Nebraska to Big Ten?

[Bisker82]

I was watching Sportscenter this morning and on the scroll the had the information that Nebraska was expected to join the Big Ten as early as Friday. I for one, would welcome the Cornhuskers; I think they would be a very good addition.

[MrGopher]

An early "Welcome aboard!" from Gopherland. It's been too long since we played last.

[RodentRampage]

Nebraska is culturally a better fit for a midwestern conference than Texas. Plus, I would prefer an American team rather than Texas. :p

[ruralgopher]

ESPN reported this? must be true then.

[MrGopher]

Nebraska's records against the current BigTen:

vs. Minn: 20-29-2
vs. Iowa: 26-12-3
vs. IU: 7-9-3
vs. PSU: 6-7-0
vs. Ill: 7-2-1
vs. Mich: 2-3-1
vs. MSU: 5-0-0
vs. wisc: 3-2-0
vs. NU: 3-1-0
vs. OSU: 0-2-0
vs. Pur: 0-1-0

Total: 79-68-10

We have played Nebraska more times than we have played PSU, MSU, or OSU.

[MGGopher]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5265631

Lots of speculation in that article, but according the the "source," Nebraska is leaning towards the Big Ten, but is claiming that no invitation has been extended and that they obviously won't state their intentions until they're 100% sure the BT would welcome them.

[gophmeister]

I was holding out hope for Notre Dame. The school sucks but the football program does well.

[MrGopher]

I was holding out hope for Notre Dame. The school sucks but the football program does well.

Don't worry, even if Nebraska signs up, Notre Dame is still the Holy Grail for the conference.

If we get Nebraska, we almost certainly would get Mizzou.... which leaves us with 13 and still looking for one more.... the goal has always been Notre Dame in the end.

[gophmeister]

Don't worry, even if Nebraska signs up, Notre Dame is still the Holy Grail for the conference.

If we get Nebraska, we almost certainly would get Mizzou.... which leaves us with 13 and still looking for one more.... the goal has always been Notre Dame in the end.

At first I thought the more the merrier, but the consequence of a super-sized conference to me aren't very appealing. I seriously hope we don't add more than one team. If it has to be Nebraska, I guess it's Nebraska. All we do beyond that is dilute the product. Remember the WAC!

[RodentRampage]

I think 1 more team is just right. Right now, we do rotate teams out of the schedule, but they come back in 2 years. The more teams we add, the bigger the gaps will be. If we go all out and make a 16-team super-conference, we're going to be very distanced from the other division, it might as well be a second conference.

This could result in some of the top non-BCS schools getting added to BCS conferences. The Big 12 would have to add members if they lose teams, unless they want to ditch the conference championship game.

[MrGopher]

I think 1 more team is just right. Right now, we do rotate teams out of the schedule, but they come back in 2 years. The more teams we add, the bigger the gaps will be. If we go all out and make a 16-team super-conference, we're going to be very distanced from the other division, it might as well be a second conference.

This could result in some of the top non-BCS schools getting added to BCS conferences. The Big 12 would have to add members if they lose teams, unless they want to ditch the conference championship game.


If the big12 loses Neb and Mizz, you can kiss the big12 goodbye for good. The texas and oklahoma schools will bolt to the Pac10. If Nebraska leaves, there is no viable replacement for them in the north, and if there is no north, there the two division system fails, and the whole conference will be no good. Texas needs Nebraska for a viable big12, whether they want to admit it or not.

In the end, though, you are right. If what i just described above does happen, then look for the Mountain West to upgrade bigtime by picking up Kan, KSU, ISU, CU (or Baylor), BoiseSt. Effectively ascending to BCS status replacing the big12.

[RodentRampage]

If the big12 loses Neb and Mizz, you can kiss the big12 goodbye for good. The texas and oklahoma schools will bolt to the Pac10.

In the end, though, you are right. If what i just described above does happen, then look for the Mountain West to upgrade bigtime by picking up Kan, KSU, ISU, CU (or Baylor), BoiseSt. And effectively replacing the big12 as a (admittedly weak) BCS conference.

I think the reverse is more likely, that the remainder of the Big 12 picks off teams from the MWC and the WAC. It winds up being nearly the same, except the resulting conference would be stronger, as it would not have to deal with the bottom of the MWC.

I think if you took the top half of the WAC and the top half of the MWC it would be a pretty good conference. Take the remnants of the Big 12, and it might be even better.

It's interesting that the Big Ten seems to hold the keys that will shake up all of college football.:D

[MrGopher]

I think the reverse is more likely, that the remainder of the Big 12 picks off teams from the MWC and the WAC. It winds up being nearly the same, except the resulting conference would be stronger, as it would not have to deal with the bottom of the MWC.

I think if you took the top half of the WAC and the top half of the MWC it would be a pretty good conference. Take the remnants of the Big 12, and it might be even better.

Yeah, that's quite possible. Would be kinda messy deciding who's in and who's not from the MWC and WAC, but yeah it could be better in the end.

[Gopher07]

Fox Sports is saying they've been invited:

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/06/09/10/Reports-Nebraska-to-Join-Big-Ten/landing.html?blockID=250141&feedID=3724


After a weekend of denials and hushed discussions, the Big Ten will expand to 12 teams as early as Friday. Reports are emerging that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will become the 12th team in the league.

