nelsonmuntz
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What is your basis for this list?
Basis for the list is:
a) The Big 10 has looked at and passed on every school from the Big East or Big 12 in the last year or so. I am sure that Oklahoma, Missouri, Okie Lite, Kansas, Rutgers, Syracuse, Pitt, and UConn have all approached the Big 10 in the last year, because all were looking for a home, and the Big 10 didn't take any of them. Unless something has changed to make one of those schools more attractive, they already have their answer from the Big 10.
b) Texas and ND are rumored to have approached the Big 10, but it was complicated and the Big 10 passed. Either that, or they were never interested in the Big 10 in the first place. Either way, nothing has changed to make them likely to join the Big 10.
c) Delaney has said in the past he wants new markets and would look to "demographic trends" to drive expansion.
http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/05/delany_demographics_in_south_m.html
North Carolina and Virginia are fast growing border states that, unlike the rest of the South, are increasingly affluent. UNC and UVa are the anchor public universities in both states.
d) UNC and UVa are both top public universities and members of the AAU. They are the two most prestigious public universities available for any conference to add.
Maryland kind of meets the threshold, but their finances are a mess, and it is not as prestigious as UVa or UNC. I don't see anyone else from the ACC or SEC making the cut for either academic or market reasons. I also don't think the Big 10 will add a program that is #2 in a market.