Eleven Warriors

I would be in favor of this move, adding a school from that region would be great for the conference.  I would have to ask who else though.

Rutgers would make sense. Would break the Big Ten into the NYC TV market. They'd be all over that.

@ IBLEED: Totally agree. I like Rutgers.  I'm "meh" on Maryland. Call me old fashion but I kinda like the Big 10 being basically all Northern states. Maryland was a Border state. (For those out there who were wondering, Nebraska was still a territory at that point).

Maybe we are getting rid of PSU...probably a conspiracy :)

Delaney won't take Maryland without taking Rutgers too. A natural tie in & that gets THE top TV markets on the east coast - NY, NJ & DC. Huge money.

I'm ehhhh about this move too I get the TV market, they're a good academic school I just don't see them adding much substance to our conference in athletics. The two money makers (basketball and football) they are mediocre at best in. I wouldn't exactly be psyched to watch OSU vs Maryland like I was when Nebraska joined the conference

I'd only like it if we could also get a school that moves the needle a little bit, like Va Tech, but even then, there are really no home runs. Had the Big 12 collapsed there would have been a feeding frenzy or even if the ACC collapsed there would have been some cool additions that might have been possible. That said, I think the top 5 conferences are pretty stable these days.

Let's be honest... Is NYC really that big of a college football market? Pro football and baseball are kings in NYC. And then the college football fans are probably transplants from arou d the country and won't care except once a decade when Rutgers is good. Hell they're like 9-1 and no one cares about them now. Rutgers wouldn't add much value to the B1G.

I think Rutgers, Maryland, or any other school would be a big market addition because they would become members in the B1G and that carries a lot of swag.

If we wanted the NYC market, then Notre Dame would make much much much MUCH more sense than Rutgers.

Neer, they did indeed.

I know expansion gets everyone excited. But, with the exception of Notre Dame, there literally is no school out there that moves the needle enough to merit consideration. Plus, it appears that Swarbrick is trying to ease Irish fans into accepting full membership in the ACC. For whatever reason Irish students and alums will never accept B1G membership. But they're okay with the ACC? Whatever.

Maybe Texas, but the last round kind of exposed Dodds' motivation and it isn't being a good conference member. The Longhorn Network might not be around for very long but it's a deal breaker as far as Delany's concerned.

Not only do schools like Maryland, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, or BC not move the needle, any of these schools would actually be a drain on conference revenues. That's not going to happen.

So it's fun that they're talking about this in Philly but there's nothing to it. We'll be at 12 for a long, long time unless the situation with Penn State gets worse. And even then it will be Penn State's decision not the conference (like what TAMU did to the Big XII). That would be the only scenario where a school like Maryland would end up in the Big Ten.

[Edit: Should the deathstar scenario play out with Penn State, I hope the league seriously thinks about poaching Mizzou from the SEC. They are an infinitely better candidate than anyone from the Big East/ACC.

I also hope he's got a plan in place to salvage the Big Ten hockey conference.]

I am against Pitt or Louisville. I don't want to legitimize any school that close to OSU. Pitt moreso than Louisville, we need to keep that NE Ohio pipeline flowing our way.

No, God no. Maryland's athletic department is something like $80 million in debt. Their football and basketball programs are mediocre/turrible. Unless the B1G is looking to improve its soccer/lacrosse depth this move would suck. 

Conferences shouldnt be any bigger than 12 schools. The more teams you add the more watered down it gets. Too many teams dont play each other. We already have a four year period without playing a certain team. I think we should wait and see what happens with the SEC.

finally we can see Stefon Diggs in the 'Shoe!

I think Rutgers would be more likely but I don't know much other than I think they are indeed moving towards "superconferences" of 16-20 teams apiece

The reason why you would go after Rutgers would be because of all the B1G alumni that live in the NYC market and would bring a huge ratings and subscription fee boost to the B1G.

I would prefer a school with more tradition and accompanying legitimacy. Though Nebraska doesn't exactly fit the standard of academics that the B1G has set, they are a legendary program and promises to at least hold their own in recruiting and on the field.

Can we stop adding teams to the conference. Before you know it, we'll look like the Big East. Moreover, we already get enough of the East Coast Bias with Penn State.

