Expansion
Expansion continues to be the biggest topic as meetings and rumors are ongoing on the subject. Very little is definitive at this point but a few kernels of truth appear to be more solid.
- Expansion is happening with multiple schools joining. By the end of expansion the Big 10 will have 14 to 16 schools.
- The Big 10 network appears to the key factor - so schools will be judged in how they expand the tv market. Consequently university's that have brand name in appeal in basketball are going to be considered more than probably is being let on.
- Notre Dame is the obvious school but they seem reluctant at this point
- I think the one shoe in for expansion is Missouri. After that Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, UConn, Nebraska, Kansas continue to be mentioned as possibilities
New Comers
Every year new faces pop up in college football. Some are bright eyed freshman , some are those waiting for their opportunity to shine. Who are a few random names to keep in the back of the mind?
- William Gholston DE, MSU - Younger brother of Vernon Gholston. Highly recruited DE could see the field immediately. Michigan State has the offense- it's a question if they have any defense
- Demar Dorsey, CB/S, Mi - Demar Dorsey was the highlest ranked recruit in the Big 10 this year. The Wolverines, lost their top 2 play makers (Graham and Warren) on a porous defense. Unless freshmen (specifically Dorsey) can make an impact it doesn't seem likely that the Wolverine defense will improve.
- Ben Buchanon, P , OSU - Everyone knows that Tressel worships on the alter of Special Teams. Unfortunately the Buckeyes lost their punter, kicker, kick returner, punt returner, and kickoff guy to graduation. Which is everyone. Buchanon, a red shirt fresman, could be in line to handle punting, kickoffs, and long range kicks - which means his success is needed for the Buckeyes special teams to be any good.
- Robert Mauve, QB, Purdue - Normally I don't comment too much on Purdue but they did make several strides last year to the point where beating Purdue should not be an after thought. Mauve, a transfer from University of Miami, takes the helm for the Boilermaker offense. Once thought of as being highly talented, Mauve has a chance of resurrecting his career and pushing Purdue to the top of the Big 10
4 comments:
It won't be 16 schools. No chance - for the simple reason that there aren't five good candidates.
Notre Dame is the most obvious choice, and it won't happen. So long as Brian Kelly is saying he wants to be a GDI, the Irish aren't going anywhere - because it's football 1st in South Bend, and I don't think there is a 2nd.
The obvious three choices are Missouri, Pitt, and Rutgers. Mizzou and Pitt are in general proximity to the Big 10, and can help boost revenues and viewership (though Pitt's contribution is somewhat lessened because Penn St is already in). Rutgers is all about the NYC and, to a lesser extent, the Philly markets.
Nebraska, Kansas, UConn, Syracuse? Simply not big enough markets to merit inclusion. If it were 20 years ago - yeah, maybe Nebraska. But not now. They've become an afterthought in the Big 12 and there's no reason to think the Huskers can contribute anything notable to the Big 10.
I say you'll see a 14-team conference in time for the 2011 or 2012 football season. That's it, and not before.
Hitman- what you are saying may be true about these other schools "not being big enough," but the indications are rampant that the Big Ten is ready to lead into a new era where they care more about revenue and less about the stature of the schools. Look, the Big East has a super conference in basketball of 16 teams... and one of the 16 includes south florida! no one ever talks about so. florida. the same could soon be true of the big ten. i'm not saying i like this, it just seems very possible that 16 teams could happen.
Well - the rumors are rampant about school statute being kicked to the curb. But the conference powers-that-be are being awfully tight-lipped - and besides, I was commenting more on the size of the schools' markets than their stature as serious institutions of higher learning.
In any event, you absolutely won't see a South Florida-type in the Big 10 - not in this round of expansion, anyway.
I think Hitman's exactly right to focus on market size.
My one thought is that I'm uncertain of the Syracus/UConn basketball market size (e.g., ratings in NYC market area).
This isn't to say I have the first clue what those schools do in turns of ratings/where they do them (market)/etc (I don't). However I think those two particular schools are being included in the rumor mill because the Big 10 network puts out 150 odd basketball games and the Big10 might be crunching the numbers on what the revenue stream is from those 2 schools for basketball - because from a pure football perspective they don't make the first bit of sense.
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