Big Ten looking to add 12th team?

[Archer]

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez says the Big Ten will soon make a more aggressive push toward adding a 12th member.

Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion.

"I have a sense he is going to take this year to really be more aggressive about it," Alvarez told the board. "I just think everybody feels [expansion] is the direction to go, coaches and administrators."

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has been the most vocal advocate of a 12th Big Ten team, and he has support from several of his fellow coaches.

A 12th team would allow the Big Ten to split into divisions and hold a conference championship game. The Big Ten typically ends its football season two weeks before the other BCS conferences, though the addition of a permanent bye week in 2010 will shrink the gap by a week.

"We're irrelevant for the last three weeks of the football season because we're not playing," Alvarez said Friday.

Paterno has stumped for expansion several times, but Delany -- who was unavailable for comment -- told ESPN.com this spring that the league has no immediate plans to add a 12th team.

"There's not an obvious move," Delany said in May. "There might be to some coaches, including Coach Paterno, but it's not as obvious to the university presidents and to the athletic directors.

"There are a lot [of schools] that could take a lot away, but there aren't a lot that could bring so much to make the choice an easy one. You have to have a lot to make something go like this, and it's broader than really a championship game or a basketball tournament."

The Big Ten most recently expanded with Penn State, which began competing as a league member in football in 1993. The league has made runs at Notre Dame but hasn't had serious discussions for several years.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4735336

Yay or Nay? Personally I'm all for anything that means it has a championship game (as I think every conference should have one)

 

[Woy]

This has been in talks for a while, hopefully it gets serious.

Look for Rutgers to be that team if it does go down.

 

[Prodigal Son]

Why would the Big 10 go after school that's so far out of it's region?

 

[Goober]

Please let this happen soon.

 

[Archer]

This has been in talks for a while, hopefully it gets serious.

Look for Rutgers to be that team if it does go down.

ESPN - 12/11/09 . I wouldn't have posted this particular article if it was that late

I guess they are stepping up the pace

 

[FirstTimer]

This has been in talks for a while, hopefully it gets serious.

Look for Rutgers to be that team if it does go down.

I'd say Cincinnati

 

[kbpsu]

I really hope this happens. The B10 needs to add a little more credibility to their conference.

 

[Rayman]

This has been in talks for a while, hopefully it gets serious.

Look for Rutgers to be that team if it does go down.

...really? I can't see that happening.

 

[Len B]

West Virginia would be the best choice, but Cincinnati would make the most sense. Too bad Kelly left.

It should be Notre Dame, but that will never happen considering they have their own TV contract.

 

[Sportsbuck]

I would support it, but I really don't know how you can have a fair division of the conference. Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan are the top 3 programs historically and will be in the future (once Michigan gets back on their feet) and almost any way you factor it they will probably all end up in the same division.

As long as they don't fuck with Ohio State/Michigan I could care less, just gives us another game to play.

There are academic requirements that schools have to meet as well as far as research or something of that nature, and if IIRC that is the reason ND hasn't been considered to be the 12th team.

 

[Irish]

Hopefully ND wont join.

 

[Woy]

...really? I can't see that happening.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2007/08/politi_column.html

http://www.smokingmusket.com/2009/5/26/885872/rutgers-university-to-leave-big

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andy_staples/06/01/conference-expansion/index.html

http://www.mndaily.com/blogs/upon-further-review/2009/06/03/brewster-vouches-adding-rutgers-big-ten

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2007-07-25-network-expansion_N.htm

The first and last articles are older, but you get the point. The Rutgers to the Big Ten rumor has been out there for a while now - that's why I think it's most likely to happen.

 

[Sportsbuck]

...really? I can't see that happening.

Adding onto the links Woy posted, the B10 wants to tap in to the NYC media.

 

[FirstTimer]

I would support it, but I really don't know how you can have a fair division of the conference. Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan are the top 3 programs historically and will be in the future (once Michigan gets back on their feet) and almost any way you factor it they will probably all end up in the same division.

As long as they don't fuck with Ohio State/Michigan I could care less, just gives us another game to play.

There are academic requirements that schools have to meet as well as far as research or something of that nature, and if IIRC that is the reason ND hasn't been considered to be the 12th team.

Uhh what?

 

[Sportsbuck]

Uhh what?

ND is an outstanding school, but their post-graduate programs and research aren't up to what the Big Ten wants.

ND is a great school with an excellent undergraduate reputation, but they have marginal research and post-graduate studies. They have good law and MBA programs, but thats about it as their post-graduate reputation and research goes. When Notre Dame last approached the Big Ten about joining they wanted to join the CIC to beef up their post-graduate reputation and research.

FWIW, this isn't from me but from someone very familiar with Big Ten member academic requirements.

 

[Leftwich]

West Virginia would be the best choice, but Cincinnati would make the most sense. Too bad Kelly left.

It should be Notre Dame, but that will never happen considering they have their own TV contract.

That would help with recruiting soooo much... probably won't be WVU though.

 

[Apocalypse]

I'm all for adding a 12th team, Rutgers, Cincinnati, idc.

Hopefully this gets done in the next year or two...

 

[Juggernaut]

Wouldn't mind RU joining

I dont follow that much, but when would they start playing other big 10 teams?

 

[NAHSTE]

Why would the Big 10 go after school that's so far out of it's region?

The same reason the ACC went after Boston College, to attract a large media market.

I think Syracuse or Notre Dame would be the best options.

I would support it, but I really don't know how you can have a fair division of the conference. Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan are the top 3 programs historically and will be in the future (once Michigan gets back on their feet) and almost any way you factor it they will probably all end up in the same division.

Looking at the map you could split it into East/West (more like SE/NW) so that Penn St, Ohio St, and the teams from Indiana and Illinois are in one division and Michigan is in the other division with Michigan St, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northwestern. The only issue from that is the championship game would be redundant if Ohio St, and Michigan met a week later. So they would pretty much have to be in the same division.

 

[FirstTimer]

ND is an outstanding school, but their post-graduate programs and research aren't up to what the Big Ten wants.

ND is a great school with an excellent undergraduate reputation, but they have marginal research and post-graduate studies. They have good law and MBA programs, but thats about it as their post-graduate reputation and research goes. When Notre Dame last approached the Big Ten about joining they wanted to join the CIC to beef up their post-graduate reputation and research.

FWIW, this isn't from me but from someone very familiar with Big Ten member academic requirements.

Good info but I'm not entirely sold on that being the case. I would say their post graduate/masters programs would be more than up to par for the Big 10. The research I can see as being an issue. What ND does have is excellent but they don't have a ton in that area. Even still I find it mildly entertaining that the Big10 would make issue of such a small issue at a college who's academic prestige is above just about every other school in the conference with the possible exception of some programs Northwestern offers.