Big Ten will expand to 20 if Texas joins?

[Nexus]

 

 

16 is pushing it, let alone 20.

 

 

We all knew this day would come.

 

It has been on the calendar since 2003.

 

That's when the ACC raided the Big East, taking Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Boston College, prompting a Big East raid on Conference USA for Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida.

 

So, yes, we all realized that sooner or later conference realignments were going to happen again. And we suspected the Big East would once again be involved.

 

But nobody guessed this potential change would have the possibility to be so cataclysmic and so far-reaching.

 

The Big Ten sits poised to pull the trigger on the biggest shakeup in NCAA conference history. It will affect everyone ... including Marshall.

 

The obvious first question is ... when?

 

According to knowledgeable industry sources, the controversial reconfiguration could commence as soon as August.

 

The key to the shakeup is whether the Big Ten opts to expand to 16 or become a mega-conference with 20 members. The linch-pin is Texas. If the Big Ten can entice Texas to join, it will expand to 20 and become the biggest power-broker in collegiate athletics.

 

That will ignite an arms race with such strong leagues as the SEC and Pac-10 looking to expand to keep pace.

 

The fallout will be more far-reaching than any volcano in Iceland could spew.

 

Let's start with the Big East. The Big Ten is expected to take three out of a foursome including Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut and Rutgers. UConn appears to be the odd-man out.

 

Then, the Big East will conduct its own raid. Again, according to industry sources with knowledge of the situation, the first choice will be UCF from Conference USA. Second pick? Temple. The third choice will be another C-USA school, Memphis.

 

Don't be surprised by the Temple selection. The Owls of today are not the ragtag athletic program that got booted from the Big East. In fact, Temple recently gave both its head football and head basketball coaches five-year contract extensions. Besides, Temple delivers the lucrative Philadelphia television market.

 

As for Memphis, some folks will be surprised UM gets the nod over East Carolina. Don't be. Memphis is a far better choice. Besides a much larger television market, Memphis offers a top-flight basketball program that will offset the loss of Pitt and Syracuse. As it turns out, hiring former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese as a consultant was a smart move by Memphis.

 

So, where does all this leave Marshall?

 

Wringing its hands.

 

Although Marshall knew this day would come, the school has done virtually nothing to position itself to take advantage of the realignments.

 

Think about it. What has Marshall done to improve its athletic profile during the last six years? Granted, the athletic program is on the upswing now since president Steve Kopp is allowing new athletic director Mike Hamrick to run the department.

 

But, what about the previous five years?

 

That's when Kopp's lack of vision was so damaging. He simply didn't have a plan.

 

Go back to the days before Kopp arrived. Was Marshall more highly regarded than UCF? Yes. Temple? Yes. Memphis? Yes.

 

Yet, now, those three have passed Marshall by and are in line to join the Big East.

 

What's Marshall in line for?

 

A handout.

 

Charity is about all Marshall can hope for because it simply wasn't proactive.

 

The unfortunate truth is Marshall doesn't have any options because it didn't create any windows of opportunity.

 

There are movers and there are shakers.

 

With the conference reconfigurations looming, Marshall is shaky.

 

LINK

 

 

[Enhance]

Gotta love off season speculation. I don't see this happening, at all. There appear to be too many variables involved in the situation for it to actually be a reasonable possibility. Is it possible? Yes, but I can assure you that before the season begins we might see even see a 24 or 28 team conference idea spouted out there. To me, all this does is build on other people's ideas in a way that, realistically speaking, has no chance of actually happening.

[DJR313]

Consider the source. That is all.

[Caven]

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.

[CornHOLIO]

I blame the BCS hatin' playoff mongers

[GMoose]

Can you even call it a "conference" if it's 20 teams?! I mean come on!

[huzkerbob]

I've held my breathe on the whole 16 team team four pod nonsense, mainly because I haven't felt like wasting my time arguing about something that is so unlikely to happen. But 20 teams? What are we just making stuff up now?.

