knapplc said:
I wouldn't have been upset to have Missouri in the Big Ten, but clearly this wasn't ever going to happen. Not sure why, but Delany does NOT want them.
Geographically this puts the Big Ten into a bit of a corner. There aren't many connected schools worth adding right now. Perhaps contiguous footprint isn't a big deal anymore, though.
Not really. Been saying for a while now that Kansas is a value add for basketball, and would be a good companion piece to go with Notre Dame when (not if) the Big East collapses or ND gets tired of traveling to Houston and DFW for Olympic sports. Plus, Kansas would draw KC, and they have a national presence with their basketball program, not unlike ND or DoNU have with their football programs. And selfishly, it *would* be nice for DoNU to have their migration game back in Lawrence.
Plus, Kansas' chancellor has publicly come out and said they're not tethered to K-State--they can do as they please. Why make that move unless you're willing to take an invite to a conference that doesn't want your (suddenly-competent in football) brother?
And we know that Delaney is willing to sit at 12 until ND becomes available--he's said as much recently, though he hasn't called out ND specifically. Rutgers and Syracuse don't draw NYC--Notre Dame does. Hell, ND has their coach's show and university showcase on SNY--Rutgers and Syracuse don't even get that luxury on SNY, or any other NYC channel.
The only other program I could see even possibly getting an invite with an available ND would be Maryland, and only for their media market presence in D.C. and Baltimore. But I would think a nationally-watched basketball power like Kansas would do more for expansion of the BTN, especially during basketball season, than a Maryland would.
Basketball isn't even a blip on the conference expansion radar, that's the problem. If it was schools like Duke and North Carolina would be getting some major courting from the "winning" conferences. Heck, the UConn diss from the ACC should dispel any notion that basketball plays any role whatsoever in expansion.
True, but the number of football-competent schools available for expansion purposes is close to nil already. Now remove all of the schools that are a national presence or carry a major (Top 100) media market, and you have about five viable candidates.
At some point, if expansion were to continue (and it will for the Big 10 if/when Notre Dame becomes available and amenable) other revenue-generating sports (read: basketball) will start to take center stage. And there's significant gold in those basketball hills, if someone had the foresight to mine it--especially if you're majority owner of a conference network that needs a boost to basketball inventory.
The other way to look at it is this--what school, if any, could you pair with Notre Dame into the Big 10 and have it make a significant splash? And believe me, Delaney is going to be smart enough to avoid the problems that an uneven conference roster will bring (see the SEC's efforts and the crux of this thread).
Other than Maryland, there aren't any schools other than Kansas that have a national presence in a sport, carry part of a major media market, and could add value to a conference. West Virginia or Louisville? Not really on either count. Syracuse or Rutgers? If either were a net positive addition, they would have already been picked up, and neither school carries NYC like ND does.
At some point, these commissioners, in the interest of revenue-positive expansion, will *have* to look to basketball for schools where it's a revenue generating sport, and the best of those that will be readily available (and willing) will be Kansas.
