Big 10 to consider adding 12th school

[Starman]

That 12th spot is for Notre Dame, and Notre Dame alone. Always has been.

The Big Ten came to Notre Dame bearing gifts in 1998 or 99. They were willing to let ND join pretty much on its own terms -- Keep all their TV and bowl money for the first 3-4 years, make bowl deals on their own without any conference interference, and also guarantee them favorable division lineups in both football and basketball (put them in a Romper Room division with Indiana, Illinois, NW, Purdue and Michigan State or something like that).

Notre Dame told them to go **** in the wind. More and more the sentiment now is that if Notre Dame is ever invited to join the BT again, they will have to crawl all the way on their hands and knees, over acres of broken glass, to do it. In fact, there's rising sentiment in the conference to boycott them altogether. Michigan is considering breaking off their series altogether when it "lapses" in 2011, and Michigan State may follow suit.

They'll probably invite somebody like Rutgers, Louisville or UConn simply for the joy of telling ND to go **** off.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Pitt makes the most sense, as PSU's travel partner. Therefore it probably won't be the Panthers to make the "Even Dozen Conference."

 

[king cranium maximus IV]

if it happens, force the conference at gunpoint to add a conference championship game, so lunacy like iowa/tOSU to the BCS without playing each other never happens.

 

[Starman]

Pitt makes the most sense, as PSU's travel partner. Therefore it probably won't be the Panthers to make the "Even Dozen Conference."

Couple of problems there: The BT wants to add new TV markets, and they already have Pittsburgh (and all of PA) by dint of Penn State.

Plus, JoePa himself supposedly still has a hard-on for Pitt, which he felt torpedoed his original concept for an all-sports Eastern conference back in the early 1980s.

The "travel partner" concept is dead now, anyway. Everybody travels by plane. Even Minnesota to PSU is only a 3 1/2 hour flight.

 

[Mmac]

I've always been curious why Louisville doesn't get more mention as a possible Big 10 twelfth. It's right on the Indiana border, extremely close to Bloomington and within easy driving distance of most other Big 10 towns, is currently playing playing way outside its natural region geographically in the Big East, and is having outstanding success with a huge following in both major revenue sports.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

if it happens, force the conference at gunpoint to add a conference championship game, so lunacy like iowa/tOSU to the BCS without playing each other never happens.

I think the whole point of adding a 12th team is that it can break into two divisions and have a championship game. If that happens, just how would you break the conference up? And what would it be called? you can't continue with the big ten-eleven garbage if its 12 teams and big 12 is already taken.

 

[Mmac]

And what would it be called?

I hereby nominate "The Rust Belt Conference."

 

[linotype]

I think the whole point of adding a 12th team is that it can break into two divisions and have a championship game. If that happens, just how would you break the conference up? And what would it be called? you can't continue with the big ten-eleven garbage if its 12 teams and big 12 is already taken.

I heard a rumor that the divisional names "Atlantic" and "Coastal" are off limits.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

They can have Syracuse and their worse than Pitt football program and that whiny ***** Boeheim. Syracuse was one of the original teams selected by the ACC and was going to accept until the Virginia Guv'ner got involved and told the ACC and UVa. "Take Tech or Hoo will mean, 'hoo in the hell took all of our state funding?'"

and to make sure Pitt isnt added I expect Paterno to pull out his **** and bull "eyyyyaaaaaah I'd luv tah see Pitt inna Big Ten but izz outta my hanz..." story out for PSU media day in a couple of weeks. And Paterno torpedoed his own concept for the all Eastern conference by demanding 60-percent of all revenue generated for PSU while the remaining teams fought for the remaining 40-percent. Even back then he was playing the "weze got 376 varsity sports tah fund. We gotta use duh football revenue ta buy uniforms for dah Pick-Up Sticks team."

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Meanwhile, off-topic, the Big 10 Network and Mediacom are bickering over how subscribers will see the new network. B10 wants it on regular (expanded) cable. Mediacom says hell no, you're going to be on digital cable and on a sport-tier package. If anyone wants to watch you, they'll have to bend over for us and take one in the ass.