The Big Ten has officially offered an invitation to Nebraska.

[MrGopher]

Fox Sports is saying they've been invited:

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/06/09/10/Reports-Nebraska-to-Join-Big-Ten/landing.html?blockID=250141&feedID=3724

He doesn't really cite anything that says an official invitation has been given, does he? He sort of just says it.

[GophBen]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100608/NEWS01/100609687#nu-to-big-10-as-early-as-friday

[NateDawgUM]

Fox Sports is saying they've been invited:

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/06/09/10/Reports-Nebraska-to-Join-Big-Ten/landing.html?blockID=250141&feedID=3724

The Fox Sports article is just citing the Omaha World Herald, which is citing a "source" from a Big XII school.

I do think it will happen, but I'm waiting for a named source.

[Gopher07]

Regardless, the NU regents expect to add conference affiliation to the agenda of their Friday meeting:

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/tiger-tracker/tiger-tracker/2010/06/nebraska-regents-to-discuss-big-ten/

[MrGopher]

Question: let's say the BigTen does officially invite Nebraska..... how likely is it that Missouri tags right along with them? Would Nebraska prefer Mizzou also be invited?

I know that Nebraska is fed up with the Texas schools, but it seems odd that a program which puts so much stock in its rich history would so easily abandon all of its big12 and big8 rivals.

[NateDawgUM]

I know that Nebraska is fed up with the Texas schools, but it seems odd that a program which puts so much stock in its rich history would so easily abandon all of its big12 and big8 rivals.

Their only true rival has been Oklahoma. They don't play on a yearly basis anymore anyway.

They have a very long rivalry with Kansas, but it has been ridiculously one sided.

They've had short lived recent rivalries with Kansas State and Colorado, but neither of those go back a long way.

I think Nebraska would try to play Oklahoma as a non-conference opponent on a yearly basis. That would get them closer to their history.

[Bo Darville]

I hope the Husker fans like 11 am kickoffs.

[GopherGod]

Question: let's say the BigTen does officially invite Nebraska..... how likely is it that Missouri tags right along with them? Would Nebraska prefer Mizzou also be invited?

I know that Nebraska is fed up with the Texas schools, but it seems odd that a program which puts so much stock in its rich history would so easily abandon all of its big12 and big8 rivals.


To be honest from the Nebraska perspective the rivalries they had from the Big 8 days are gone with only playing Oklahoma in a 2 on 2 off rotation. Also, the Big 12 north schools that look to be left behind from either the Big 10 or the Pac 10 dug their own grave unfortunately and will get no help from Nebraska now. The KU president and U.S. senators have asked Nebraska to stay but KU and the rest of the Big 12 north schools should have thought about that before voting against Nebraska on every issue that ever mattered to them previously, such as rotating the Big 12 CCG. KU, KSU, and ISU sided with Texas often because they were largely afraid of upsetting the apple cart and ending up in a situation similar to what they are in now, they just never thought it would be Nebraska upsetting the cart. A lot of those schools as well just didn't care about a lot of the football issues such as the Big 12 CCG as they were more concerned about basketball. While Nebraska supported them on those votes, they ran scared when it came to voting against Texas on football matters. They made their bed by being meek cowards and now they can lie in it.

[gophmeister]

To be honest from the Nebraska perspective the rivalries they had from the Big 8 days are gone with only playing Oklahoma in a 2 on 2 off rotation. Also, the Big 12 north schools that look to be left behind from either the Big 10 or the Pac 10 dug their own grave unfortunately and will get no help from Nebraska now. The KU president and U.S. senators have asked Nebraska to stay but KU and the rest of the Big 12 north schools should have thought about that before voting against Nebraska on every issue that ever mattered to them previously, such as rotating the Big 12 CCG. KU, KSU, and ISU sided with Texas often because they were largely afraid of upsetting the apple cart and ending up in a situation similar to what they are in now, they just never thought it would be Nebraska upsetting the cart. A lot of those schools as well just didn't care about a lot of the football issues such as the Big 12 CCG as they were more concerned about basketball. While Nebraska supported them on those votes, they ran scared when it came to voting against Texas on football matters. They made their bed by being meek cowards and now they can lie in it.

For a gopher fan you seem very passionate and knowledgable regarding Nebraska football.

[Goldmember]

I don't understand taking just Nebraska into the league right now. Sure, it strengthens the conference's football profile. But it doesn't really grow the footprint of the league at all. And it still leaves the football power in the conference tilting heavily to the East.

I get the idea there is a whole lot happening behind the scenes right now. Maybe everything that's been very public, or purposely leaked (such as the PacTen-Big 12 South merger), is nothing more than a desperate reaction/ PR campaign/ Pipe Dream.

For Nebraska's part, I think they are better-off in a Division with Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin than Iowa State, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas regardless of where everyone else ends up.

[GopherGod]

For a gopher fan you seem very passionate and knowledgable regarding Nebraska football.

It's called growing up and spending 18 years in Lincoln and watching tons of games as a kid and having several friends and former teammates play there, and then going to Minnesota for my undergrad degree.

[RodentRampage]

This may be a situation where those teams that jump ship first do better than those that have a wait and see approach. Texas can write their own ticket, but other teams may not have that luxury. If a team decides to "go down with the ship", they may be eating the crumbs.

