Hypothetical: Best fit for 12th Big 10 team?

[stagtennis]

Nice points. The thought of the Big Ten even thinking about expanding makes me sick. I do not want to see it happen. Personally, i think that adding Notre Dame would also be a tremendously bad move. Adding Syracuse, Pitt, Missouri, West Va etc only weakens the conference. It would be at best a horizonal movement.

I guess this is where we do disagree. If the conference were to vote for expanding, I would hope that they would choose to enhance the conference geographically and monetarily.

One of the reasons the Bucks picked up OB to coach the hoops team was the hope that he could use his NYC ties to bring in some recruits. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so. The Big Ten product just isn't as strong in the metro region as it is in the midwest. Adding a team from this region would boost viewership in the area to possibly help with these recruits.

[jlb1705]

Also good points. I'll agree with you that expansion is a bad idea in the first place, and that adding Notre Dame would suck. I think though if you want to add based on expanding geographically and financially, Syracuse and Missouri would be better options, and the only ones that approach the "Big Ten Profile".

Good point about OB, but adding a coach from a certain region to boost recruiting is a totally different animal than what you're proposing. Coaches directly impact recruiting - the do the scouting and make the pitch. Being on TV is a secondary factor. It raises consciousness in the region, but it doesn't have near as strong an impact as pounding the pavement and building a strong network - something which can be accomplished without being on TV in a certain region (even though it may be tougher, admittedely).

[martinss01]

Originally Posted by scooter1369

We don't want a 12th team because that would promote an argument for a Big Ten Championship Game. And we already have one on the third Sunday of November.

I say kick Penn State to the curb and go back to the way it was 11-12 years ago.

dead on! joining the big ten was the biggest mistake penn state ever made. they would be in a bowl game THIS YEAR if they played as an independant or in a different conference. i can't for the life of me understand why ANY team would want to join the big ten. why would you want your team to go 2 and whatever every year?

no team on that list has any chance of doing better than 50% through the year in the big ten year in and year out. why would any ad wish that on their program?

Originally Posted by jthardy

Adding a 12th would enable the Big 10/11 to establish a conference championship giving the conference more exposure. This in turn could help in recruiting. This is what I meant by being more competitive.

more exposure as in having MORE than 4 teams on the "fav college teams in the nation" list? im not certin the big ten could get more exposure...

[jlb1705]

Some at Penn State would disagree. Once again think about things outside the football stadium a little bit.

Besides, Penn State isn't in a bowl because they stink. They'd stink whether they were in a conference or not.

[martinss01]

Originally Posted by jlb1705

Some at Penn State would disagree. Once again think about things outside the football stadium a little bit.

id like to take this oportunity to inform everyone that i am flat out incapable of such thought. sorry

Besides, Penn State isn't in a bowl because they stink. They'd stink whether they were in a conference or not.

i couldn't disagree with you more. penn state is a 6 win team as an independant. they would compete well in any other conference. joe pa didn't suddenly start sucking as a coach the year after they joined the big ten. the decline of penn state football and the timing in which they joined the big ten are not a coincidence.

[AmeriBuck007]

Originally Posted by Bucktastic

Screw letting ND in. How many times has the Big Ten asked them to join, and they've just thumbed their noses at us. It wont happen, but out of this list I would say Pitt.

Agree 100% Pitt plays big 10 ball and would nicely fit in the bunch while ND would just cramp our style

[jlb1705]

Oops, I meant to include this link in my last post.

http://www.psu.edu/ur/archives/inter...25/BigTen.html

Penn State was a great team for several years in the Big Ten when they first joined. If it was a matter of them not being good enough for the conference, they would've stunk from the get-go. I think this has more to do with the decline of the coaching and recruiting faculties of Joe Paterno, rather than their conference affiliation.

[MegaWoody]

Notre Dame is the only school with the media draw necessary to justify adding a twelfth team. But they don't want to do it and I'm not sure we want them to.

Pros: additional national TV audience for the conference. Whether they deserve it or not, ND has a lot of followers around the country, many of whom have no direct connection with the University other than their religion. Whether we care to admit it or not, there are millions of folks who watch the ND broadcasts on NBC every Saturday. With ND in the conference, those millions would become Big 10 watchers.

Cons: the likelihood of a Big 10 championship play-off increases exponentially. This would probably mean that going undefeated in the Big 10 would be much harder than it is now ...and it ain't exactly easy now. For tOSU to win the Big 10, the Bucks might well have to play the next best team twice, a la Auburn v. Tennessee. That would make undefeated seasons a real rarity, which would make National Championships even harder to achieve for Big 10 teams.

On the whole, I'd just as soon see ND stay independent. Let them stew in their own juice while tOSU picks up a few more NCs.