Big 10 Report: Conference Realignment

[Mr. Laz]

A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Many have speculated that such an expansion would include Notre Dame but ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick told me today that the Irish prefer to stay independent in football and in the Big East for other sports. Swarbrick said maintaining football Independence is such a part of what Notre Dame is.

He went on to say the Big East is a great partner for the University in other sports.

"We do have to monitor what is going on," Swarbrick said. "There will be significant shifts. "Hopefully we can navigate them by keeping our football independent and keeping our Big East affiliation because that is what we care about."

The move of Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers to the Big Ten from the Big East could categorically change the landscape of the Big East itself. Thus, what Swarbrick is referring to when stating the University must continue to monitor what is going on.

The interview with Swarbrick was done before the late afternoon announcement.

http://www.wndu.com/sports/headlines/92447574.html

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Oh, and since Metrolike said it's OK for us to gloat, I'll go ahead and leave this right here...

Meh. You look like odd man out. Put Missouri in there and remove Nebraska, and you've got a nice, tight, geographical display.

You're screwing the geography, brah; beat it.

[SPATCH]

Even if none of this shit goes down....... this has just been ****ing great.

Watching all these Jayhawk fans sweat this thing out has been quite a treat. The nervous, desperate posts; the mental gymnastics. Priceless.

That being said, the prospect of Kansas landing in the Mountain West conjures conflicting emotions. Strangely enough, I think that I would feel bad... I've really enjoyed the rivalry and it would be sad for it to completely dissolve.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by the_spatula

Even if none of this shit goes down....... this has just been ****ing great.

Watching all these Jayhawk fans sweat this thing out has been quite a treat. The nervous, desperate posts; the mental gymnastics. Priceless.

That being said, the prospect of Kansas landing in the Mountain West conjures conflicting emotions. Strangely enough, I think that I would feel bad... I've really enjoyed the rivalry and it would be sad for it to completely dissolve.

100%

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by the_spatula

Even if none of this shit goes down....... this has just been ****ing great.

Watching all these Jayhawk fans sweat this thing out has been quite a treat. The nervous, desperate posts; the mental gymnastics. Priceless.

That being said, the prospect of Kansas landing in the Mountain West conjures conflicting emotions. Strangely enough, I think that I would feel bad... I've really enjoyed the rivalry and it would be sad for it to completely dissolve.

Yep.

But I still really want this to happen. Mizzou to the Big Ten anyway... after that, I don't care.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Get out the mother****ing goollldddssss!

Or break these puppies out again

[Tactical Funky]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

No offense, but I hope you enjoyed the first 115 (or so) years, because if there actually is a fire creating all this smoke, your BB program changes dramatically - and not for the good.

That's what a lot (not all) of KU fans refuse to acknowledge.

I realize this.

There is a glimmer of hope in that Notre Dame is currently in negotiations with the Big 10. If ND takes the offer, well, the Big XII likely stays as is with perhaps a team like Colorado leaving and the Big XII scooping up, say, TCU.

[teedubya]

If this goes down... I'm bringing an Uzi to the bash.

[Brianfo]

Originally Posted by frazod

I can see how watching guys roll around on the floor would appeal to your nature.

Boy, that's an original post. Wrestling is the most grueling sport that there is. You probably wouldn't understand.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Tactical Funky

I realize this.

There is a glimmer of hope in that Notre Dame is currently in negotiations with the Big 10. If ND takes the offer, well, the Big XII likely stays as is with perhaps a team like Colorado leaving and the Big XII scooping up, say, TCU.

ND isn't going to the B10 unless they are at least the 14th-16th team.

They aren't going alone.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by KcChiefsKing

Or break these puppies out again

**** Yizzle!

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

ND isn't going to the B10 unless they are at least the 14th-16th team.

They aren't going alone.

I tend to agree. If the 4 16 team Super Conference thing is really coming, (and it sure looks that way) ND would certainly want to be a part of it.

If not, they'd just stay independent.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Brianfo

Boy, that's an original post. Wrestling is the most grueling sport that there is. You probably wouldn't understand.

Shut up Garp.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Brianfo

Boy, that's an original post. Wrestling is the most grueling sport that there is. You probably wouldn't understand.

I'll bet you like soccer, too.

