Caven

That about sums it up. Travel in a group. I've heard of waaaay too many brawls down there. Weird - I have never really heard of any other than downtown last at night between drunks.

Muffler beat me to it. They are probably the best fit as far as Big East schools - but they aren't at the top of the list due to location and demographics.

If it doesnt affect ours then why havent we announced we will be going or staying? They are waiting on something and it certainly isnt whether we would like to be in the B10. The only thing that makes sense to me is they are waiting to see what ND wants to do. Because this isn't going to be for just one school to announce. There will be a big press conference to announce everything at once. They probably are waiting on ND to make the announcement but I would suspect that it is one of the east coast schools - my guess would be Pitt - that is in or out based on what ND does.

The obvious question... Why isn't Notre Dame overwhelmingly interested in their chunk of that 6 billion? You make it sound as if there is 500 million waiting for whoever signs up. This is obviously a false assertion. The CIC exists and it is a fact that they get the lion's share of the six billion dollars in grant money available for research. I have no idea why Notre Dame values their independence so highly, but the fact that they do doesn't obviate the fact that there is money to be made through the CIC. No links, but what I remember reading on them, they have some philisophical differences about what type of research the CIC endorses and how it is carried out. This is one of their biggest problems - there is research that happens that the Catholic Church doesn't approve of and one of their fears is that by joining the Big 10 they would be tacitly endorsing that research.

I can't see the B10 letting a school with the football prestige that Nebraska has going to the SEC.

Palpatine just posted this over on the Hawk boards about the Big 12 meetings going on and it was good enough in my opinion that I am reposting it here. "This is like one of those Agatha Christie novels, where some old, dying lady invites all her relatives to her house for one final get-together before her death. Everybody hates the old lady and they all want her dead, but they don't want to say anything to her because she hasn't finished her will yet. It's all a big charade about how the love the old gal, but you know she's a goner. Who will kill the Big XII? Colorado has the lead pipe, Missouri and Nebraska have the knife and the candlestick, but Texas has the revolver."

What a load of bull. Just because the major programs don't have more infractions doesn't mean anything. The article doesn't even attempt to go into a comparison of actual penalties for major programs vs. non-major programs. In the past, programs that have done what USC did in playing an inelligble player would have had every win stripped as well as some scholarship penalties. Now maybe that will indeed happen. It is guaranteed that they are going to be hit with a major infraction so it will count for the statistics, but unless that infraction also has a major punishment attached it is meaningless. Then there are also the statistics of how often you cheat vs. how often you are actually punished and how often the NCAA looks the other way. Where are the numbers for how often a team is caught and not punished? Sure Kentucky has 3 major violations to their name, but if they have been caught cheating 15 times and Cleveland State has been caught once then you have a 20% enforcement rate vs. a 100% enforcement rate for the large school vs. the small school. Forde is just trying to make a case in advance for USC and Michigan getting off lightly.

So you're saying it won't matter if it's indoor or not? Interesting. We play all of our games outside anyway so what does the championship game matter I was actually being sarcastic. I should've threw up the But it will be interesting to see how they'll rotate their championship games if and when they have them for football. I figured you were referring to all the big donars that want their conforts for a championship game and not the casual fans.

So you're saying it won't matter if it's indoor or not? Interesting. We play all of our games outside anyway so what does the championship game matter

If I had to guess I would say the B10 title game will rotate between the more central pro stadiums (Indy, Chicago, Green Bay).

So true it hurts (about the NW thing). reply to tyvodka: So Nebraska fans shouldn't be talking like they are going to win the Big 12 this year and possibly the NC because they won their bowl game? You really should tell everyone I work with that then. Or do the same standards not apply to Nebraska fans that they can be happy coming off a good season and have sky high expectations? Also I don't know of any Hawk fans who think we are a top 5 storied program. Hell one of our top writers has us predicted to get upset at Michigan this year and most of us are expecting something like 10-2 and a BCS at large bid. Yes we are hopeful that we end up getting some lucky breaks and having a shot to play for the MNC but we know that 10-2 and a BCS at large bid is more realistic. Might the problem be that they get sick of you talking up a team that hasn't done any better than Iowa over the past decade and talking down at them and so they dish it back at you a little bit harder than they might actually believe? Yes it is unfortunate that Iowa and Nebraska played during the two worst seasons of Iowa football in the past 30 years - but that is how it went down. I for one am hoping that we get a yearly shot at Nebraska in the near future to just settle it on the field and if that means I end up owing all of my co-workers lunch on a yearly basis so be it, but at least we can be done with the sideways comparisons of meaningless end of year rankings and common opponents.

Q: From your perspective, why would it make sense for Missouri to stay in the Big 12? A: Why would they want to not be associated with Texas

We already consider Minnesota and Wisconsin bigger rivals than Iowa State so I certainly wouldn't say that we won't consider Nebraska a bigger rival than little brother. It will all have to do with how things play out on the field for the first decade or so. If Iowa has a decade like the one we are just coming off of then I think that the teams will develop a good rivalry. If Iowa does something stupid and plays like we did in the 70s then it won't become a rivalry.

