By Wally
I couldn’t wait for Open Thread Thursday to toss this one out there. Heck, we’re only a few hours away from Thursday on the Right Coast anyway.
So there’s been a whole lotta chatter on ESPN and various other sites about the Big 10 wanting to expand from 11 to 12 teams (How silly does that sound? Not the concept, just the sentence.) Not too surprising, the logic for exploring this is of course … money. Adding a 12th team would permit Big 10 football to split into two equal 6 team divisions, thereby allowing play of the ever popular “conference championship game” … just like the SEC and Big 12 … two super conferences that rake in big bucks every December 5 th or so by staging that ultimate contest to see who gets the conference’s automatic bid to a BCS bowl game. So … there’s a couple key questions to answer.
First of all, if they do expand to 12 teams, what in the heck do you call the conference??? “Big 12” is already taken. “Big 10” makes no sense anymore … and hasn’t since they added Penn State. You know, for a conference that prides itself on being “academically elite”, you’d think they could add 10 + 1 and get 11. Plus, it’s hard to claim “academic superiority” over other conferences when Ohio State and Michigan State are among your ranks, but I guess the other 9 schools make up for that. Anyway, to solve this question, I propose they call the revamped conference the “Big 10+2”. Yes, the “Big 10+2” will keep traditionalists happy cuz ya still gotta say “Big 10” when ya say it, but at the same time, IT ADDS TO 12!!! Other possibilities … Super 12 … AEC (Academically Elite Conference) … Midwest Dozen … Terrific 12 … they just seem too fake and contrived. Nope … it should definitely be the “Big 10+2” conference.
Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s tackle the big issue. WHO IN THE HECK SHOULD BE ADDED AS THE 12TH TEAM???? Here’s the laundry list of schools that have been mentioned … from left (west) to right (east): Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse, Rutgers. Did I miss any??? Not sure why Ohio Wesleyan isn’t on the list … I think the Buckeyes play ’em every year.
Colin Cowherd of ESPN really likes the Rutgers idea … he says Rutgers is a very large, academically elite school that takes it’s football seriously. But best of all, says CC, they would bring in the huge NYC market! Aha … more MONEY!!! Is Rutgers “academically elite”??? I’m just askin’ … I’ve never heard that before. Rutgers is just too “east coastish” … not a good fit … this won’t play in Peoria.
I say you throw out Notre Dame … not cuz I agree with that necessarily … but because in the last 15 or so years, the Irish have turned down two separate overtures from the Big 10, so what’s different now?? I also say you throw out the Big East schools that take basketball very seriously (Pitt, L’ville, W. Virginia, ‘Cuse) cuz they’re already in the best hoops conference in the land (top to bottom … okay ACCers?). I could see Cinci entertaining Big 10 overtures, and we could use “THE University of Cincinnati” to balance off the state of Ohio and THE Ohio State University Bigheads. I think Cinci is just starting to realize that they’re in a football state and they can compete with the Big Boys, thanks to Brian Kelly. And Pitt doesn’t want anything to do with Penn State … they want their own identity.
Traveling out west, I’d eliminate anything west of Iowa. Why? Again, it just doesn’t seem to fit and can become geographically challenging. That leaves Mizzou and Iowa State as possibilities. Iowa State is a fine engineering school and the Hawkeyes need a partner, so why not? Mizzou kinda makes some sense … instead of beating their heads against the Big 12 powers and never really getting to the promised land, I can see ’em being regular Big 10+2 Western Division champs and their annual beatdown of Illinois will now count for something. I can also see Mizzou gaining some hoops momentum by joining the Big 10+2 since they don’t have to get smacked by perennial Big 12 powers Kansas and Texas anymore.
So those are my final 3: Cinci, Mizzou and Iowa State. My hunch is that Iowa State will be offered access … ISU is probably on par academically with many of the B10 schools, it fits geographically and has a natural rival already, … and probably most importantly, ISU does not pose a near term threat to the other schools either on the gridiron or on the hardcourt. Nope, Iowa State is the patsy they’re looking for … an easy win for most teams and it gets the Big 10+2 that all important football conference championship game!! A marriage made in heaven!!!
The only problem is this … with Iowa State leaving the Big 12, we’d have to call that conference the “Big 12-1”. After all, we already know that “Big 11” makes no sense whatsoever. 🙂
What teams do you think are options? I personally would be in favor of enriching the Big 10 and adding a team like Notre Dame as long as I don’t have to sit through any really boring games between low level Big 10 competition. So..So.. boring to watch keep Notre Dame playing Ohio St..Wisconsin..Michigan..and possibly Penn St. But what about other teams I have seemed mentioned as far away as TCU? any personal thoughts anyone would like to share?