[gophmeister]

It's called growing up and spending 18 years in Lincoln and watching tons of games as a kid and having several friends and former teammates play there, and then going to Minnesota for my undergrad degree.

Well there ya go. :)

[SMU GOPHS FAN]

I can't lie. I think Nebraska is a great fit for the Big Ten. I could be wrong, but I could see a Neb-Iowa turning into an instant rivalry that would make for great entertainment.

[NateDawgUM]

It's called growing up and spending 18 years in Lincoln and watching tons of games as a kid and having several friends and former teammates play there, and then going to Minnesota for my undergrad degree.

Where did you go to high school and what year did you graduate?

[RodentRampage]

It's interesting to see some of the responses on the Nebraska boards about the potential move to the Big Ten, particularly by those opposed to the move. Some of the fans are opposed because they don't want to break up with their historic Big 8 rivals, and some don't want to break up with the Big 12 rivals.

People have a tendency to imagine that they way things were when they were kids. For the older fans, the Big 12 will have been just a blip.

[nsmike]

I was doing some thinking and while adding Nebraska by its self doesn't make sense, adding Missouri too, makes a lot of sense. Nebraska is a natural rival to Missouri and Iowa. Missouri already has a rivalry with Illinois. If an eastern team is added, there's a natural geographic break, that puts ILL, NU, WI, MO, NE, IA and MN in the west. A seven team division would have six divisional games and two or three inter division games. Adding MO would add the St Louis and Kansas City TV markets seems like a lot of pluses.

[Ole]

I can't lie. I think Nebraska is a great fit for the Big Ten. I could be wrong, but I could see a Neb-Iowa turning into an instant rivalry that would make for great entertainment.

Absolutely! A great fit, most natural besides Notre Dame. Plenty of history(not recent), I think most college football fans can recognize the great tradition Nebraska has had over the years.

[GopherGod]

Where did you go to high school and what year did you graduate?

1995 Lincoln Southeast High School

[gopheraschells]

i just am having a hard time not seeing notre dame joining. It makes way more sense for them to join now when they actually are in a position of power and can have some sway on who gets invited rather then have nothing later on. If the big twelve dies i have a hard time seeing the sec not expanding, that would most likely mean raiding the acc. ACC in turn raids big east, killing big east in football and unless ND wants to go to the ACC they are screwed.

[Rosemountian]

Notre Dame's NBC contract ends in 2015
Nebraska plays 2012 as a member of the Big Ten
Big Ten Championship game played at Lucas Oil Field in December of 2012
Notre Dame agrees play 2016 as a member of the Big Ten in December of 2012.
The world ends on December 21st 2012.
2016 1 or 3 of these teams are added: Colorado, Missouri, Rutgers, Maryland, Syracuse, Pitt

[MrGopher]

I can see the BigTen and Notre Dame working out an agreement saying that if they join now, ND can fulfill their agreement with NBC, but cannot renew it once it is up. Nebraska, ND, and one other school start big ten play in 2012.

If there are four years of Notre Dame football on NBC in the Big Ten conference, that would give more national exposure, one more possible media outlet, and less 11am starts for the rest of us... for four years at least.

Then in 2016 we add two more (if necessary) and bring Notre Dame in the Big Ten Network fold with the rest of us. If notre dame is going to give up their football-independence power-trip, they might need to be let down slowly and not all at once.

[Ron Johnson Super Fan]

I think 1 more team is just right. Right now, we do rotate teams out of the schedule, but they come back in 2 years. The more teams we add, the bigger the gaps will be. If we go all out and make a 16-team super-conference, we're going to be very distanced from the other division, it might as well be a second conference.

+1. Still not sure how a 16 team super conference could work for football. You would end up playing just over half of the conference teams each year. The model could work for basketball but I just don't see how it fits for football. The only way to do it that makes any sense would be to treat the two divisions as more or less two seperate but affiliated conferences. Which still doesn't make that much sense.

[AhliBobwa]

This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. If the Big Ten takes Nebraska then the Big 12 is over and the Pac-Ten gets Texas. Ugh.

This hurts the Big Ten immensely. Texas going to the Big Ten will have catastrophic consequences.

ESPN and the rest of the parrots that pass for college football analysts start telling the whole world that the SEC and newly expanded Pac-Ten are the ONLY conferences that matter in College football. Currently, the Big Ten is never worse than the 2nd best conference for depth of competitiveness and top tier teams (and is often the best). The Big Ten is the only conference in America where all 11 teams can beat just about anyone on any given day.

Eventually, the ESPN hype machine will succeed in convincing recruits that there are only 2 conferences that matter and if you want to play Big Time college football you had better join one of them. This literally makes me sick to my stomach.


I´m worried about the Big Ten. As much as I loathe the Golden Domers, it seems like the only way to stop the bleeding is for Notre Dame to join the Big Ten. If that happens the Big Ten won´t feel the need to expand past 12 and the Big 12 will likely stay intact.

Texas is the BIG prize. The Big Ten would be crazy to destroy the Big 12 and hand it to the Pac Ten on a silver platter.

[RedPoo]

This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. If the Big Ten takes Nebraska then the Big 12 is over and the Pac-Ten gets Texas. Ugh.