I'm with BME.  I'm sort of happy with the way things are right now.  The B1G's newest additions (Penn State and Nebraska) are as competitive as anyone could hope them to be.  At this point, the only moves that I think the B1G should make are Penn State/Nebraska-type moves.  The next 2 teams one might look to grab should be something like Georgia Tech/Clemson, Duke/UNC, Oklahoma-Texas (not really an option), Oklahoma State/Kansas...or something majorly radical like that.  Maryland isn't a huge draw, and neither is Rutgers.  Those are small potatoes in NFL towns.

I don't want to expand, but it is going to happen. We're going to be a 16 team conference. 

Remember Delaney's rules: contiguous state and AAU member (despite Nebraska exception).

You can also count on a big TV market being necessary.

I would rather not expand or expand by taking someone like an Oklahoma (not an AAU member) or Texas, but I just don't see that in the cards.

I think Maryland comes up not for what Maryland offers, but because it is a leapfrog to what Delaney really wants- Maryland, Virginia, UNC, Duke. I think that's the pie-in-the-sky he's been aiming for all along (assuming Notre Dame is out). Rutgers is somewhat of a backup plan or alternate.

That's four contiguous AAU schools. Maryland and Virginia lockup the DC/MD/VA region for TV and recruiting, and UNC/Duke lockup the rapidly growing NC markets while providing an inroads into the South for recruiting. None are real football powers, but VA and UNC are potential strong football programs. The basektball addition is obvious, although nobody cares much since the money is in football.

Just my two cents. Like I said, I personally would do whatever it takes to get Oklahoma, and Texas. For the other two I'd go Notre Dame (despite my complete hatred of them) and somebody in the south (Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Georgia Tech).

Tobacco Road in the B1G would be interesting, but they call a lot of shots in the ACC and I'm not sure that they would give that up to play 2nd fiddle to OSU and Michigan.

If you think the Big 12 upstaged us you are sorely mistaken.  They had to scramble to add West Virginia to their line up just to make it to 10.  That is pathetic.  The SEC move was a little bit Meh.  They got to 14 but short of the 16 team super conference.  I guess they added Texas to their recruiting base, but LSU has already recruited pretty well in Texas.  And if A&M hadn't upset Alabama this year no one would be making a big deal about them (see Missouri).  So it was solid, but nothing mind blowing.  Us getting to twelve by adding a traditional power (maybe fading power) in Nebraska was a much more important move than anything anyone else did (other than the Big 12 desperate attempt to save their lives.

I think the B1G hit it on the head for right now.  Taking a measured approach to getting to 16 (if that is where things are headed) is the right approach in my mind.

Maryland would add nothing to the B1G. They are a garbage football team with garbage uniforms.

bigger conference means more $ and league champ has better perception re: playoff spots.  maryland has historically had good programs.  according to businessweek, the middle 50% of their undergraduates have SAT scores between 1280 and 1420.  it's a state school.  i'd be concerned if delany didn't at least consider them in the case the B1G expanded.

i have heard rutgers several times - access to the ny / nj market would be huge.  va tech would no doubt bring great athletics and academics, but i'm curious how big their footprint is..

Would'nt it make more sense to go to 20 teams with two divisions each division playing 9 games and 1 or two cross over games? Then have the two divisions winners play in the championship game?

Think of the teams that could be added to get two 20 teams if done right could be a monster of a leauge that could set off the Pac 12 SEC and the old big 12 two where it comes down to 4 super conferences.

I always thought that if the B1G went after Pitt and the B1G teams did not schedule ND anymore, then the Domers would be just about forced to join.

@ Steensn - Who do you suggest? The problem is, unless you don't care about geography, there are really no great options (assuming ND is off the table). With the ACC and B12 adding clauses to make it harder to leave, (ACC a $50 million buyout, B12 giving up tv money) there really are no homeruns out there that I can see. I am happy to be proven wrong if anyone else has a scenario that would land us a whale or at least a big fish.

