Houston, we have an insider problem.
I never thought the WV "insiders" were credible, but they just jumped the shark big time with that "info."
To put into context of how ridiculous that information really is, behold R&D expenditures for 2011-12 for some B1G candidates (source: NSF):
17. North Carolina ($767.5 m)
26. Georgia Tech ($655.4 m)
28. Texas ($632.2 m) -- excludes medical center
71. Kansas ($302.7 m)
72. Virginia ($292.1 m)
81. Connecticut ($253.8 m)
105. Oklahoma ($189.5 m)
---
137. Houston ($113.7 m)
Now I will say this: Houston's president is supposed to be a pretty big heavy hitter in the academic world as far as pull, and in three years, Houston's research has grown over $40 million. Nonetheless, this is still an utterly ridiculous suggestion. Houston's football attendance last season was 10k per game less than Maryland and 20k less than Rutgers.
I think Houston is a nice, outside-the-box, long-term way of thinking, but it's way too big a gamble for a conference like the Big Ten. Just no way they are seriously considering Houston in anything less than a 20-24 team model.
I never thought the WV "insiders" were credible, but they just jumped the shark big time with that "info."
To put into context of how ridiculous that information really is, behold R&D expenditures for 2011-12 for some B1G candidates (source: NSF):
17. North Carolina ($767.5 m)
26. Georgia Tech ($655.4 m)
28. Texas ($632.2 m) -- excludes medical center
71. Kansas ($302.7 m)
72. Virginia ($292.1 m)
81. Connecticut ($253.8 m)
105. Oklahoma ($189.5 m)
---
137. Houston ($113.7 m)
Now I will say this: Houston's president is supposed to be a pretty big heavy hitter in the academic world as far as pull, and in three years, Houston's research has grown over $40 million. Nonetheless, this is still an utterly ridiculous suggestion. Houston's football attendance last season was 10k per game less than Maryland and 20k less than Rutgers.
I think Houston is a nice, outside-the-box, long-term way of thinking, but it's way too big a gamble for a conference like the Big Ten. Just no way they are seriously considering Houston in anything less than a 20-24 team model.