This hurts the Big Ten immensely. Texas going to the Big Ten will have catastrophic consequences.

ESPN and the rest of the parrots that pass for college football analysts start telling the whole world that the SEC and newly expanded Pac-Ten are the ONLY conferences that matter in College football. Currently, the Big Ten is never worse than the 2nd best conference for depth of competitiveness and top tier teams (and is often the best). The Big Ten is the only conference in America where all 11 teams can beat just about anyone on any given day.

Eventually, the ESPN hype machine will succeed in convincing recruits that there are only 2 conferences that matter and if you want to play Big Time college football you had better join one of them. This literally makes me sick to my stomach.


I´m worried about the Big Ten. As much as I loathe the Golden Domers, it seems like the only way to stop the bleeding is for Notre Dame to join the Big Ten. If that happens the Big Ten won´t feel the need to expand past 12 and the Big 12 will likely stay intact.

Texas is the BIG prize. The Big Ten would be crazy to destroy the Big 12 and hand it to the Pac Ten on a silver platter.

Agreed tenfold. Going to 12 with Nebraska succeeds only in expanding the footprint into a state where no one lives and turning the Big 10 into, at best, the 3rd best conference (by a wide margin) instead of arguably the second-best (though still by a wide margin). Nebraska does virtually nothing for the long-term viability of the conference. Even Rutgers would bring the possibility of convincing Notre Dame to sign up. And without them (or Texas) the external reaction to our expansion hurts us about as much as adding a team would possibly help.

[RedPoo]

Agreed tenfold. Going to 12 with Nebraska succeeds only in expanding the footprint into a state where no one lives and turning the Big 10 into, at best, the 3rd best conference (by a wide margin) instead of arguably the second-best (though still by a wide margin). Nebraska does virtually nothing for the long-term viability of the conference. Even Rutgers would bring the possibility of convincing Notre Dame to sign up. And without them (or Texas) the external reaction to our expansion hurts us about as much as adding a team would possibly help.


..now that I'm thinking about it, is it possible that the Pac 10 + Big 12 talks are a ruse by those two conferences to convince Delaney that expanding (without Notre Dame, at least) will just hurt us in the long run? I've got to assume neither of those two conferences want to see the Big Ten add a team like Nebraska....but could they stand pat if we did?

[GoAUpher]

This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. If the Big Ten takes Nebraska then the Big 12 is over and the Pac-Ten gets Texas. Ugh.

This hurts the Big Ten immensely. Texas going to the Big Ten will have catastrophic consequences.

ESPN and the rest of the parrots that pass for college football analysts start telling the whole world that the SEC and newly expanded Pac-Ten are the ONLY conferences that matter in College football. Currently, the Big Ten is never worse than the 2nd best conference for depth of competitiveness and top tier teams (and is often the best). The Big Ten is the only conference in America where all 11 teams can beat just about anyone on any given day.

Eventually, the ESPN hype machine will succeed in convincing recruits that there are only 2 conferences that matter and if you want to play Big Time college football you had better join one of them. This literally makes me sick to my stomach.


I´m worried about the Big Ten. As much as I loathe the Golden Domers, it seems like the only way to stop the bleeding is for Notre Dame to join the Big Ten. If that happens the Big Ten won´t feel the need to expand past 12 and the Big 12 will likely stay intact.

Texas is the BIG prize. The Big Ten would be crazy to destroy the Big 12 and hand it to the Pac Ten on a silver platter.

Freak out much? ESPN will be the downfall of us all? Sheesh. You've taken a reasonable point (that Texas in a weak Big XII is better for everyone than Texas in a stronger Pac-10) and run off down the road to Crazy Town (sick to your stomach? Really?).

[RedPoo]

Freak out much? ESPN will be the downfall of us all? Sheesh. You've taken a reasonable point (that Texas in a weak Big XII is better for everyone than Texas in a stronger Pac-10) and run off down the road to Crazy Town (sick to your stomach? Really?).

Really. If Oregon could get it's act together, we'd already be considered the 3rd best conference, and largely irrelevant (at least in the short term). Adding Texas, Oklahoma et all to the Pac 10 would make us 3rd at best into the foreseeable future, and an afterthought at the national level most seasons.
Ohio State has been trying to single-handedly keep us relevant these last few years, but it's only getting harder. Unless you see something on the horizon that's going to all the sudden get kids from cali, texas and florida to want to play in the midwest, a weak Pac 10 is our best bet for future strength. Having Texas, USC et all out west, and Florida, Alabama and the crew in the south will basically ensure those two conferences square off against each other most seasons, and it will snowball as the trend becomes more obvious to recruits.

We need Notre Dame.

