NCAA: Big 10 looking to expand in 2008

[unchoopfan]

Sounds like ND, Missouri, Syracuse or Pitt may be making a jump to the Big 10 very soon.

Lure of football title game might get Big Ten to 12

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)-- Big Ten officials will likely discuss expanding to 12 schools to accommodate the new Big Ten Network, commissioner Jim Delany said.

The network, which is scheduled to launch Aug. 30, would benefit from an additional big-name university in a large television market, Delany said.

"I think we need to look at it in the next year," Delany told the Des Moines Register on Wednesday. He offered no specific candidates.

"The broader [the network] is distributed, the more value [expansion] has. We have eight states. With expansion, you could have nine," he said.

In football, a 12th school could mean two divisions and a postseason playoff. That's an appealing concept to the startup network.

"Any television executive would do whatever they could to be able to air a game like the Big Ten championship," said Mark Silverman, Big Ten Network president. "It would be worth a considerable amount of value."

Coaches think otherwise, said Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

"I've not met anybody in coaching that really enjoys it," Ferentz said of the divisional playoff format. "There's a lot of downside to it, in my opinion."

Among the concerns are missing out on a BCS bowl by losing the conference title game.

Delany said expansion would not guarantee the Big Ten would create an extra game.

"I could live with two divisions and a championship game, but I think that has a tendency to devalue the season-ending game and have a negative impact on your losing team in season-ending games," he said.

"I don't want us to tear ourselves apart over the structure of football for the sake of expansion."

The Big Ten tried to lure Notre Dame into the conference in 1999, but the Fighting Irish chose to remain a football independent after lengthy discussions.

Delany said of Notre Dame: "There aren't many universities that produce that kind of value."

[Dr. Whiplash]

Why is a start-up network angling for conference realignment when it doesn't have any %#*@&! viewers yet? You'd think maybe these dipshits would concentrate on accessing some potential customers first. As of last week, not one cable system in the Columbus market was on board.

As soon as Big Ten fans find out just how many regional & local telecasts have been snatched away by this outfit, the manure will hit the fan. And I bet more of it hits the Big Ten and its network than the cable companies.

[Ace Purple]

The Big Ten would love Notre Dame, but Pitt seems the most likely to me if it expanded.

Then there's the whole pesky problem of the conference's name, but that's another hurdle to jump.

[Hoosier Daddy]

This seemed appropriate to post here ...

[quote]The Buckeye fan's Bill of Rights
This year’s lame schedule shows the need for a new set of rules

By Erik Johns / July 26, 2007


We the people of Columbus, Ohio, in order to form a more perfect football season, establish a respectable schedule, provide for the common good of collegiate athletics, promote the need for quality competition, and secure the blessings of the football gods for ourselves and our team, do ordain and establish this Bill of Rights for the Buckeye Nation.

Article I

The athletic department shall not allow a game against any opponent from a Division I-AA school, regardless of whether the current coach used to work there, and regardless of whether other teams are doing so. If the coach wants to pay tribute to his former team from a lesser division, he can write a check to the university and leave it at that.

Article II

The team shall not schedule more than one game per season with an in-state “rival.â€