I haven't see politiking like this since Sinclair and Mediacom were slinging mud back in January. This is going to be fun to watch.

Yeah, I'm dying to see my cable bill go up over Fat 10 fencing, swimming and golf...which will be most of the programming. Even the biggest Fat 10 hard-on wont sit around and watch that ****.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

What about Navy, its a respectable program and is an independent. I don't know about any of the MAC schools, but I just don't see any of them playing Big Ten week in and week out. I think the BT would love to add Louisville, but I don't know if they would jump ship again so soon. Syracause could be a decent program again and they play in a big enough arena. But I think Pitt makes the most sense. JoePa won't be around much longer--besides too much $$ in a two-tiered division.

 

[93Devil]

With props to Beno Cook. How about about calling it the Russian Army Conference: Tough at Home, Crap on the Road.

I just get so sick of hearling about the mighty Big 10. Oh the Big 10 is so great. Why do we need a playoff? Ohio State and Michigan are the two best teams. I just love watching these plowhorse teams get beat in the Rose Bowl every year because other teams actually run and throw outside the hash marks.

This is just me ranting, but every year it happens. With the exception of Ohio State versus Miami, the Big Ten always underperforms in the bowl games.

In my 37 years, the Big 10 has one outright National Championship and one co-championship, and we all know Nebraska would have killed Michigan that season.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Pitt makes the most sense, as PSU's travel partner. Therefore it probably won't be the Panthers to make the "Even Dozen Conference."

Correct . . . and who gives a **** what JoePa thinks?

"Over my dead body"?

It won't be all that long, according to my actuarial tables . . .

 

[Diabeetus]

Pitt makes the most sense, as PSU's travel partner. Therefore it probably won't be the Panthers to make the "Even Dozen Conference."

Correct . . . and who gives a **** what JoePa thinks?

"Over my dead body"?

It won't be all that long, according to my actuarial tables . . .

Your what?

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Pitt makes the most sense, as PSU's travel partner. Therefore it probably won't be the Panthers to make the "Even Dozen Conference."

Correct . . . and who gives a **** what JoePa thinks?

"Over my dead body"?

It won't be all that long, according to my actuarial tables . . .

Your what?

A hypothetical JoePa quote . . . sorry, Paterno, you're not an East Indy anymore, and can't expect everyone to roll over (especially Syracuse or Pitt) for your imperial unbalanced home-and-home series demands.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

I think one of the biggest problems the Big 10 would have should they expand to 12 teams is how the hell to divide up the conference. there's virtually no way to have competitive balance while at the same time maintaining as many rivalries as possible.

Here's a couple scenarios. We'll assume the 12th team is Pitt for now:

East West

Michigan Illinois
Michigan State Iowa
Ohio State Minnesota
Penn State Indiana
Pitt Northwestern
Wisconsin Purdue

or


North South

Minnesota Illinois
Wisconsin Indiana
Michigan Purdue
Michigan State Ohio State
Iowa Pitt
Northwestern Penn State

The East/West version really stacks the East from a football perspective. The North/South separate Ohio State and Michigan

 

[slappy4428]

Louisville might be a good fit for everything but football.
It's only a 40,000 seat stadium and until the last couple of years, they rarely sold out.

 

[alleyallen]

And what would it be called?

I hereby nominate "The Rust Belt Conference."

I'm not a Big-10 or Big-12 alum, so this is an outsider talking...but does it really matter what they call the conference?

 

[kingcreole]

A handful of Missouri people try to believe that their school is Big 10 caliber.

Funny story about that: When my brother was in college and considering transferring (he didn't), he applied to Missouri (girlfriend decision), Michigan and Indiana. Guess which school was the only one to accept him? Yep, Missouri.

 

[TyWebb]

Agreed Diabeetus. Likewise, I think the Big East should be renamed to something like the Medium East or Mid-Major East.

Are you kidding about the Big East?

Um, no. At least not when it comes to football.