[Stargenes]

Well, it appears that the first shot has been fired by the Big Ten. Now lets see how the big 12 ducks fall. Nebraska will publicly accept first this week to join the Big Ten and Missouri will not be far behind. Now we know why Texas elicited the demand that Nebraska and Missouri pledge loyalty to the Big 12; Texas new inside information because the Big Ten was courting them as well. Texas can't stand being trumped by anyone especially Nebraska so they are pushing the quit demise of the Big 12 so they can deal with the Pac 10. Notice that all of the reports of what is going to happen eminates from Orangeblood.com and Texas actually call all their coaches together and claimed that they had tried to save the Big 12 but had failed, blaming Nebraska of course. Amazing that they believe that folks will not see how instrumental they were in talks of leaving themselves. All I can say is, ND, you snooze, you loose. Make the move to the Big Ten NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pewterschmidt]

Agreed tenfold. Going to 12 with Nebraska succeeds only in expanding the footprint into a state where no one lives and turning the Big 10 into, at best, the 3rd best conference (by a wide margin) instead of arguably the second-best (though still by a wide margin). Nebraska does virtually nothing for the long-term viability of the conference. Even Rutgers would bring the possibility of convincing Notre Dame to sign up. And without them (or Texas) the external reaction to our expansion hurts us about as much as adding a team would possibly help.

I disagree on a couple of points.

1. Nebraska is a national brand. There are few schools with more fans across the country than Nebraska. The South Benders are obviously the #1 national brand but Nebraska isn't far behind.

2. Nebraska loves the Cornhuskers. There may only be a little more than 2 million in that state but almost every one of them has their eyeballs on the TV during Nebraska games. I'd go as far as to say no school in the country has that big of a monolopy. Saturday afternoons in the fall in Omaha and Lincoln completely revolve around the Huskers.

3. The Huskers have a large alumni base in St Louis and especially KC. Signing up the Huskers gets the BT in those markets in a meaningful way.

4. Any school that's added gets the BT to the magical number of 12, which means millions more for a Conference Champ game.

5. Even if the 5 Texas schools join the PAC-10, the BT will still have a larger percentage of the nation's population in its markets if Mizzou (completely lock down the state of Missouri) an Rutgers (NJ and into NYC) join as well.

math: Cali + Texas + Colorado + Arizona + Oregon + Washington < Nebraska + Minnesota + Wisconsin + Iowa + Illinois + Michigan + Indiana + Ohio + Penn + NJ + Missouri

The point here being is the media won't alienate the conference with the largest footprint in the country. A BT with Nebraska, ND, Rutgers, and Mizzou would absolutely get all of the pub you could ever imagine and screen time is always a good thing.

[Too Long in the Wasteland]

6 months ago if Delany had landed Nebraska it would have been looked at as a coup. Now, with all the hype, gamesmanship, and stakesraising, if he comes away with just NU he looks like a chump. Particularly if TX goes to the Pac10. OTOH, if there's a plan in place to land NU & nd, then then it proves that Delany showed up at a knifefight packing a shotgun. And a rocket launcher. As a opposed to Beebe, the B12 commish, who arrived with a club.

[RedPoo]

I disagree on a couple of points.

1. Nebraska is a national brand. There are few schools with more fans across the country than Nebraska. The South Benders are obviously the #1 national brand but Nebraska isn't far behind.

2. Nebraska loves the Cornhuskers. There may only be a little more than 2 million in that state but almost every one of them has their eyeballs on the TV during Nebraska games. I'd go as far as to say no school in the country has that big of a monolopy. Saturday afternoons in the fall in Omaha and Lincoln completely revolve around the Huskers.

3. The Huskers have a large alumni base in St Louis and especially KC. Signing up the Huskers gets the BT in those markets in a meaningful way.

4. Any school that's added gets the BT to the magical number of 12, which means millions more for a Conference Champ game.

5. Even if the 5 Texas schools join the PAC-10, the BT will still have a larger percentage of the nation's population in its markets if Mizzou (completely lock down the state of Missouri) an Rutgers (NJ and into NYC) join as well.

math: Cali + Texas + Colorado + Arizona + Oregon + Washington < Nebraska + Minnesota + Wisconsin + Iowa + Illinois + Michigan + Indiana + Ohio + Penn + NJ + Missouri

The point here being is the media won't alienate the conference with the largest footprint in the country. A BT with Nebraska, ND, Rutgers, and Mizzou would absolutely get all of the pub you could ever imagine and screen time is always a good thing.


You make some good points with the media and the national footprint.
Unfortunately, to my untrained eye at least, it looks like we'd be picking up all the places without talent. Regardless of Nebraska's alumni base, they don't seem to be able to attract the top-tier recruits. And regardless of how many people live in Big 10 states, the media won't pay attention if none of those people are good football players.

[MrGopher]

Yeah, I really don't know what the freakout is all about.

If the Pac-10 goes big and adds half the big12, you can bet the Big10 has a plan (adding Missouri, Syracuse, Rutgers/Pitt, and therefore Notre Dame) to counter.

On the other hand, if the Pac10 and half the big12 were bluffing in order to keep some semblance of competitiveness with a potentially enormous Big10, then the pac10 will be conservative and add Colorado and BYU. And the weakened Big12 will be forced to replace Nebraska with someone.

Adding Nebraska shows me what I expected all along... that we never were too serious when it came to acquiring Texas. It was always about Notre Dame. Nebraska is a great get, but it was only the first chess move towards the endgame... Notre Dame.

[mkAz]

Seems to me this would be a good time to grab Kansas too. Why does nobody seem to want them? The BT needs 4 more teams to get to 16, how about Missouri, Kansas, Notre Dame & Rutgers? Works for me.

[MrGopher]

Seems to me this would be a good time to grab Kansas too. Why does nobody seem to want them? The BT needs 4 more teams to get to 16, how about Missouri, Kansas, Notre Dame & Rutgers? Works for me.