I hate the idea of adding Maryland.  It adds another horrible football team and a middle of the road basketball team.  If we're going to steal an ACC team that will get the BTN in a big TV market I say go after Ga Tech.  They are little brother in Georgia, but it doesn't so much matter what the ratings are, it puts the BTN in Atlanta's market.  It gives a football and basketball presence that is usually pretty good, and it gives the Big 10 exposure in a very talent rich state which Ohio State has recruited pretty well recently.  I'd make a strong play for Ga Tech.

Exactly, AHH, they are better than the rest of us and we are just too stupid to realize it because we have actually looked at their accomplishments for the last 2 decades and they look at the entire history.  This is the same theory for Havard and Yale.  You can't look at what they have done lately, you have to look back at the turn of the century to really appreciate them.

BT,

I have thought about GA Tech and it is something I would actually be interested in. I don't see it happening, but grabbing them and perhaps either Duke/NC (they are a package deal) and Va Tech or even Clemson would be a coup as it would solidify the B1G in the mid Atlantic

GT: Would leave the ACC if given the chance but I don't think we'll offer them based on football and basketball. Excellent decision academically and from a money standpoint, but I do not see it happening based on athletics.

Duke and UNC: Would not leave ACC unless the TV deal turns sour. Both are great academic schools and have not-terrible football teams.

Virginia Tech: Very overrated decision academically. Aside from an elite engineering program and an above average business school, the rest of their academic department is not known at all. Some experts put VT in the same tier as Iowa and Michigan State. I know people that didn't apply to Tech because they wanted to teach and VT has a poor teaching school. As far as sports go, they are on the decline in football which is becoming more and more evident with UVA's Mike London setting his foot in the door with recruiting. Basketball team is a joke.

Virginia: Would be an excellent addition. Program is on the rise. Basketball team doesn't stink like Nebraska or Penn State. Best public institution academically. Big player in Richmond market. Why not?

Clemson: Would probably make the most sense if we can get them to join. Think about it: Very excellent academics, great football team, good basketball team, boosts reputation against SEC, helps with SEC recruiting. My only problem is that they do not control a major market in the US.

Can we get some bigger schools? And not just these Illinois/Indiana/NorthWest clones.

Maryland's student body sie is ~37,000. That's a grown-ass school.

Academically, it makes sense. Geographically, it makes sense. Quality-of-sports-wise, it makes sense in the non-money sports (soccer, lax, etc.).

If (when) the B1G expands, it could do far, far worse than Maryland. And I don't even really like the school (except for its really chill chemistry department).

Also, don't forget that the strength of the Big Ten Network is NOT football. If that's the case, the SEC would already have their own channel like the B1G (insert joke about ESecPN).

The strength of BTN is basketball. It's what makes it viable year round. There are more games, and more first-tier matchups reserved for BTN in basketball than in football, and we are arguably top-to-bottom the strongest basketball conference in the nation. We need a school with balance. Maryland has that. And despite their recent dropoff, their fans are crazy about Terrapin basketball and they do have a national title more recently than any B1G team.

The ability to get the NYC and DC markets for football would be great, but to get them for basketball would be tremendous. Not to mention playing the B1G tourny at the Garden or in DC. It would be freakin huge.

@Buckeyeneer

Syracuse and ND would be my first choice.

Mmmm...pancakes...

Er, I mean, I agree.  At this point, I think 12 teams is great.  We do play most of the teams, and then there is the conference championship game to ensure the best teams from each division* play each other.  I can dig that.

*  Does not include teams disallowed by the B1G to play in the conference championship despite the fact that they're the best team in their division so that the game is a complete sham.

Orlando,

I actually agree, that we are just fine with 12. I would actually prefer that we don't expand further, especially since the AD has started making it a priority to schedule fewer cupcakes and more quality OCC.

That said, this thread was about a rumored expansion. Whether it or any expansion is a good idea or not, it is interesting to discuss, which is the point of a message board community.

These "super-conferences" need to stop. 12 schools at the most, preferably 10 per. Not playing half your conference defeats the purpose of having teams in the same conference as you. Conference play is used to determine the best team in the conference, and with this many extra teams not competing that can't happen. Just because the idea of adding more academically and athletically superior schools doesn't mean the conference gets better.