I would say not a chance that it goes beyond 16 in the short term. Who knows what might happen 10-20 years from now but I just don't see more than 16 in this round of expansion.

I didn't put ND with Texas and AM because that would violate my no more than 2 teams in a pod rule Also ND plays Michigan and Michigan State every year right now (as well as Purdue) so it seemed logical to let them keep those rivalry games which ended up necessitating that pod. Given that each pod gets paired with another pod every year, having two heavy pods that are always opposite each other and only play cross divisional games against each other isn't a bad way to go imo.

Yes the presidents are the ones that cast the vote and thus will keep academics in mind - and there are some institutions that the president does indeed have the most power. However there are schools where certain people on the athletic side have a LOT of say (Nebraska being one with TO). I think that there is a minimum academic level that you will need to meet in order to be considered but once you pass that point my guess is that Delaney is in the drivers seat this time. I would guess that Delaney was given a list of academic requirements that schools had to meet and the list of schools that would be politcially and academically viable by the presidents and as long as he sticks to that list and can show the monetary benefits that the individual presidents will OK his recommendations AS LONG AS their respective athletic departments are also OK with the deal. You don't think that if TO went to the president and said yes the academics and money are a good thing but this is a raw deal athletically that the president wouldn't listen to him? I would guess that as long as the athletic department is smart enough to take the academic and money issues into account and still feel that it is a bad deal that many could convince their school president to vote against it. eta: in response to the post right above - you are correct that the president MUST make sure that acadamia is improved but school donations are driven by athletics and if you cost the school millions of dollars by pissing everyone off because you allowed the conference to lose its equality mentality then you might quickly be looking for a new job.

I would guess that they would not have more than 2 new teams in a pod since they will want to integrate the new teams into the conference and allow them to create new rivalries with existing members. A pod with only new teams creates too much of an us vs. them mentality. I still think Nebraska ends up in the Iowa/Wisky/Minny pod given proximity to Iowa and Minny and current ties to Wisky with the coaches but I will admit that might just be my wishful thinking. I would also be shocked if they don't keep Ohio State and Michigan together with Michigan State. I might try something like this: A Michigan Ohio State Michigan State Notre Dame B Iowa Minnesota Wisconsin Nebraska C Illinois Missouri Indiana Northwestern D Texas A&M Penn State Purdue You need to give both Texas and Notre Dame some power teams in their pod to entice them to come and there is enough power in the conference that you don't really have to worry about balance too much. Also since the pods are only for football (basketball playing more games would allow a simple east/west split with still playing every team a minimum of 2x in 4 years) you don't have to worry quite so much about geography. Texas and AM are going to be flying to their football games regardless (same with PSU) so having them in the same pod doesn't really affect their travel and gives them a nice big name for each other. Pods A and D (and B/C) are the opposing pods that never end up in the same division. You could also go with A/B as opposing pods and still be fine power wise. Pod C looks the weakest given recent history but NW and Illinois are both capable of winning the B10 some years and Missouri shows flashes as well sometimes.

Kansas is infinitely more likely than Oklahoma. Given no Texas or ND I would like to see Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Rutgers and Pitt. Substitute ND for Pitt or Texas/AM for Pitt/Kansas if you can actually land either of them. Home run would be NE, Missouri, Texas, A&M, ND

ESPN desperately wants the B10 to do nothing major because they are worried about long term being cut out of anything but the SEC.

Not even ND will get special provisions from the B10. Their special provisions are come with us and you get all the benefits of being in the B10 as far as money and academics.

Big 10 won't give anyone special considerations. That is what makes the conference - the all for one/one for all mentality. There are enough school presidents that would vote against any kind of proposal that was unequal that it just isn't possible imo.

I don't buy it. I still think that decisions will be made at the presidents meeting next month.

That's what it sounds like to me. Thanks for the research Nexus. Of course the B12 conference would have to collect that money which could be tied up in court until the B12 folds up shop anyways. But that's neither here nor there. Basically we'd lose 50% over 2 years, 90% over 1 year, or 100% over 2 years (less than 6 months notice), if we left the B12. Since the conference paid NU approximately $9 million last year that means we'd lose about $9 million. That seems like a factor we'd use as a bargaining chip for the B10 (i.e. we'd want the B10 to pay the B12). Given that Nebraska would make about 14 million? more in their first year in the Big 10, I would be surprised if the Big 10 didn't just say we already are paying off what you owe the Big 12 and then some

If they keep Iowa/Wisky/Minny together and want to balance out the potential Michigan/Ohio State/Mich St pod as well as set Nebraska up with the best pod for rivalry games then Nebraska ends up with the Iowa trio and gets Missouri as their out of pod every year rival. At least that is how I hope it ends up.