Big Ten Expansion: Boon or Boondoggle?

There's been much debate regarding how the Big Ten can improve to remain among the BCS elite, having been overshadowed (and in some cases, downright humiliated) by bigger and better conferences the past few seasons, such as the SEC and Pac-10.

The obvious choice would be to bring in a twelfth school, one that has the academic prestige of the other Big Ten schools such as Northwestern and Michigan (keep in mind that the Big Ten was originally formed as an alliance of academic institutions, not as a sports conference). 

While there are still many who oppose the idea of a twelfth school and a possible conference championship, it seems to me that stretching out the season into early or mid December would help the conference remain competitive with other conferences in the long run.

In that regard, Notre Dame always seemed like a perfect fit.  It has all the qualifications.  Academically, it's one of the most-respected colleges in the nation, and the Fighting Irish are practically synonymous with college football and South Bend is in the heart of the Heartland. 

The Big Ten tried courting Notre Dame in 1999, but were shot down.  However, with the exception of football, Notre Dame participates in the Big East in every other sport.

Trouble is, Notre Dame has a lucrative TV contract with NBC, and they’d be fools to give that up and risk losing the national exposure.  Then again, if Notre Dame continues to have sub-par seasons like 2007, NBC will more than likely dump them in a heartbeat. 

Fellow columnist Adam Helfgott made an even more interesting proposal in suggesting that the Big Ten bring in Rutgers as the twelfth team (you can read his article here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29958-The-Big-Ten-and-Rutgers-A-Perfect-Match-160608).

That’s partially what inspired this column, as the Big Ten expansion is something I’ve been thinking about over the last two seasons and since I love to theorize about what’s good for the Big Ten despite not having lived in the Midwest for over a decade. 

I applaud Adam’s analysis (Rutgers definitely has the academic prestige to become a part of the Big Ten), but my only qualms with the possibility of Rutgers would be that:

1. The Big Ten is primarily a Midwestern conference, and I don’t know how open conference officials would be to bringing in a team from New Jersey.  Then again, Penn State’s been with the conference since 1994, and whether or not Pennsylvania (or at least, State College) is Midwestern is debatable.
2. I have to be honest: I’m sure Rutgers has some fine football traditions, but outside of a freak run at the Big East title in 2006 and another run at greatness in 2007, how much success has the team seen in the last few decades? 

That doesn’t mean I disrespect Rutgers as a current football powerhouse.  The Scarlet Knights of the past few seasons have proven to almost everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with. 

Also, consider that the Big Ten currently has Northwestern, which last saw success on the gridiron in the mid-to-late 1990s.  Hell, Michigan State’s been in a rebuilding mode since forever (so it seems) and Wisconsin football was hardly ever relevant until Barry Alvarez was hired as head coach. 

Another possibility is Pitt, which is closer to the Midwest boundary (in this case, the Ohio-Pennsylvania border) than State College, but Pitt already has an established rivalry with West Virginia in the Big East.

Regardless of whom the Big Ten selects as a twelfth team (if it ever happens), several questions remain:

1. Would the Big Ten restore some of the respect it’s lost the past few years to the Sunbelt conferences? 
2. Would they prove themselves to be a tougher conference if in fact they expanded and added a conference championship?

Much of the criticism of the Big Ten in its current form is due to the fact that the seasons ends two weeks earlier than most other conferences, leaving bowl-bound teams from the conference unprepared to take on teams in late December or January that had been playing well into mid-December. 

One of the best examples was the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes, which had a 51-day lull in between its final game of the season against Michigan and the disastrous BCS National Championship Game against the Florida Gators.  Some believe that if the Buckeyes hadn’t had 51 days off between games, they would’ve been better prepared to play the Gators. 

Another factor is where the conference championship would be played, and whether it should be in an indoor or outdoor facility, preferably one suited for the NFL as most other conference championships are played in NFL stadiums and take away the possibility of any home-field advantages (were the championship held in a Big Ten stadium). 

Indoor facilities include Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Detroit.  Outdoor facilities include Green Bay, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.  For the sake of neutrality, Minneapolis would be left off the list of potential sites until the Golden Gophers move out of the Metrodome and into their new facility.

If the Big Ten added a twelfth team and extended its schedule into mid December, how in the world would the conference be divided?  There are several different scenarios, based on who and where the twelfth team came from.  Since I’ve already used Notre Dame and Rutgers as examples of possible expansion teams, I’ll set up conference divisions using those two schools, starting with Notre Dame. 

Considering where the schools are in proximity to one another, it seems that dividing the conference up between East and West divisions would potentially be easier than North and South divisions, but these are just hypotheses to consider for right now:

Big Ten North:                                                             

Michigan                                                                     

Notre Dame                                                                

Minnesota                                                                   

Wisconsin                                                                    

Northwestern                                                              

Michigan State                                                             

Big Ten South:

Ohio State

Indiana

Iowa

Illinois

Penn State

Purdue

While it is arguable that Iowa is a “southern” Big Ten school, the balance of power is fairly even, with the North’s strongest teams being Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and the South’s strongest being Ohio State and Penn State and Illinois.

Big Ten East:                                                               

Michigan                                                                      

Penn State                                                                   

Ohio State                                                                   

Michigan State                                                             

Notre Dame                                                                

Purdue or Indiana                                                         

Big Ten West:

Iowa

Minnesota

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Purdue or Indiana

The problem with the East/West split is the balance of power.  The best teams in the conference are in the East, with relatively few powerhouses in the West with the exception of Wisconsin and Illinois.

Adding Rutgers, the conference divisions could look something like this:

Big Ten North:                                                             

Rutgers                                                                        

Michigan                                                                      

Minnesota                                                                    

Wisconsin                                                                    

Northwestern                                                               

Michigan State                                                             

Big Ten South:

Ohio State

Indiana

Iowa

Illinois

Penn State

Purdue

It’s debatable whether Rutgers is really a “northern” school or that Penn State is a “southern school.”  The balance of power is still fairly even with Rutgers, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the North and Ohio State, Penn State, and Illinois in the South.

Big Ten East:                                                               

Michigan                                                                      

Penn State                                                                   

Ohio State                                                                   

Michigan State                                                             

Rutgers                                                                       

Purdue or Indiana                                                         

Big Ten West:

Iowa

Minnesota

Northwestern

Illinois

Wisconsin

Purdue or Indiana

Again, the balance of power is skewed toward the East, with only a few powerhouse teams in the West.

Of course, whether or not the Big Ten adds another school and whether or not they divide the conference is pure speculation at this point, but it’s interesting to consider what would happen if and how the conference would change if a twelfth school was added to their ranks.

If it happened, some of the Big Ten schools might finally be able to beat those pesky SEC and Pac-10 teams instead of getting slaughtered in bowl games, as has been the case the last few seasons.