Get serious about Big 10

[NH Husky]

This talk of UMass, Temple, Delaware.... reeks of desperation. We are UConn and have invested too much in raising the creditability of our academic and athletic status to settle for an upgraded version of the A10 with some long distance members that we'll never have rivalries with. I'm sorry but, as it stands, I have a tough time getting cranked up for rivalry games with TCU, South Florida, Central Florida, and so on. And talk of Boise State, BYU, Air Force in the Big "East". It just doesn't fit.

It does occur to me that the Big Ten has not made alot of noise this past month. I think the best situation would be for UConn and Rutgers to aggressively pursue membership. Add two from Louisville, West Virginia, Notre Dame or someone else and bring it to 16. If ever there was a conference that would bring credibility to the 16 team format it's the Big Ten.

East/West divisions could be set up as follows:

East
UConn
Rutgers
Michigan
Mich State
Ohio State
Penn State
Louisville
West Virginia or Notre Dame (Syracuse would have been great)

West
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Minnesota
Iowa
Indiana
Northwestern
Purdue
Illinois

Basketball tourney could be at MSG and would increase exposure of the midwest schools to the NYC area thus promoting the football there too. Or West division playoffs in Chicago and East in NYC. Arguably the best Football and Basketball conference in the country with the best demographics by far.

UConn and Rutgers have both been mentioned in the past. In April 2010 it seemed Connecticut was almost a done deal. Heck, it would even go a long ways to boosting our hockey program.

My 2 cents.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Not going to happen. Where is the incentive on the Big Ten side?

 

[4UConn]

Seems obvious to me that one incentive is Northeast eyeballs for their cable channels. And adding Rutgers and UConn would be a preemptive strike against a virtual ACC monopoly on the East Coast .

 

[UConnJim]

The Big 10 is not expanding until they have to or ND wants in. Neither is going to happen in the near term.

 

[NH Husky]

Exactly 4UConn. The carrot dangling is huge potential in roads to the Norhteast media market.

 

[IMind]

The Big 10 can afford to wait. And truth be told they already have a huge following in the northeast with PSU. The only thing UConn can do is continue to improve it's brand. A decade ago we weren't even close to a Big 10 school, academically, athletically... now the difference isn't so great. If UConn continues to improve there will be a spot available in the end for UConn....

 

[WestHartHusk]

maybe they have a following but the BigTen network certainly isn't basic cable in NY/CT/NJ. I think that is what we are getting at, SNY drove into CT by adding the Huskies, put together Rutgers/Uconn and at a minimum you add millions of new eyeballs in a wealthy region.

 

[upstater]

UConn's ONLY worry in all of this is Rutgers and the Big10.

It's the ONLY problem for UConn. If Rutgers goes to the Big10, UConn has major problems. I say this because I am CERTAIN Notre Dame will join the Big10 eventually (and soon, next few years). The problem though is what happens if they take Rutgers with them into the Big10? Then UConn doesn't have a partner to become the ACC's 16th school. There are literally no other candidates, and UConn by itself doesn't add as much value as the ACC needs.

On the other hand, the Big10 can always try to pry Maryland loose instead.

Rutgers is my only concern at this point.

 

[upstater]

By the way... Paterno:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11263/1176175-100.stm

Penn State coach Joe Paterno today praised the Atlantic Coast Conference for adding Pitt and Syracuse as its 13th and 14th members.
"Obviously, at Penn State I've been trying since day one to try to get a couple of those schools, one of those schools or some other school in the East, in the Big Ten," Paterno said. "Because I think there's a tremendous market for recruiting and football in the area that the schools are moving into."
Paterno also addressed Penn State's future as a result of the sudden flurry of expansion.
"Things are changing and you're not really sure what's going to happen," Paterno said. "I don't know where we're going to end up. There might be even some speculation that Penn State maybe ought to get into something different, or we ought to try to go out and get some people from the East to come into the Big Ten.
"[Or] that we maybe ought to solicit [Big Ten commissioner] Jim Delany and some of the leaders of the Big Ten, `Hey, why don't we go take a good look, and Syracuse and Pitt, now that they're at it, why don't we take a look at Rutgers and take a look at somebody that we can bring in from the East so that the Big Ten doesn't end in State College.
"I think that might be helpful. I don't know. I haven't given it enough thought. But I'm sure there are people sitting around this morning over a cup of coffee who have some responsibility for the future of different conferences that are talking about it. And maybe even talking to each other -- one conference to the other."

 

[IMind]

You're right. Rutgers scares the beejeezus out of me.... and the reason a conference might choose Rutgers over us has absolutely nothing to do with the merits of Rutgers vs. UConn as institutions... it might simply be about recruiting territory and population density.

 

[mattp]

The Big 10 is not expanding until they have to or ND wants in. Neither is going to happen in the near term.

if they invited UConn and Rutgers now, it would gut the Big East and i think the remaining members would look more towards a merge with the B12 instead of just replacing SU/Pitt. if that were to happen and leave ND homeless in other sports maybe they'd relent and join the B10. the risk is that ND will just stay with the nonfootball members of the BE. i think the ACC is probably out for us, since they think they already have the NYC/NE market with Cuse and BC. if five years from now they realize they don't (like they did with just BC) they may add UConn and RU, but not any time soon.

The BigTen has two ways to get traction in NYC. one is ND, and the other is probably RU and UConn. if ND is intent on staying independant forever, than we become valuable to the BigTen.

 

[IMind]

This is really a game of chicken with Notre Dame... and it would probably only take one more invite... either from the ACC or the Big Ten to force Notre Dame's hand... but there doesn't seem to be the will... probably for the exact same reasons both the Big 10 and the ACC are holding out in case the get BOTH Notre Dame and Texas.

 

[businesslawyer]

This is really a game of chicken with Notre Dame... and it would probably only take one more invite... either from the ACC or the Big Ten to force Notre Dame's hand... but there doesn't seem to be the will... probably for the exact same reasons both the Big 10 and the ACC are holding out in case the get BOTH Notre Dame and Texas.

My guess is the ACC will fairly quickly give up on Texas. At that point, the inviting #15 to force NDU becomes an option. And, by the way, -- anyone who doesn't think the desireability of the rump Big East to non-football sports with UConn and without UConn is two entirely different things isn't paying attention. I'm not sure you can pack the Garden for a Tournament without UConn, but I bet you still can if we stay.

 

[EricLA]

The Big 10 can afford to wait. And truth be told they already have a huge following in the northeast with PSU. The only thing UConn can do is continue to improve it's brand. A decade ago we weren't even close to a Big 10 school, academically, athletically... now the difference isn't so great. If UConn continues to improve there will be a spot available in the end for UConn....

that makes sense. unfortunately our brand has done the opposite of "improve" this year. 2 losses to average teams does zero to increase our luster.