Ourhonor I don't disagree with you but it's really all about money and making lots of it.  With TV contracts and branding adding extra teams to your conference just makes more and more cash.  Adding new brands to the BTN gives more opportunity for advertising dollars and gets the BTN into more markets.  That's the driving force.  I don't disagree it's not good for the conference in general, and it's dumb to have 2, 7 or 8 team divisions where you basically never play teams from the other division, but that's what it's moving toward and with sports TV contracts being more valuable than ever and increasing all the time, I think we're going to end up with bigger and bigger conferences.

I also don't get the cultural aspect of it all.  So we should add 2 schools that aren't the same culturally as the rest of the B1G except for Penn State?  I don't know.  I think the Ga Tech fan base will be much more similar than the Lowest Common Denominator counterpart Georgia bulldog fans.  If anything they may kind of embrace that they are pissing off the rest of the state by joining the Big 10. 

I didn't say State College, I said College Park, where Maryland is located.

I apologize, I misread

College Park is 415 miles from Columbus (I grew up by CP, and I used to make the drive home from tOSU in about 6 hours or so, depending on traffic entering the DC beltway)

And 1105 miles from Minneapolis

Still stand by that acual traveling distance means little, it's cultural.

I guess my issue with the cultural thing is, that the B1G isn't all that similar culturally.  Hell we see it on here all the time among in reference to the state of Ohio.  People don't like certain cities or counties because they aren't really Ohio.  Madison is not the same as Columbus.  Lincoln is not the same as East Lansing.  I don't know. 

The same can be said for other conferences too.  In Oxford Mississippi they laugh at the idea that Lexington, KY is in The South. 

Doesn't State College call themselves University Park nowadays?

I think it can be both very similar and completely different because within a given state there are so many differences.  If you watch Justified you think all of KY is like the wild west with people running around shooting eachother and running pills and god knows what else.  I laugh at it because where I live in KY is tame and probably quite similar to suburbs of Columbus or any other town.  People who have spent time and lived there, swear the show isn't far from the truth, I doubt but that's what they say. 

I have this debate in general with people about demographics all the time.  There are certain places in Kentucky that would be very similar culturally to nasty neighborhoods in big cities, and reservations in the Dakotas.  Places definitely do have their own unique aspects,but I've spent time in suburbs and big cities all over too and sometimes it's been hard to tell a difference between them and my town.

Md- meh - especially after Gary Williams left.  maryland football has to little to crow about.

I could see Rutgers, meets the academic issues and opens up the East

ND - to heck with them -

Should have moved faster with Mo.  If we had to get 2 more, I'd say Rutgers and Kansas State - not that I know anything about the school

Kentucky fails on the academic issues - it's not that good a school (I lived in Ky for about 20 years and actually taught for UK at one point).  Of course I could be wrong, and have this pointed out often at home and at work

I'm sorry but I'm just not getting how the voting thing works in this discussion. You can take any states and make the same argument but it doesn't make the point that SEC folk are a lot like B1G folk any clearer. I'm telling you that the broad statement you made is simply misinformed. I was in Iowa City this weekend and it is eerily similar to Champaign, IL and Columbus, OH but absolutley nothing like Gainesville, FL.

Wow... my last comment got downvoted... I guess the truth has no place in this discussion.

DISCLAIMER: I don't really care about "upvotes" or "downvotes". It's just interesting that something that's kind of a self-evident truth got downvoted. Basketball is the reason BTN is able to exist. If it were solely based on football viewership, the SEC and Big XII would have their own cable/satellite channels like BTN.

And technically Nebraska should be an AAU member, only the fact that it's medical school is in Omaha prevents them from reaching the # of research dollars required to be an AAU member.

@NC - That's fascinating.  Though, I wonder about Columbus's "Greater Appalachia" moniker; unless that term is an attempt at describing the corn country we live in (which is apparently a different culture than that of Iowa), I don't know that we shouldn't be classified as Midlanders.  I know that I can detect quite a cultural difference between Central and Eastern Ohio/Western Pennsylvania.

Out of curiosity, does Woodard explain the differences 'twixt the cultures?

This is an absolutely terrible idea. 

There are very few if any Penn States or Nebraskas left.  The AAU limitation is tough and I'm not sure what it gets us.

