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

[Mojo Jojo]

KU, KSU, ISU...Welcome to the Big West

[kcpasco]

Originally Posted by Mojo Jojo

KU, KSU, ISU...Welcome to the Big West

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Mojo Jojo

KU, KSU, ISU...Welcome to the Big West

Well I hope they get used to the UC-Irvine rivalry...

[WilliamTheIrish]

I'll skip the UC-Irvine game. But I'll be happy taking a trip to UCSD.

[Titty Meat]

**** yea

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Mojo Jojo

KU, KSU, ISU...Welcome to the Big West

I still say Conference USA is a much better fit for them.

[KChiefs1]

TeddyGreenstein tweet:

Jim Delany: "The timeline could be affected." In other words, it will be affected.

[KChiefs1]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/06...authority.html

The Pac-10 board has given commissioner Larry Scott the authority to pursue any possible expansion for the conference.

Scott spoke following the conclusion of the conference meetings in San Francisco on Sunday. Earlier in the day, he addressed the chancellors and presidents about possible expansion and was given authority to move ahead without having to go back to the board for approval.

Scott says no final decision has been made whether to expand but many different scenarios were discussed this weekend. There have been reports that the conference could add as few as two teams or as many as six if it does expand.

The conference will decide its future plans by the end of the year before negotiating a new television contract for the 2012-13 academic year.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by billay

**** yea

What?

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by luv

Which would you choose if KU was in the same situation?

All depends on whether or not they have a concrete invite from the Big 10. If they do, then if the Big 12 gives an ultimatum they go ahead and bail to the Big 10. But if they don't then things get a little more dicey ... especially for Nebraska.

The only real reason Nebraska is getting an invite is because the Big 10 is a heavy football conference and Nebraska has a big football history. Also it looks like Nebraska might be improving their football back to being big time again. If Nebraska calls the Big 12 bluff and Notre Dame joins the Big 10 or something, Nebraska is screwed and screwed hard. Other conferences that aren't as heavy duty football as the Big 10 won't place as much value in Nebraska's main calling card.

Mizzou has a broader value than that so they can probably find a BCS conference on their own because they have St. Louis. Mizzou is all about having a 2-city market ... without St. Louis they have pretty much Jack and shit with Jack getting ready to leave town.

Still ... if they haven't received a concrete invite to the Big 10 they take a significant risk by calling the Big 12 bluff. This is what the Big 12 is shooting for imo ... play the bluff and hope 1 or both of the teams would rather stay in the Big 12 than risk getting caught out in the independent wind.

just sayin'

[Sam Hall]

You gotta see this Mizzou ultimatum countdown sig. Someone needs to make one for Nebraska so we can all put one in our sig.

http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/list.php?board=2

[Bambi]

Kind of upsetting to see so many taking joy in the potential of 100 years of local tradition evaporating.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Laz

All depends on whether or not they have a concrete invite from the Big 10. If they do, then if the Big 12 gives an ultimatum they go ahead and bail to the Big 10. But if they don't then things get a little more dicey ... especially for Nebraska.

The only real reason Nebraska is getting an invite is because the Big 10 is a heavy football conference and Nebraska has a big football history. Also it looks like Nebraska might be improving their football back to being big time again. If Nebraska calls the Big 12 bluff and Notre Dame joins the Big 10 or something, Nebraska is screwed and screwed hard. Other conferences that aren't as heavy duty football as the Big 10 won't place as much value in Nebraska's main calling card.

Mizzou has a broader value than that so they can probably find a BCS conference on their own because they have St. Louis. Mizzou is all about having a 2-city market ... without St. Louis they have pretty much Jack and shit with Jack getting ready to leave town.

Still ... if they haven't received a concrete invite to the Big 10 they take a significant risk by calling the Big 12 bluff. This is what the Big 12 is shooting for imo ... play the bluff and hope 1 or both of the teams would rather stay in the Big 12 than risk getting caught out in the independent wind.

just sayin'

There's no danger in calling the bluff...

If the Pac-10 goes to 16, there is NO way the Big Ten doesn't. Missouri is fine in that case. Nebraska most likely is as well. (Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Rutgers to Big 16).

Missouri and Nebraska hold all the cards in this. Texas has none, and hates it. If Texas takes its little friends and leaves for the Pac-10, Missouri and Nebraska have their tickets cemented to the Big Ten.

The only real danger to Missouri's ride to the Big Ten was Texas and aTm going, or Notre Dame going (and them stopping at 12). Neither of those things is an option now.

There's no way Delany sits around while the expansion chips fall and lets the Big Ten get caught reacting.

[KChiefs1]

http://www.freep.com/article/2010060...on-at-meetings

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The Big Ten chancellors and presidents met here at the Big Ten meetings today but did not take a vote on expansion.

Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon, the chair of the council of presidents and chancellors, said the outside swirl of expansion talk may affect the timeline but that is not a certainty.


"What's obvious in following all of the news you write is that our announcement in December has caused institutions as individual institutions to consider their future and conferences to consider their future," Simon said. "As a result of that that has an impact on our deliberations. That has not had an an impact on the criteria or the deliberatness of the process."


She and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany pointed out that it could handled in phases, with one or a group added, then one or a group added later, or only one group or still not at all.


They said there have been no applications to this point.


A substantial part of the four-plus hours of meetings were about expansion discussion.


Simon suggested that the academic fit is still very important, maybe moreso than has been portrayed in publicly.


They would not address specific schools despite reports of the Pac-10 offering teams, the supposed deadline to two Big 12 schools to stay or leave or even the report about Delany's emails with the Ohio State president regarding Texas.


"Obviously we are moving through a process, we had targeted a timeline as long as 18 months, it's possible that the timeline may be altered, but not the process," Simon said.

[Crush]

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com...timetable.html

Big Ten officials all but acknowledged Sunday that they intend to follow a turbo-charged timetable for expansion.

With possible expansion candidates Nebraska and Missouri facing an ultimatum from the Big 12, the Big Ten clearly is ready to stop dawdling and get down to business.

A longer way of saying that came from Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon: "Our announcement in December has caused institutions and conferences to consider their futures, and that has had an impact on our deliberations."

Big Ten presidents and chancellors met Sunday in Park Ridge for more than four hours, and at least half that time was spent discussing expansion.

Simon, who chairs the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors, said that no expansion votes were taken Sunday but that the league's 11 CEOs will not have to be present for a super majority (8 of 11) to approve inviting schools to apply for membership.

"My understanding of Big Ten bylaws," she said, "is that action can be done electronically, telephonically or in person."

Then she turned to commissioner Jim Delany, seated to her left, and added: "My lawyer has concurred."

It would surprise no one if Big Ten expansion is resolved in a matter of weeks, though Delany and Simon declined to discuss the specifics of the timing and which schools could be involved.