If The Big Ten Comes Calling Pitt Should Listen

Barry Alvarez's comments about Big Ten expansion ignited speculation among some midwestern writers along with producing anxiety in the Big East and Big 12 conferences.  Following up on Joe Paterno's comments last spring, Alvarez spoke with authority. It is not a matter of if; it's a matter of when.  The usual list of prospective schools has been bandied about in the papers and on the web, but two in particular seem to be the most likely additions.

A favorite to satisfy the league's western balance is Missouri.  The Tigers, not unlike other Big 12 North schools, are reeling from the meddlesome, excessive influence of UT Austin in all Big 12 matters. The Tigers' rivalry with Illinois is the hook.  The heat from that one is hot enough, some conjecture, to bring the Tigers into the Big Ten fold.

The other candidate is Pitt. The Pitt addition seems to be gaining interest since the Panthers' academic reputation is top notch.  Pitt is already an AAU institution and its highly acclaimed graduate programs rival the top academic institutions in the Big Ten.

If Pitt were to actively pursue Big Ten membership, the effort would not be the first in Panther history. Way back in the late 1940s when the Big Ten was actively seeking to replace the University of Chicago's football team, Pitt scheduled three or four Big Ten opponents a season hoping to convince the league of its sincereity.

Michigan pulled the ace card and supported Michigan State.  The Panthers lost out and spent the next 42 years as an Eastern independent, joining the Big East Football Conference about the time Penn State was invited to be the Big Ten's eleventh team.

Pitt and the Big East have enjoyed a great relationship. During the ACC's pillage of 2003-04, Pitt along with West Virginia and Connecticut led the charge to keep the football league together.  Pitt achieved its greatest success in basketball as a Big East member as evidenced by last year's #1 national ranking and #1 seed in the NCAA regional. 

Why then should anyone be advocating the Panthers take a serious look at the Big Ten?  The Big Ten has some obvious advantages over the Big East:

*Football payout exceeds the Big East's

*More attractive bowl tie ins

*Home sellouts with Big Ten rivals 

*Conference stability with full participation of all members in football and basketball

*Basketball competition equal to or better than the Big East

*Scheduling options will keep West Virginia & Notre Dame on Panthers' schedule

*Renewal of rivalry with Penn State in all sports

In his comments to alumni groups, Joe Paterno mentioned Pitt as one of the teams the Big Ten should consider. Paterno, who refuses to play Pitt in football and is slowly pulling all of the Nittany Lion teams away from the Panthers, might be up to something here. It was his desire to form an Eastern all sports league back in the 1980s which accounts for his bitterness today. When his dream fell short and the Big East rejected Penn State, he stopped playing the Panthers. Maybe his support for Pitt's addition is his way of reuniting the old rivals but on his terms. 

Despite the bad-mouthing you hear from Pitt fans whenever Joe's name is mentioned and despite the hiatus in the rivalry, the Pitt-Penn State rivalry engenders more emotion from Panther fans than the West Virginia rivalry ever did or ever will.