[007]

Christ this thread is getting idiotic.

[ArrowheadHawk]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...5816071.column

Who should be in, out in Big Ten expansion
Teddy Greenstein

Notre Dame, Rutgers and Nebraska are the snug fits that would benefit all; forget all others

Teddy Greenstein
5:45 p.m. CDT, June 8, 2010

Jim Delany receives a packet of clips each morning that contain the latest speculation, opinions, breaking news and attempted breaking news regarding conference expansion.

The Big Ten commissioner reads them. All of them.

"Just an immense amount of information," he said Sunday.

And now I'm adding to it. With the prospect of expansion taking shape next week (thanks to a Big 12 ultimatum), here's my take on what's best for the league of Bo and Woody: Expand to 14 with Notre Dame, Rutgers and Nebraska.

Get the Chicago Tribune delivered to your home for only $1 a week >>

I don't like 16 because it could lead to cumbersome four-team pods, and schools could go a decade or more without playing each other. That's one way to kill the conference cohesion Delany brags about.

So why Notre Dame, Rutgers and Nebraska?

Let's start with a school not on my list, Texas. I think there's a better chance Delany strikes oil in Chicago than the Longhorns agree to come under his wing. It makes no sense because of all the travel (and cost) involved, the so-called "Tech problem" (the Big Ten has no interest in taking stepchild Texas Tech) and the fact the Big Ten is a crummy baseball league.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, would fit like a hot dog into a poppy-seed bun. As one Big Ten source told me, if the league really is determined to get the Big Ten Network onto expanded basic in New York, Notre Dame (which plays Army at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 20 trumps Rutgers.

The geographic fit is perfect. The academic fit is ideal. So what will it take to convince the school's Board of Trustees finally to take the plunge? If the Big East implodes and Irish officials fear the potential loss of an automatic BCS bowl qualification (currently top eight in the standings, that might be enough to end this interminable courtship.

Sources are split on what path Notre Dame will take.

There's no doubt that Rutgers would love to join, if for no other reason than the revenue gap between the Big Ten ($20 million per school) and Big East ($6.3 million). Rutgers is a giant, public institution that dominates its state (think Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota). Nearly 9 million people live in New Jersey, a fertile recruiting ground (hello, Ron Dayne and Corey Wootton that's a river's crossing to New York and Philadelphia.

Rutgers recently poured $102 million into its 52,454-seat football stadium and has a yet-to-be-financed proposal in place to go north of 70,000. It also can play occasionally at the new Jets/Giants Stadium that will seat around 82,500.

Rutgers is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (like all 11 Big Ten schools) and its football team posts elite APR (Academic Progress Rate) numbers because coach Greg Schiano recruits willing students and insists they sit in the first three rows of class.

True, the Scarlet Knights lack the football tradition of Nebraska. Rutgers beat Princeton in the first college game ever played, in 1869, and then basically disappeared until 2006. But this decision, in Delany's words, is about the next "50-100 years" — not the past.

And speaking of Nebraska, who would not want to be associated with a program of Heisman Trophy winners (Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Eric Crouch) legendary coaches (Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne and rabid fans, 77,936 of whom flocked to 2010 spring game, second only to Alabama's 91,312?

Nebraska would give the BTN a boost by creating a new slate of marquee football games: Nebraska-Iowa, Nebraska-Wisconsin, Nebraska-Ohio State, etc. Yes, it's a state of just 1.8 million people, but big markets are not the only way to expand the reach of the BTN. Compelling programming is another weapon.

So who's not here?

Pittsburgh does not add much TV value, and there's lingering ill will from old-school Penn Staters. Syracuse is in a tiny market with bad football facilities and a basketball coach, Jim Boeheim, who has said he does not see a fit "with Iowa and Illinois." I agree.

Missouri is decent in every criteria (football, academics, geography), spectacular in none. Adding the Kansas City TV market and fortifying St. Louis should not be enough to prompt another Big Ten revenue pie-cutting.

Connecticut is not an AAU member and drew 2,500 for its last spring football game. Maryland's pull in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore is intriguing, but that's where the appeal ends.

Notre Dame, Rutgers and Nebraska are the "hr" picks, in my world. That's "home run," in Delany's.

So what would happen to Mizzou in this scenario?