
The Big 12 has major problems staring them in the face. If both Missouri and Nebraska go to the Big 10, and Colorado goes to the Pac 10, they must replace 3 teams. Missouri and Colorado have openly admitted that they are anxious to jump conferences, and Nebraska has certainly done nothing to quash rumors that they are not interested. Then the problem with the SEC arises. If the Big 10 and ACC decide to expand to 16 teams, the SEC follows suit. Texas is the prize, but if you take Texas, you get Texas A&M. It is a package deal. Texas is being very quiet about the whole situation. That gives the SEC 14 teams. Where do they get the other two? Well, there is always the two Oklahoma schools. There are also the two Florida Schools (Florida State and Miami). Either way, the Big 12 could lose as many as 7 schools. Replacements would all come from Texas, for the most part, including TCU, SMU, Rice, UTEP and Houston. Throw in Tulsa and possibly BYU, and the Big 12 survives, but becomes a very weak conference.
The biggest question I have about all of this is why would Texas and OU want to go to the SEC? It would be extremely difficult for either one of these teams to compete with the likes of Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee every year and expect to go to many BCS Championship games. Texas also has the sweetheart deal in the Big 12, followed closely by OU. I think that the Big 12 loses Mizzouri, and Colorado for sure, and possibly Nebraska. They will be replaced by TCU, Houston, and either Rice, SMU, or Tulsa. The rest depends on how big the Big 12 wants to become.
Then there is the Pac 10, who is just sitting rather quietly now, but could be a major player before all of this is done. Expansion to 12 teams seems like a lock, but if the Big 12 stays at 12 teams, the Pac 10 will more than likely follow suit. If the Big 12 also decides to go to 16 teams, the Pac 10's hand will be forced, and they raid the MWC and WAC.Comment -
the 10,000$ question....do we get closer to a play-off......does the regular season get longer.....what happens to the non-conference cup cakes.....Comment -
I dont like the idea of expansions...lets just have a playoff and keep the same conferencesComment -
Gonna be a different world in CFB with the super conferences coming together. God, I miss football!Comment -
oh jeez i cant wait for football season to start again/.Comment -
If you're the Rutgers AD, ask yourself, what's in this for us? We can count on football losses of at least 30 points every year by Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Yeah, we stand to make another $10 million in television fees and revenue sharing from the conference bowl teams, but now the travel budgets for my 25 non-revenue teams (wrestling, volleyball, track, etc.) all go up 2,000 percent because the only place we can take a bus is to Penn State.
Rutgers can go ahead and make this move and look at becoming an athletic doormat for the next 20 years.Comment -
It certainly makes sense. Two Divisions. The North, with the two Oregon schools, the two Washington schools, and the two newcombers. The South with the two Arizona schools and the 4 California schools.Comment -
No one will ever believe this, but a 16 team football conference is not like a 16 basketball conference. Why have a conference if each team can't play the other? The SEC can barely do it now with 12, the Big 10 has an unbalanced schedule every year. I don't want to see any team play 10 conference games in football, by season's end you have nothing left.Comment
