Badger Bits: What's Next for Big Ten Expansion?
by Adam Tupitza on Jun 16, 2010 7:01 PM CDT
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PrintWhat's next on the docket for Big Ten expansion? It seems the buzz has died down somewhat following the announcement of Texas remaining in the Big 12, as this makes it less likely that the Big Ten will add more teams this summer. There's no need to "keep up with the Joneses" in terms of conference size. ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg's thinks that any further expansion will be driven by the need to expand the Big Ten Network's footprint, something which the Nebraska addition did not. Personally, I think the Big Ten's penultimate goal is to figure out a way to force Notre Dame into joining the league. Delany and company could possibly spend the next 12 months figuring out the best way to accomplish this. Whether they decide to blow up the Big East or deliver the final punch to the Big 12 (in order to create a superconference setup), I'm sure the people in the Big Ten offices have something up their sleeve. Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press thinks the Big Ten came out a loser in this round of expansion, since they couldn't add Texas or Notre Dame. And the Big Ten will supposedly look even worse if Notre Dame returns to BCS relevance. His argument would be decent if it wasn't for the fact that expansion is far from over. ND could still very well join the B10 at some point in the future.
Tom Izzo announced that he is remaining at Michigan State, spurning the advances of the possibly-LeBronless Cleveland Cavaliers. The good news is that Bo will still get to own Izzo on a regular basis. On a related note, Bo Ryan was offered the Cavaliers job today, as Cavs owner Dan Gilbert realized Bo's a better coach anyway. No word on whether or not LeBron will agree to run the swing offense. Just kidding.
Tweet of the day: "Im watching "SportsNation" on ESPN & they have Wisconsin Football Team at No. 4 in the Pre-Season BigTen Rankings?!?!? #GetTheF*ckOuttaHere" - Former Wisconsin linebacker Jaevery McFadden, Class of 2009, obviously incredulous about a Big Ten preseason ranking that has both Penn State and Iowa ranked higher than the Badgers.
Jeff Potrykus reports that UW basketball picks up their first recruit commitment for the 2012-13 class. 6 foot-7 wing Sam Dekker orally committed to the Badgers on Tuesday. Rob Schultz describes him as a "versatile, still-growing, athletic coach’s kid who grew a full five inches over the past year and can stroke the 3-pointer, dribble by defenders and mix it up in the paint." This comes on the heels of the additions of Frank Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson (Jim Jackson's son, and an excellent first name I might add) over the past few days, both for the 2011 class. Wisconsin still has 3 scholarship offers to use for the 2011 and 2012 classes combined. Dekker plays on the same AAU team as heralded prospect J.P. Tokoto, so hopefully Dekker can "badger" Tokoto into choosing Wisconsin over the UNCs and Dukes of the college basketball world.
Jason Bohannon works out with the Bucks on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I don't think he has the skills necessary to obtain a NBA contract, but it's good to see him getting a look from a team. He should be playing basketball next year in some capacity, whether it be in the D-League or overseas. Same goes for Trevon Hughes. The recent success of Brian Butch, Greg Stiemsma, and Joe Krabbenhoft in the D-League could potentially make it easier for J-Bo and Trevon to find a spot there.
Final random thoughts: - Some thought that Big Ten expansion could lead to the formation of a Big Ten hockey conference. But Nebraska does not have a hockey team, so more expansion would be needed for the formation of such a league. - Student season tickets for football go on sale Monday, June 21 at 7:30 a.m. Central time. Students should consider starting to adjust their sleeping schedule accordingly. - Wouldn't it be wild if Nebraska and a Big Ten team matched up in the National Championship game or a BCS bowl game this year? Not such a far-fetched possibility if you think about it.
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Nebraska's Hockey Team
Nebraska does have a hockey team. They are the UN-O (Nebraska-Omaha) Mavericks.
Yes, but...
The university commonly referred to as “Nebraska” is UNL. The Cornhuskers, who are the new members of the Big 10, don’t have a hockey team. UNO, a much smaller campus, is a Division II school (in just about everything except hockey). They’ll be playing you guys…this coming season or the next, in the WCHA.
I highly doubt that the Big 10, if it were to add Hockey as a sport, would add UNO (would have to be a hockey-only membership), nor do I see the likelyhood of Lincoln allowing Omaha to join. UNL and UNO are very separate in the realm of athletics, as no one seems to want to take away from the “big dog” status the Cornhuskers hold in this state.
Expansion
Just want to stop by and get some Badger fan thoughts on Big 10 expansion. As a Mizzou Alum who married a Badger Girl at Monona Terrace, I would have loved to see Missouri in the Big 10 with annual MU / UW games in football. My question to you is… Assuming the Big 10 expands to 16 teams with ND taking one of the remaining 4 spots, would you rather the Big 10 go east, or would it make sense to poach some of the Big 12-2 schools? A western division of Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Missouri and Kansas would be pretty cool.
Thanks for your feedback.
Personally I would like it to stay at 12 unless they can get Notre Dame.
If Notre Dame gets added, I think Pitt makes a lot of sense. Good football and basketball programs and it doesn’t make Penn State so lonely out there.
Bucky's 5th Quarter. SB Nation's Wisconsin Badgers community.
I personally like Missouri
more than many of the other possibilities out there. But I just get the sense that since the B10 didn’t bother to add them along with Nebraska, the league may never ask them to join. And Kansas seems like an unlikely addition because we might have to take Kansas State with them in a package deal to get them.
by Adam Tupitza on Jun 17, 2010 6:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I do too. As long as ND joins.
