biggie

Nothing changes July 1. If they want to pursue Bo they can although I think there should be a rule against it. Michigan looked hard at Fitzgerald from Northwestern.

Notre Dame has a big catholic base in NY and NE in general. They played Army last year at New Yankee Stadium, played Navy at the Giants stadium and many times over the years. Of course New York is a big pro sports town. So is Chicago. The money is based on total cable subscribers even if they hate all sports and never watch. You could argue nobody in Chicago really cares about college football either but even a small percent of Chicago viewers is big numbers. The number of alumni living in those cities is significantly more than you think.

It might contribute to the increased courting of Maryland. Georgia Tech is the AAU's newest member, joining last year. I wasn't aware of that. The news on Syracuse is the AAU was going to kick it out too. I wasn't aware of that either. http://www.espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/12511/big-tens-aau-ties-should-factor-in-expansion Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany didn't discuss any specific expansion candidates Tuesday, but he stressed the importance of AAU membership for the conference. "It's very important," Delany said. "AAU membership is an important part of who we are. It was an important part of who we are [when the Big Ten added] Penn State, and it's an important aspect of what makes an institution a research institution, an undergraduate school, a school that serves the public at a high level." Asked if AAU membership was mandatory for expansion candidates, Delany said, "We're not there. I'm not going to qualify or disqualify, but it's a very important factor." All 11 current Big Ten institutions are part of the AAU, a collection of 63 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The Big Ten's last known expansion target, Notre Dame, is not an AAU member but brings a very strong academic reputation to the table. Most of the rumored Big Ten expansion candidates -- Rutgers, Nebraska, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse -- are part of the AAU, while Connecticut is not. "It's very important," Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said of AAU membership. "But at the same time, the academic reputation is more important. "The academic piece of this, do not underestimate that."

Allow me to shed some light on this. The BTN and cable had a huge fight over putting it on basic cable or premium. BTN eventually got it on basic cable in the Big Ten footprint and premium in other parts of the country. BTN makes much more money having it on basic cable. They get a set amount based on number of cable subscribers even the ones that never watch it. From what I understand part of the decision to offer Nebraska was even though Nebraska adds no TV market, your fans are likely to add it as a premium channel even if they live in California. Maryland is a good academic school and would deliver nice TV markets but I doubt they leave ACC basketball rivals Duke, UNC and Virginia. The New York TV market is the big prize Delany wants. From what I understand he saw that adding one school would not be enough to pressure cable operators into adding the NY market on basic. Rutgers doesn't have the fan base. Rutgers and Syracuse together might be enough, and they're both AAU members but even two schools might not be enough. Notre Dame would secure New York but no way he gets Notre Dame without major conference realignment. They looked at UConn, with a decent New York following for basketball but it hurt not being an AAU member and a small football following. There was no reason to rush on any of these schools. Delany knows he can get Rutgers and Syracuse whenever he wants. Nebraska had to be a quick decision with the deadline you had. The other big financial boost comes from adding a championship game. With no TV market, Nebraska was not the obvious fit like Penn State was in 1993 but the big $$$ from a championship game and a good football 'brand' made it a good decision from a financial standpoint. The AAU membership also helped it feel right, and I know Delany downplays it now but it was big in selling the Big Ten presidents. You guys are right the AAU has no real value, but it's a matter of conference unity and prestige to say you're the only conference with all AAU members. The Big Ten likes to tout it's unity and academic prestige whenever it can. It's part of the Big Ten brand. You need to get back in the AAU and I think your leadership understands that. I don't expect agreement on a football forum but be prepared for the academic jokes if you don't. Mizzou is now off the table for future expansion. Any future expansion will be to the east for those TV markets with the added benefit of breaking up the Big East might force Notre Dame's hand at some point. If the Big Ten ever moves to 14 expect Rutgers and Syracuse. If it moves to 16 expect a combination of Notre Dame, UConn, Pitt, Maryland or BC. It's way too early to predict how those might shake out. I throw Pitt in because it a rival for Notre Dame and Penn State, AAU member, and it's a good fit except for TV market, but if the Big Ten gets Notre Dame and the NY market, throwing in Pitt to make Notre Dame and Penn State happy won't matter so much.