Big Ten Expansion: Conference Can't Afford To Make Same Mistakes as the Big XII

Right now, the college football world knows one thing: Colorado has left the Big 12 and will be headed to the PAC-10.

On top of that there are enough rumors to fill the Grand Canyon. However, the biggest smoke alarms seem to be coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska, where all indications are that the Cornhuskers will leave the Big 12 and join the Big Ten.

If the Nebraska rumor comes to pass, it is probably a fair—though not definite—bet to say that the dissolution of the Big 12 is immanent. Furthermore, the dissolution of the Big 12 will cause the college football landscape as we've known it since 1998 when the BCS began to become drastically altered.

One of the possible scenarios in that alteration is the ascendancy of four superconferences made up of 16 teams each. This would include an expanded PAC-10, Big Ten, SEC, and presumably ACC.

If the conferences do decide to go in this direction, it is possible that they would then split the 16 teams up into 4-team sub-divisions within each larger division.

In this scenario, as far as the Big Ten is concerned, there are two absolute necessities where it concerns football.

The first necessity is that the annual Ohio State-Michigan game that takes place at the end of the Big Ten season remains 100% intact. 

One of the biggest mistakes that the Big 12 made was breaking up the former Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry game. That move was not only an offense to college football, but it did nothing to bolster Nebraska's love for the Big 12.

Jim Delaney , among others, will make sure the Buckeyes continue to play the Wolverines at the end of the season.

The second necessity is that the four subdivisions are equally matched. Specifically, each of the subdivisions needs exactly one highly prestigious blue chip team as that particular subdivision's anchor team.

To not do so would again follow the mistake of the Big 12, which had a severely lopsided divisional split.

In the 14 years of the Big 12 championship game, the representative from the Big 12 South has won 10 times . Furthermore, the South team has won seven of the last eight times.

This is something the Big Ten, in a 16-team scenario, desperately wants to avoid. Therefore, it needs to look for parity.

The Big Ten currently boasts of three teams that can legitimately be called "highly prestigious": Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.

Yes, right now Iowa is very good and lately, Wisconsin has been better than Michigan, but it takes years of consistent winning—as well as certain inherent recruiting advantages—to fairly call a team "highly prestigious."

Moreover, due to a lack of the aforementioned recruiting advantages, I would go so far as to say despite 30 years of great football from 1960-1999—including five national championships—Nebraska no longer falls under the "highly prestigious" category.

In effect, in order to have a 16-team superconference with four 4-team subdivisions, the Big Ten needs four legitimate, highly prestigious, blue chip teams.

As previously mentioned, they've got three.

As for the fourth, the only three "highly prestigious" teams that could be potentially involved in the conference expansion are Notre Dame, Texas, and Oklahoma.

There has been nothing coming out of Norman indicating Oklahoma will be joining the Big Ten, and most indications are that Texas is probably heading to the PAC-10 .

That leaves Notre Dame, who in many ways—though not all —are a perfect fit for the Big Ten.

Despite the relative lack of consistent success of the last few seasons, and arguably the last 15 years, Notre Dame is still a highly prestigious superpower within the world of college football, on a level with OSU, Michigan, and Penn State.

If the Irish—or Texas—were to join the Big Ten, this would give the conference four superpowers, which would allow them to balance their subdivisions, giving them an anchor team for each subdivision.

Otherwise, they'll be looking at one division in which, in all probability, there is one team that consistently dominates, and another division where two teams consistently vie for a chance to play in the championship game.

Yes, the weak division might be relatively equal and fun to watch, but in the end, they would always be thought of as the red-headed stepchild of the conference.

Much like the Big XII North.