14 would be nice.
by Bush League All Star on Jun 22, 2010 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Big Ten Goals
If you feel adding Notre Dame is the leagues “penultimate” goal, then what is the league’s final play?
I do not feel the Big Ten in any way wants to force ND’s hand, the league wants ND to want to join. Forcing their hand will make for a an awful relationship. Delany has said time and again that conference and institutional goals have to be one in the same in order to have a quality relationship. ND may still end up in the conference because of some Big East unraveling/Mega Conference situation, but I cannot see Delany doing something solely to force ND into a marriage it doesn’t want, that is the basis of a spiteful divorce; ask the Big 12.
On the other hand does anyone in the Big Ten truly want ND in the conference? I would if the school didn’t come with all that fan baggage, but what I don’t want to hear for the next 50 years of my life (or however long I live) is all the ND fans telling us they never wanted to join and hate it here. I could do without that, just my personal feeling.
Delany might try to force ND’s hand in an indirect way that doesn’t make him look responsible. This means triggering a super-conference in a way other than just grabbing 3 Big East teams, which would definitely look like just trying to force ND in. So Delany might instead go after ACC or more Big 12 teams in hopes of setting up superconferences.
Also, I think Notre Dame fans could get used to being a Big Ten team after 10-15 years at the most. The fanbase there is too passionate not to accept their fate and continue their strong support. God forbid, they might actually enjoy being in the Big Ten at some point in the future.
by Adam Tupitza on Jun 17, 2010 6:15 PM CDT up reply actions
Did you have something in mind after Notre Dame? The way you wrote the piece it sounded like there was a plan after a Notre Dame joinder, hence the question regarding the “penultimate goal” and what the league’s final play would then be.
I wish I could believe the fans would eventually give in, but I just can’t :) I think we would have to wait for all the preconference fans to die off before we would stop hearing their loathing for the conference.
All we need is for Purdue, MSU, and Michigan to beat the cr@p out of that "team" they plan on fielding next year.
The ND defense was horrific. The ND offense was NOTHING without JC and Golden Tate. Michael Floyd could be the next Eric Decker. But I have the feeling that this could be a long, long season for Irish fans. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Jun 18, 2010 3:05 PM CDT up reply actions
For all the talk of Weiss's recruiting prowess
The Irish certainly don’t seem to have a stocked cupboard for Kelly to utilize. Although I guess you never know. Poor coaching has a way of obscuring great talent, we’ll see what Kelly’s got. (Was always interested that ND went the way of Michigan in snatching up a successful Big East coach….hopefully the transition is just as smooth for the Irish).
"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne
This is my thought as well. This is reposted from something I wrote over at the Rivalry, Esq.
I remain convinced that the best path to the Notre Dame is through the ACC. Maryland would never come alone, especially since they don’t want to be the sole school abandoning the league. But if the Big Ten were to pry away Maryland and Virginia, then it would be game-on. Granted, this scenario would only be allowed if the Hokies were to receive positive feelers from the SEC, because the VA state legislature won’t let the Cavs leave without Tech being assured a soft landing.
This is the best scenario (I believe) for the conference because it would allow the most valuable expansion option available. It would take a strange, but not impossible series of events to transpire:
#1.UMD & UVA come to the Big Ten, sounding the announcement the ACC is vulnerable.
#2. The SEC adds any two from VaTech, Miami, Florida State (those two would likely face fierce opposition from UF), Georgia Tech or Clemson. My bet would be on VT and Clemson, but that’s just one hack’s opinion.
#3. The ACC, in survival mode, begins poaching form the Big East, thus doing the Big Ten the favor of destroying that league without forcing the Big Ten into having to take schools they don’t want in order to land the Irish.
#4. Notre Dame needs a home and, seeing remaining options too much to stomach, end up in the Big Ten.
#5. Big Ten adds Rutgers to round out the league.
The results would be pretty staggering; through the collective influence of the existing alumni groups plus the new schools, the Big Ten would very likely penetrate into both the DC and NYC markets. The fertile recruiting grounds of New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia would be solidly within the league’s footprint. Finally, the academic profile would be staggering. This whole process could still unfold without step #2 unfolding, but would be less-likely since the ACC would likely be content to stand at 10 then balloon back to 12 (although the basketball coaches would likely love to see Syracuse and Pitt/UConn as replacements).
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jun 21, 2010 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions
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| UNLV | Thu 09/01 | W 51 - 17 |
Oregon St.
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Sat 09/10 | W 35 - 0 |
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Northern Illinois
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Sat 09/17 | W 49 - 7 |
| South Dakota Coyotes | Sat 09/24 | W 59 - 10 |
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Nebraska
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Sat 10/01 | W 48 - 17 |
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Indiana
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Sat 10/15 | W 59 - 7 |
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Michigan St.
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Sat 10/22 | L 31 - 37 |
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Ohio St.
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Sat 10/29 | L 29 - 33 |
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Purdue
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Sat 11/05 | W 62 - 17 |
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Minnesota
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Sat 11/12 | W 42 - 13 |
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Illinois
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Sat 11/19 | W 28 - 17 |
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Penn St.
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Sat 11/26 | W 45 - 7 |
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Michigan St.
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Sat 12/03 | W 42 - 39 |
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Oregon
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Mon 01/02 | L 38 - 45 |
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