Nebraska to the Big Ten? Not quite yet. AP photo.
It just did not sound right to me at first, and the Big Ten and Big 12 have confirmed that no invitations have been extended by the Big Ten. Yesterday a report by Sports Radio 810 WHB suggested that the Big Ten had moved forward with expansion plans by inviting four teams (Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri and Rutgers). This report was quickly denied by the Big Ten and the Big 12 by The Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein.
The teams involved made enough sense to make the story on the Kansas City based sports station sound legit at first, but I remained skeptical of the source. Thankfully Greenstein at The Chicago Tribune followed up on the story as soon as he did. Greenstein has been monitoring the Big Ten expansion process every step of the way, and if anything happens he will likely be among the first to report it.
A Big Ten spokesman denied the report, telling the Tribune "nothing has changed" since Delany told reporters at the BCS meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., that everything regarding expansion was "to be determined."
Lending credence to that is the fact that Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Delany has not contacted him regarding Missouri and Nebraska. Delany has insisted he would contact affected conference commissioners before proceeding.
- Teddy Greenstein, The Chicago Tribune, May 10, 2010
Before the Big Ten moves on with the expansion process commissioner Jim Delaney has insisted he would contact the affected conference or conferences in advance of sending an invitation to the prospective members. Nothing seems to have changed that sensitive philosophy.
Nebraska, Missouri, Notre Dame and Rutgers have been in the Big Ten rumor mill since the beginning of this whole process, and it is possible they will remain candidates for the expansion. Notre Dame though has continued to stand by their desire to remain independent in football, although if the paycheck is worth it they would be foolish to say no. The popular belief is that if the Big Ten starts picking apart the Big East, then Notre Dame will want to join the party, despite what they say right now.
Nebraska and Missouri fit geographically but bring little to the table in terms of television marketability. Nebraska though can carry their weight in terms of attendance as the Cornhusker fans travel well, which is a key nugget to remember when it comes time to bowl games. Missouri would bring the St. Louis market as well, and fans of the Tigers have been campaigning for the university to accept an invitation if and when it comes.
Rutgers fits the Big Ten academically but is attractive solely for the New York City market. I still fail to see Rutgers as the best fit on the football field and only see Rutgers joining the conference in a scenario in which more than one Big East school are invited to the Big Ten (Syracuse?).
Everybody form the Big Ten continues to say that the conference expansion timeline remains on their originally announced 12-18 month schedule, but many people are doubting it. I remain skeptical on the schedule as well and still expect somehting to happen sooner than announced.
The entire college athletics world waits to see what the Big Ten will do. Stay tuned.
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Comments
"Rutgers doesn't fit on the football field". You can't be serious, I hope Rutgers gets in the Big 10 just so Savage can light you guys up.
First, I resent the implication that Missouri "brings little to the table". Your lack of knowledge about the demographics of the state is laughable. There are two large market cities in the state and you named only St. Louis as a nugget(who by the way is now second in pop. to KC). Missouri is the eighteenth largest state by population. They possess a viewership that has been totally neglected by the Big Twelve and would represent major revenues for both advertising and attendence .
Yeah, I'm sure the Big 10 wouldn't want Missouri's 7 million television homes added to boost revenues. UConn's more likely than Syracuse if they add more...
Kevin, I think you underestimate the national audience that follows Nebraska. Sure Memorial Stadium fills up every home gone and Lincoln basically shuts down. But Nebraska ranks top 5 in national following among college football programs. The reason why the Huskers travel so well is due to the fact they are loads of Big Red fans in virtually every state.
I appreciate the comments. What I am saying is that the St. Louis market (21st ranked market) would be a consolation prize compared to gaining more access to the New York and D.C. markets (1st and 9th respectively). Kansas City is the 31st top TV market.
And Rutgers is no more a threat in the Big Ten than a team like Minnesota, at least on the football field. Sure, they will win a few games and likely get to be bowl eligible (which would be good for the Big Ten) but they would not compete annually with the top tier of the conference.
Trent - I see where you are coming from. I thought I praised the Nebraska traveling fan base though. I apologize for the confusion.
Oh no Kevin I didn't mean that, I realize you praised the traveling fan base, lol and I appreciate that I was more commenting on the television marketability. I was agreeing with you on the traveling fans but stating the reason why they travel so well is the fact they have fans across the country which also brings a major television audience whenever the Huskers are on. Nebraska is certainly a small state, I just don't think some people who aren't Husker fans realize just how big of a television audience Nebraska brings. It's just more of a national market than regional.
Trent - Duly noted.
I also know you're a Penn State fan, so what's your opinion? Do you like the four teams or would you prefer others? Or no expansion at all?
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