I live in Annapolis, MD (next to the Navy stadium - awesome fly-overs every week but I digress)  my wife went to MD, and I work in NJ.  From a purely selfish standpoint I would love to see the bucks in my back yard, but otherwise I don't see what MD brings to the B10.  It doesn't fit with the midwestern schools.  I see 2 logical paths assuming the AAU criteria is non-debatable.

If I had my choice I would take the following and only if ND came too:

Two paths:
1) Midwest
Notre Dame (non-AAU but who cares)

Kansas (AAU)

Missouri (AAU)

Texas (AAU)

Texas A&M (AAU)

2) East

Maryland (AAU)

Virginia (AAU)
VT (non-AAU)

Rutgers (AAU)

UNC (AAU)

Duke (AAU)

I just saw it too. I enjoyed the conversation, but dang, I am not really loving the thought of adding two middle to lower half of the pack teams to the B1G.

Maybe i missed it earlier because my internet is screwing up in this post but ESPN is reporting that the B1G and Maryland and Rutgers are talking?  Not sure if I am excited or not.  I like both schools but they aren't gonna move the needle.

There an article about big ten expansion on yahoo sports. There say announcement migh as early Monday.

Guys, there is no more major powerhouses to change conference... unless a conference disolves, there is no mythical historically elite program to add.  They flat out don't exist.  We got lucky with Nebraska.

This move is smart.  It puts the B1G in brand new markets without being geographically awkward.  It brings in two academically equivalent programs.  In the end, it BRINGS IN MONEY.  That fact alone makes this move smart.

Also, stop looking at the football world in a snapshot.  10 years ago, people would have killed to get Tennessee in their conference and would want nothing to do with Oregon.  Still feel the same?  Of course not.  It's about high ceilings.  Maryland and Rutgers are in talent rich areas and big markets.  Both have a nice size alumni base (especially MD, where UnderArmor is looking to do with them what Nike did with Oregon) and have the potential to be sleeping giants.

Will they come in IMMEDIATELY and make a difference? Of course not.  But, as was said when Nebraska joined, this is not a 5 year decision, not a 10 year decision, but a 100 year decision.  They need to be universities that share the same goals as the conference and will assist the conference to grow athletically, academically, and fiscally.

Several highly connected folks at U. of Maryland said deal to Big 10 is done. Just need rubber stamp from Board. Announcement likely Monday

I don't use twitter so I don't know who is reliable and who isn't but this guy says that other ACC schools are reaching out to the B1G trying to get a spot on the liferaft. He specifically names Ga Tech. https://twitter.com/insidemdsports

@Rampageripster

yup, instead of .10 to .15 cents per cable subscriber, if Rutgers and Md joined the Big Ten Netwrok would instead get .90 cents for every cable subscriber in the NYC and DC television areas.

Md and Rutgers would bring more money to the B1G than every current school but OSU, Michigan, PSU, and Illinois. That's even if not one single person ever actually tunes in or watches a game.

simply put, there is no way the B1G could pass that up. 

@Buckupnorth

the way the contract is written, BTN gets .10 to .15 cents for every cable subscriber to a cable company that has BTN and is NOT in a big ten state. BTN receives .90 cents for every subscriber in a state that is a big ten state. The only exceptions are NYC and DC. Certain schools (MD and Rutgers, namely, but also VA and Syracuse) get .90 cents per subscriber in those areas in addition to the .90 cents per subscriber in their states.

this means Louisvile would bring .90 cents for a maximum of 4.5 million people (population of KY).

MD would bring .90 cents per subscriber for a maximum of 11 million people (pop of MD, plus DC viewing area including DC and most of Northern VA).

Rutgers would bring .90 cents per subscriber to a maximum of 27.3 million people (pop of NJ plus pop of entire NYC viewing area).

see the difference? Louisville is nothing compared to those two. We're talking huge, huge dollars. Ginormous dollars. Plus a potential lockdown of recruiting in PA, NY, NJ, andall points north, as well as inroads into the fertile VA recruiting grounds.

it simply can't be passed up. Two teams that meet the requirements- AAU members in contiguous states- and bring that much cash? If it can happen, it will happen.