Kansas is a no go simply because they are inextricably bound to Kansas St. It's too bad. I would have liked kansas to be in the conversation as well.

[Boondoggle]

If Nebraska would join the Big 10, would they then have joined the Big 10 in every sport or just football?

[badgergopher]

I can't lie. I think Nebraska is a great fit for the Big Ten. I could be wrong, but I could see a Neb-Iowa turning into an instant rivalry that would make for great entertainment.

I agree.

Some other things I like.

- four more conf. Games per season
- balanced schedule with at least five games a week during conf play
- nobody idle during rivalry week - today one of UW, IL, or NW is always idle
- everybody gets a bye - today one of UW, IL, or NW don't get a bye
- if alignment is WEST: Gophers, UW, IA, NU, IL, NW, then they will likely match IL with NW, NU with IA, and the Gophers with UW. I think it makes the most sense for the rivalry weekend opponent for the Gophers to be the most played rivalry in all of major college football.

[Great Plains Gopher]

Gopher Ben has it; I'm in Nebraska and multiple sources here say Dr. Tom made the decision and it's a go. Okay by me - we still lead them 29-20 all time.

[Unregistered User]

Gopher Ben has it; I'm in Nebraska and multiple sources here say Dr. Tom made the decision and it's a go. Okay by me - we still lead them 29-20 all time.

And still trail in National Championships.

Welcome to the Big 10* (et. al)

*contingent on a crapload of things.

[EG#9]

I hate the idea of expansion, and really hate the idea of a "super conference". I don't get the appeal of Nebraska at all. It's a tiny state that offers zero in terms of TV and offers zero in terms of recruiting benefits for other schools in the conference. I'd rather have Pitt if we were to add a team.

[hyaluronic]

To me, Nebraska signals a bigger fish will come later, and the deal is all but done. I hope the bigger fish is Texas, and the Big Ten is forcing the collapse of the Big 12, which gives Texas (and perhaps A&M) political cover for joining the conference.

[RodentRampage]

If Nebraska would join the Big 10, would they then have joined the Big 10 in every sport or just football?

All sports. There is no way that the Big Ten would stand for a team picking and choosing which sports they will be a member of the conference for.

[wait!what?]

The value of TCF tickets increases with NE

[MrGopher]

The bigten has made its opening move.

I don't think the bigten will do anything more until someone else (pac10,big12) does something......unless.... Notre Dame decides to sign up. In my opinion, Notre Dame really screwed things up by not being number 12. Now everything might change and force them to become number 14 or even number 16.

For now, you can forget about invitations being handed out to Mizzou, or any eastern teams... but that may happen down the road.

For now all we have to do is watch Nebraska make it official, and wait for others to make their moves.

[RodentRampage]

With the first domino tipped, the rest will fall. The Big 12 now needs to add at least one more team to keep their championship game. They could add a team or teams, or some might bolt. I think we'll see teams move to the Pac-10, and the remnant raid the MWC and the WAC. The Big 12 remnants are still good enough to be the core of a BCS conference, especially with adding teams like Utah or Boise State.

There are an awful lot of dominoes that will be falling.

[Maximus]

I hate the idea of expansion, and really hate the idea of a "super conference". I don't get the appeal of Nebraska at all. It's a tiny state that offers zero in terms of TV and offers zero in terms of recruiting benefits for other schools in the conference. I'd rather have Pitt if we were to add a team.

Not a fan of the super conference either...just because it will inevitably lead to smaller conferences when schools decide they don't want to split revenue 16 ways. But I like the Nebraska move.

They're still a national brand in football and creates very appealing matchups with other Big Ten schools. One of the most rabid alumni bases in the country. For example, a Twin Cities radio station carried their games for the longest time because alumni in the area helped pay for it...I think it ended just a couple of years ago (probably because of the ability to now find all the games on TV).

No doubt on the recruiting....unless they get back to an elite level and recruits want to be on a team that plays Michigan, Nebraska, OSU, etc.

[vinko bogataj]

I hate the idea of expansion, and really hate the idea of a "super conference". I don't get the appeal of Nebraska at all. It's a tiny state that offers zero in terms of TV and offers zero in terms of recruiting benefits for other schools in the conference. I'd rather have Pitt if we were to add a team.

This. I would rather hold out for a better fit as well, particularily on the academic side. While other conferences like the ACC and Pac10 have fantastic schools at the top, they don't match up top to bottom with the BigTen schools academically. Nebraska brings NOTHING to the table other than its football team. I am as big a college football fan as anyone, but this is not a wise move by the BigTen IMO. If we have to add a team, I would prefer one with some sort of academic credentials/history. Bring in Nebraska and we now have our own Washington State, Okie State, NC State or (name any SEC school other than Vandy, Florida or Georgia here). Throw away football and a few excellent non-revenue programs and Nebraska = NDSU. Is that really who we want to be aligning ourselves with?

[monk10]

I still believe that the Nebraska offer was merely to crumble the Big 12. You can't get Texas if their league that they run is still operational. Its a huge risk because of how the Pac10 is operating.