ND is always in this Big 10+ talk, but I still don’t think they are ready to make the move. They are the most logical choice on many fronts, but it seems not to be in their plans. TCU is too far out of the geographic area and not in an area that the conference is likely to be excited to add. I have to agree that ISU and Mizzou are the likely additions. I think they ought to name the conference the Little 13, as in one shy of 13. What the heck, it’s no more ridiculous than the Big 10 for 11 schools. Really, the Big 10+ (no number after the plus) makes the most sense to me. One thing for sure; it is the MONEY that drives a decision such as this, for BOTH sides.
I think the idea of one of the current Big 12 schools — Iowa State or Mizzou — leaving for the Big 10 makes the most sense. And of course, if one of those leaves, that paves the way for a south and/or west school like TCU to replace them in the Big 12. Heck, maybe Boise State, Colorado State or even Utah would jump into that mix.
The idea of one of the “eastern” Big 12 schools — Iowa State or Mizzou — jumping to the Big 10 makes the most sense. But that leaves a void in the Big 12, which likely paves the way for a school like TCU to join them. Heck, even others like Boise State, Colorado State or even Utah might jump at the chance to join the Big 12.
Oops … I thought my first response vanished into cyberspace … sorry for the redundancy!
Интересно сделано. Почти за душу берёт, заставляет смеяться над остальной блогосферой. Но несовсем полно тема обозрена. Где об этом почитать подробно?
Clint Eastwood just called. He said the new conference should be called: Dirty Dozen. 🙂
Good stuff here.
So, if we have another big conference with a playoff, how will they decide which ones ascend to the final game.
The Big Ten is an academic conference? I expect to see a few Wolverines as finalists for the Rhodes scholarship.
Wally – you took my thunder a little bit? What about Boise St.
It is obvious that they aren’t getting the respect they deserve. So why not go to a conference that is not only going the adding respectability to their schedule – but it certainly has to make recruiting that much easier.
“Hey.. how does playing on a Blue field and putting a Rose between your teeth sound? ” Just kinda rolls right off the tongue..
Smitty —
Boise State to the Big 10? I just think it’s too geographically challenging … plus, they are not “big enough” in many ways to fit … enrollment is only about 16-18,000 … it’s doesn’t represent a big media market … not really reknowned for anything special academically … stadium only built for like 40,000. I see them as a better fit for the Big 12 if they have an opening … they’d immediately give the Big 12 Northern division instant credibility. And they need to get a green field like everyone else … the smurfturf has got to go.
Casey — Dirty Dozen … I like it! With regard to the Big 10 reaching 12 teams … they’d create two divisions … east and west like the SEC … and so the division leaders play eachother in the 2 team playoff in early December … just like SEC and B12. Or was your Q more related about who goes to the BCS Championship???
Related to your last comment about academics, the B10 has some very fine schools … highly rated in Engineering, Business and Sciences … but aside from Northwestern and maybe Purdue, I don’t see many of them ever in the Top 10-15% when it comes to athletes grad rates or matriculation on timely basis, Rhodes Scholars, etc. A couple of them rate surprisingly low on how their athletes perform on the academic side. And of course we saw Jim Harbaugh a few years ago blow the whistle on Michigan … I think for shepherding all their football and basketball players into PE and other “easy majors”.
Does the Big 10/11/+2 feel a need to have a conference chan’ship game? Are they sensing that other conferences are grabbing up title game spots because of the emphasis on that game?
If so, what happens when three different conference chan’ship have the same record? Oooh…that could be fun watching such a scenario unfold.
What? No response for Brazzers.com? 🙂
The Big 10 wants a conference championship game for two reasons:
1) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
2) Greater likelihood of gettings a B10 team into the BCS title game because of the exposure of an extra game and what it can do for the winner in the eyes of the pollsters. Which of course means more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Remember when Penn State went undefeated a couple years ago but was shut out of the BCS Championship game by two other undefeateds (Wasn’t it from Big 12 and SEC or USC?) If Penn State had played another week and gone 13-0, they may have convinced pollsters that that were either #1 or #2. Same thing happened to Oregon (Pac 10), didn’t it? Playing and winning at the last possible moment give you a leg up.
The Big Ten is also probably realizing that having 2 extra weeks (sometimes, but at least a week) off before bowl games does not seem to be such a great idea. Look at Ohio State the last few years…
That much time away from competition is not a good thing…
That time away from competition is something that D1 football has to address overall. Yes, the Big 10 has the worst example. Even the best case scenario is about about one month off between games – at least for the major bowls that is.
Wow! I have seen more than a couple of sources (one being Sporting News) reporting that the Big Ten is considering an expansion to 14 or 16 teams. That is one way to get rid of mid-majors. Make all the conferences huge. 🙂
They can get EVERYBODY at 16; TCU, BSU, Mizzou, ISU, SU! Geez, who else is there? Cincy. Miami of Ohio, Ohio Wesleyan, Eastern, Western, and Central Michigans, Wisconsin Stevens Point. My imagination is running WILD with possibilities! The Little 17 would certainly be an apt name now! Wait, George Clooney just called! He says Ocean’s 16! Or is that the new name for the PAC 16!
HELMET STICKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!