 

You know I heard from a reliable source that the Big 10 also plans to invite the entire Pac 10 and create an entirely new collegiate body called the BTAA. After which they plan on annexing a small part of Canada in order to have a neutral site to relocate the Rose Bowl so that they can host an all-cold weather playoff for all members except UT, ND and USC, who will all get to choose their round robin style schedules no later than 2 months prior to the start of each season.

 

I hope the good people at the Huntington Dispatch don't pay this clown much for writing such drivel. Hell, if it's fiction they're looking for then I'm available and I can assure you my fees are very reasonable.

[ironmike]

My friend's mom is boinking some flunky that works for Delaney and he said they are exploring a 64 team conference set up like the March basketball tournament. Seeding will be determined by academic ranking, attractiveness of cheerleaders and who washes Kirk Herbstreit's balls the best.

[zoogs]

Actually, USC, Virginia Tech, and Florida are also in the Big 10's expansion plans, among a few other schools. The goal is to expand to 120 teams and become the Big 120. Due to the large number of teams, they will divide into 10 or so divisions, each of which will produce a conference champion to be entered into a 16-team playoff (6 at large bids). Nebraska's regional division will likely include teams such as Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas St, etc, while USC will be grouped with UCLA, Washington, and Oregon; Michigan with Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, and Minnesota; and so on.

[knapplc]

Funny stuff, zoogs.

[deedsker15]

Actually, USC, Virginia Tech, and Florida are also in the Big 10's expansion plans, among a few other schools. The goal is to expand to 120 teams and become the Big 120. Due to the large number of teams, they will divide into 10 or so divisions, each of which will produce a conference champion to be entered into a 16-team playoff (6 at large bids). Nebraska's regional division will likely include teams such as Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas St, etc, while USC will be grouped with UCLA, Washington, and Oregon; Michigan with Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, and Minnesota; and so on.

holy crap...it is like you figured everything out...but with a system so complex as that how could it happen...it just seems so.....logical???

[wildman]

Well i've been getting friendly with Delaney's secretary at the local hotel. I was able to drill some info out of her. What she told me is that Delaney was inspired by a 90's cartoon called Pinky and the Brain. He has recently teamed up with Dan Beebe of the big 12 to take over the United States. Delaney is playing the roll of Brain the smart one behind the plots, while Beebe is playing pinky the bumbling idiot of the duo. Delaney has a great scheme to take over the entire ncaa by making one super duper huge conference. Only problem is Beebe can't figure out how to relocate every school to Texas.

[huskalova]

Well i've been getting friendly with Delaney's secretary at the local hotel. I was able to drill some info out of her. What she told me is that Delaney was inspired by a 90's cartoon called Pinky and the Brain. He has recently teamed up with Dan Beebe of the big 12 to take over the United States. Delaney is playing the roll of Brain the smart one behind the plots, while Beebe is playing pinky the bumbling idiot of the duo. Delaney has a great scheme to take over the entire ncaa by making one super duper huge conference. Only problem is Beebe can't figure out how to relocate every school to Texas.

[colosilverado]

My friend's mom is boinking some flunky that works for Delaney and he said they are exploring a 64 team conference set up like the March basketball tournament. Seeding will be determined by academic ranking, attractiveness of cheerleaders and who washes Kirk Herbstreit's balls the best.

 

I thought this was real until the part about Herbstreit because we all know he is a simpering, whiny plebe without balls! If you would've said something about massaging his ovaries, then I'd have believed it.

[Redmusky]

My friend's mom is boinking some flunky that works for Delaney and he said they are exploring a 64 team conference set up like the March basketball tournament. Seeding will be determined by academic ranking, attractiveness of cheerleaders and who washes Kirk Herbstreit's balls the best.

 

I thought this was real until the part about Herbstreit because we all know he is a simpering, whiny plebe without balls! If you would've said something about massaging his ovaries, then I'd have believed it.

I can see them taking one team ND or NU maybe 3 possible 5 but 20 never 64 that's half of all the teams what the h*** are people smoking