[howeda7]

I'm fine with this if it's part of a move to 16, but I don't see why you add Nebraska and stop given what the Pac 10is doing. I almost guarantee the SEC is going to follow suit. At worst, grab Syracuse and Pitt to get to 14 and see if you can get ND to blink.

[DarrenTheGreek]

This was a brilliant move by Delany to call the bluff of Texas and the Pac10. Do you really think Texas is going to join a conference that is headquartered in California and most of its members play in 2 timezones behind them? They don't want their basketball team tipping off at 9:30pm local time. Plus as others have noted, the Pac10's rules about unanimous consent makes any votes for expansion very difficult. Here's what's going to happen:
1) Nebraska joins the Big Ten
2) Everyone will talk about how the remaining 6 from the Big12 will bolt to the Pac10 but for the reasons I cited above it will not happen.
3) 2-3 weeks from now TCU will be introduced as the newest member of the Big12. OU will be moved to the North division for competitive purposes and the conference will switch it's rules to allow them to continue playing oSu each year. The Big12 will hate to break up the OU/Texas rivalry but it will have no choice and they have done it before when they split Nebraska/OU. Ironically, if they would have just allowed Nebraska/OU to play eachother every year the Huskers probably never would have left in the first place.
4) The college football world will remain at peace for at least 2-3 more years...right around the time that NBC contract expires for the Irish.

[monk10]

That is the next conference the Big Ten was trying to scare into crumbling by offering a Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers etc scenario. Trying to force ND's AD's hand on what it is going to do with its other sports. The timing of the Big 12 was moved up b/c of the ultimatum on Nebraska. I think they are slow playing the Big East scenario still.

[howeda7]

That is the next conference the Big Ten was trying to scare into crumbling by offering a Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers etc scenario. Trying to force ND's AD's hand on what it is going to do with its other sports. The timing of the Big 12 was moved up b/c of the ultimatum on Nebraska. I think they are slow playing the Big East scenario still.

The problem is it's hard to get ND to blink by raiding the Big East. They can lose 4 schools and still be totally fine for the non-football sports. And ND doesn't care if the football conference crumbles.

[monk10]

If that scenario was thought out by the Pac10 officials it might be why they are offering colorado now. To keep the pressure on the crumbling Big12. If there is still hope out yet I think the Big Ten might pursue Missouri again. I think that is why they are slow playing their big east side. I think they have to figure out how many slots they need to fill up to get their two prizes ND and Texas.

[GophersInIowa]

I hate the idea of expansion, and really hate the idea of a "super conference". I don't get the appeal of Nebraska at all. It's a tiny state that offers zero in terms of TV and offers zero in terms of recruiting benefits for other schools in the conference. I'd rather have Pitt if we were to add a team.

I agree about hating a super conference. I hope it just stays at 12 but that probably won't happen.

Disagree with your point about Nebraska. Yes the state is small but they have a huge following. Pretty much everyone who follows college football to any degree is a Cornhuskers fan.

I don't understand your point about "recruiting benefits". The recruiting side doesn't really change at all.

[monk10]

The problem is it's hard to get ND to blink by raiding the Big East. They can lose 4 schools and still be totally fine for the non-football sports. And ND doesn't care if the football conference crumbles.

I think that is why the Big Ten had a long time table. They wanted the fear of it crumbling to build, instead of having to call the bluff. I think most people still believe that SEC will expand if the Big 10 goes to more then 12. I think the threat of the SEC taking Big East schools would be included. The advantage ND has is that they will probably get an invite from anyone left standing.

[DarrenTheGreek]

This was a brilliant move by Delany to call the bluff of Texas and the Pac10. Do you really think Texas is going to join a conference that is headquartered in California and most of its members play in 2 timezones behind them? They don't want their basketball team tipping off at 9:30pm local time. Plus as others have noted, the Pac10's rules about unanimous consent makes any votes for expansion very difficult. Here's what's going to happen:
1) Nebraska joins the Big Ten
2) Everyone will talk about how the remaining 6 from the Big12 will bolt to the Pac10 but for the reasons I cited above it will not happen.
3) 2-3 weeks from now TCU will be introduced as the newest member of the Big12. OU will be moved to the North division for competitive purposes and the conference will switch it's rules to allow them to continue playing oSu each year. The Big12 will hate to break up the OU/Texas rivalry but it will have no choice and they have done it before when they split Nebraska/OU. Ironically, if they would have just allowed Nebraska/OU to play eachother every year the Huskers probably never would have left in the first place.
4) The college football world will remain at peace for at least 2-3 more years...right around the time that NBC contract expires for the Irish.

Well I see that Colorado is now set to join the Pac10 on Friday so forget anything I said. LOL

[howeda7]

This was a brilliant move by Delany to call the bluff of Texas and the Pac10. Do you really think Texas is going to join a conference that is headquartered in California and most of its members play in 2 timezones behind them? They don't want their basketball team tipping off at 9:30pm local time. Plus as others have noted, the Pac10's rules about unanimous consent makes any votes for expansion very difficult. Here's what's going to happen:
1) Nebraska joins the Big Ten
2) Everyone will talk about how the remaining 6 from the Big12 will bolt to the Pac10 but for the reasons I cited above it will not happen.
3) 2-3 weeks from now TCU will be introduced as the newest member of the Big12. OU will be moved to the North division for competitive purposes and the conference will switch it's rules to allow them to continue playing oSu each year. The Big12 will hate to break up the OU/Texas rivalry but it will have no choice and they have done it before when they split Nebraska/OU. Ironically, if they would have just allowed Nebraska/OU to play eachother every year the Huskers probably never would have left in the first place.
4) The college football world will remain at peace for at least 2-3 more years...right around the time that NBC contract expires for the Irish.

