If the Big Ten is going to expand from 11 schools to a dozen, which school is most likely to join? After making your vote, back it up in the discussion below.
Results
Total of 15,039 votes
| Rutgers | 47.5% (7,149 votes) |
| Cincinnati | 18.4% (2,761 votes) |
| Pittsburgh | 8.2% (1,237 votes) |
| Missouri | 7.4% (1,109 votes) |
| Notre Dame | 5.6% (843 votes) |
| Nebraska | 4.1% (624 votes) |
| Texas | 3.1% (465 votes) |
| Syracuse | 2% (305 votes) |
| West Virginia | 1.7% (256 votes) |
| Iowa State | 1.4% (205 votes) |
| Louisville | 0.6% (85 votes) |
Leave a Comment:
Saving...
The only reason Texas would consider joining the B10 is because it's a patsy league including the "Luckeye"
Oh just go sit on a longhorn! OSU would love to get a shot at Texas again. Texas barely beat them with Colt and a green Tyrell. I'm thinking the outcome would be different this time.
That's fine stay in Texas. We wouldn't want to see you guys below .500 each year playing the Big Ten. The actual best selection would be Notre Dame since they paly 3-4 BT teams each year already and they are local to the BT arena. They also get good TV time for revenue for both teams.
Sam Houston State or Northeastern Oklahoma A&M would be good fits for the Big Ten.
Pitt would be a great addition. A traditional rivalry with Penn State would be renewed and a new rivalry with Ohio State could be established. Now the Michigan is OSU's b!tch, the Buckeyes need another good quality rival.
Then again, maybe it should be W. Virginny. It may be fun to watch RichRod have to go back to Hillybilly U. Boy, we're gonna make you squeal like a pig!
Missouri. Natural rival for Illinois and Iowa. Good research institution which is critical to Big 10 schools. Also, this removes another football market (St Louis) from Notre Dame. The Irish have isolated themselves with an out-of-date attitude of superiority. Might as well help their recruiting efforts so they can continue scheduling patsies. Besides, my son lives in Columbia. I could see some future Big 10 games (say Ohio State) on the road.
The Big Ten is a midwest centric conference so the ones that make the most sense geographic wise would be Nebraska, IA State, Cinci, and the big MO. The others would maybe make sense should all of the conferences go under the knife and make the conferences largers. Personally I would like to see the Pac 10 and the Big Ten bulk up to 16 schools each and then subdivide into divisions and then play an extra end of the year championship game. Sadly it probably won't happen just like Boise State, TCU, and Utah won't join real conferences.
Who cares about the big 10 and their creampuff schedules, everyone knows the best football is being played in the south
The Big Ten used to be a good league; however, over the last twenty years they have become very average at best. Penn State should join the Big East and Toledo and Akron should join the Big Ten, it makes sense from a travel perspective and both of those schools could compete for a Big 10 Championship immediately.
Toledo and Akron? I want some of what you're smokin' dude. what a moron.
I'm not a Big Ten fan nor am I a Pac 10 fan. However, I think both conferences expanding will drastically alter the College Football landscape and strengthen each conference. I'd like to see Pitt join the Big Ten. It would be beneficial for both. The Big Ten would own the PA market, and basically begin the complete demise of the Big East. The 12 Pac conference could pick up BYU and Boise which would drastically increase the competition of both of those schools as well as the 12 Pac. I can't wait to see what happens. No matter I still love the S E C and believe the true fans and loyalties run deep in the south and I'm a Vanderbilt guy.
Who cares! I just cant wait for college football season to start already!
The 'season' will begin April 17th when ESPN televises the annual Alabama 'A-Day' game (spring practice conclusion).
I don't see why so many people are selecting Pitt over Rutgers. One of the Big 10's goals is to maximize the TV revenue. And Rutgers will bring more TV than any other candidate with the New York market.
Pitt is a fine adademic school and has solid sports programs. But they will add next to nothing to the Big Ten Network income, as Penn State already has a solid hold on the pittsburg TV market.
If they come East, Rutgers is the choice. Flagship State University, AAU member, in a new market for the Big Ten. New Jersey has over 8 million residents. The cable $$$$ is the difference. Also could help get more money for New York and Philadelphia cable markets. ( Even with Penn State the BTN doesn't earn full carriage rates in Philadelphialso) Also a tradition rich conference like the Big Ten would love to market "The Birthplace of College Football"
Pitt brings nothing but an athletic dept deficit to the B10.Rotgers brings in mucho TV sets. Why anyone would want Texas is a mystery. Texas vs PSU would be interesting In Nov. but just like the chcken SZE Coference teaqms wont venjture north when its cold
Rutgers would be the best choice. How many of the other schools can light up the Empire State Building and NY/NJ media before a big game. There are more Big Ten Alumni living in the Metropolitan area of NY NJ then any where else in the world.
Nobody in the New York City area cares about Rutgers. If it's not Missouri it will be Pitt.
Really? I'm a B10 Grad (Illini) and I now live near NYC. I do follow Rutgers (well football anyway) and I think Rutgers in B10 would be great.
Rutgers with the NY market would be a perfect fit. The new AD knows how to market and there is no market bigger than NY besides if Joe Pa is still around, he has an affinity for Rutgers because they held out with Penn State for an all east sports conference. Joe Pa has a long memory.
Big 10 expansion is all about media footprint - Penn State delivers some of the NY metro market but Rutgers would deliver more of NY and NJ. All the other 'candidates' except Texas would deliver mediocre markets or overlap with existing Big 10 schools. Rutgers is a state school with a large enrollments and comparable resources to other BT state schools. Texas has no incentive to leave the B12, nor does Missouri.
Ron1130 raises a good point - JoePa carries a lot of weight in this arena - and he is unlikely to support either Syracuse or Pitt. Keep in mind though that Penn State has always gotten its share of NJ players - a BT Rutgers program would actually hurt PSU recruiting. But the league would be stronger.
Rutgers just isn't a good enough university to join the Big 10 and, other than football (where RU's play is mediocre), Rutgers ranks uncompetitive to simply awful in other sports (vide hoops!).
I say the 'Cuse is the choice. Can you say NUMBER ONE!
News bulletin:
The Big 10 University presidents have the final say - not the athletic directors.
Rutgers definitely meets the criteria for Big Ten membership:
Member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) - check
Large (50,000+ enrollment) Research-Oriented, land-grant university - check
Academic Rankings that meet Big-Ten Standards - check
Top-Ten NCAA Academic Progress Report (APR) rankings 3 years in a row - check (and that's the ranking of the Rutgers Football team). http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2010/05/rutgers_football_cited_for_a_t.html
I'd say they have a pretty good shot at a Big Ten invitation.
New York Market = 21 million people of which 6.5 million live in NJ
Philly Market = 6 million people of which 2 million live in NJ
Those are some huge numbers even without one NY or Philly fan.
ND or Pitt would fit in the best. If they are going for the TV market STILL I would choose ND over Rutgers. Heck ND is a national team with it's own NBC contract for football. Need I add that it is located in the middle of the other Big Ten Teams?