This is possible, but I don't think Texas to the PAC 10 is that far-fetched. They'd still be a division with 5 former Big 12 teams. Chances are, 10 of thier 18 basketball games and 5 of thier 9 football games will be agaist those teams. The issue of playing games in the Pacific time-zone would be limited to 2 road football games and 4 road basketball games. It would be minimized.

[dpodoll68]

This was a brilliant move by Delany to call the bluff of Texas and the Pac10. Do you really think Texas is going to join a conference that is headquartered in California and most of its members play in 2 timezones behind them? They don't want their basketball team tipping off at 9:30pm local time. Plus as others have noted, the Pac10's rules about unanimous consent makes any votes for expansion very difficult. Here's what's going to happen:
1) Nebraska joins the Big Ten
2) Everyone will talk about how the remaining 6 from the Big12 will bolt to the Pac10 but for the reasons I cited above it will not happen.
3) 2-3 weeks from now TCU will be introduced as the newest member of the Big12. OU will be moved to the North division for competitive purposes and the conference will switch it's rules to allow them to continue playing oSu each year. The Big12 will hate to break up the OU/Texas rivalry but it will have no choice and they have done it before when they split Nebraska/OU. Ironically, if they would have just allowed Nebraska/OU to play eachother every year the Huskers probably never would have left in the first place.
4) The college football world will remain at peace for at least 2-3 more years...right around the time that NBC contract expires for the Irish.

Colorado is set to announce that it's joining the Pac 10. So who else does the Big 12 add to stay intact in your scenario? Rice? SMU? Houston?

EDIT: Posted while Darren was posting his follow-up.

[RodentRampage]

If that scenario was thought out by the Pac10 officials it might be why they are offering colorado now. To keep the pressure on the crumbling Big12. If there is still hope out yet I think the Big Ten might pursue Missouri again. I think that is why they are slow playing their big east side. I think they have to figure out how many slots they need to fill up to get their two prizes ND and Texas.

That's possible, and from Colorado's perspective, the faster they jump off this sinking ship, the better off they will be. If they hung around and waited to see if the Big 12 survived, they might wind up in the WAC.

The Big 12 could save itself right now by making offers to Utah and Boise State, if they really wanted to.

[MrGopher]

The problem is it's hard to get ND to blink by raiding the Big East. They can lose 4 schools and still be totally fine for the non-football sports. And ND doesn't care if the football conference crumbles.

If the Big East football conference crumbles, Notre Dame still would be forced to join the big ten. Here's how.

Say we take Syracuse and Rutgers. Big East football is no more. Those other football schools will be joining ACC, maybe SEC, maybe C-USA. And they bring basketball and their other sports with them. Big East hoops is pretty weak after losing Conn, Syr, Rut, Pitt, WV, Cin, Lou, and USF. All of a sudden the Big East is quite slim across the board. Notre Dame will bail if that happens.

[howeda7]

I think that is why the Big Ten had a long time table. They wanted the fear of it crumbling to build, instead of having to call the bluff. I think most people still believe that SEC will expand if the Big 10 goes to more then 12. I think the threat of the SEC taking Big East schools would be included. The advantage ND has is that they will probably get an invite from anyone left standing.

I think the threat to ND is less Big East specific and more about the possiblity of 4 major 'Super-Conferences' all playing 9 conference games leaving them no one to play in football. They hardly want to be left with a schedule where UConn and Michigan State are the only ones still willing make room on thier NC schedule and the rest is Service Academies and UCF.

[howeda7]

If the Big East football conference crumbles, Notre Dame still would be forced to join the big ten. Here's how.

Say we take Syracuse and Rutgers. Big East football is no more. Those other football schools will be joining ACC, maybe SEC, maybe C-USA. And they bring basketball and their other sports with them. All of a sudden the Big East is quite slim across the board. Notre Dame will bail if that happens.

Maybe. But a basketball conference of Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Villanova, ND, St. John's, Seton Hall and DePaul is not horrible and could probably pick off some teams like Memphis to get back to 12. I don't know how it would be for the other sports though.

[DarrenTheGreek]

The prize for the Big Ten is still Notre Dame. As they have shown, ND will go kicking and screaming. In order for the Big Ten to "convince" ND to join it will have to:
1) Kill the Big East
2) Kill the BCS

By picking off the Big12 bit by bit and forcing that conference to collapse, the Big Ten can then turn its sights on the Big East. If the BCS folds then the conferences can re-write an agreement that makes it difficult/impossible for ND to participate. Check-mate.

[RodentRampage]

It now occurred to me that one motive to have superconferences is that in the days of conference championship games, a conference with only 12 teams is highly vulnerable, dropping to 11 forces a conference to add teams, forgo a conference championship game or disband. If a conference has more than 12 teams, it can afford to lose some teams. I suppose the reason that I didn't give it much thought before was that the Big Ten doesn't have a championship game, so such pressures don't exist (yet).