Commissioner Jim Delany wants the Big Ten Conference to once again consider adding a 12th member.

In an interview with The Des Moines Register on Wednesday, Delany said he believes the conference needs to examine expansion within the next year, at least in part because such a move would boost the Big Ten Network, the league's fledgling television arm.

Rutgers and Syracuse were both identified in the story as potential additions, either of which would expand the Big Ten's reach in the lucrative Northeast media market.

"The broader (the network) is distributed, the more value (expansion) has,'' Delany told the paper. "We have eight states. With expansion, you could have nine.

"With the network, there's a different element. It changes the dynamics.''

Delany was noncommittal about whether such an expansion would lead to splitting the Big Ten into two divisions and playing a league championship game, but Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman said a title game would have tremendous television appeal.

"Any television executive would do whatever they could to be able to air a game like the Big Ten championship,'' Silverman told the paper. "It would be worth a considerable amount of money.''

The Big Ten has considered expansion many times since 1993, when the addition of Penn State brought the league to 11 members and forced each league team to leave two other conference members off the football schedule annually.

The league came closest in 1998, inviting Notre Dame, which turned down the offer in February 1999 to remain in the Big East Conference in all sports but football, in which it's an independent.

Delany presented Big Ten athletic directors and coaches with a history of conference expansion discussions and analysis of potential members in May of 2003, when the Atlantic Coast Conference raided the Big East for Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College.

No action was taken - despite support for a 12th team from most of the league's football coaches - and the subject has not appeared to be considered since.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has said he views the eventual addition of a 12th team and a conference title game as inevitable, while Penn State's Joe Paterno has lobbied for an Eastern partner for his school.

Michigan athletic director Bill Martin expected expansion talks would begin in Chicago on Tuesday during meetings between the league's athletic directors and Delany.

Martin admitted expansion would help solve some Big Ten football scheduling problems and the Big Ten Network, but is opposed to a postgame league title game.

"I would ask the question why?'' Martin said Friday morning. "I want to know what the compelling case is. I have an open mind, but in my mind, it has to be a compelling case. The conference is very, very strong at this time,

" I will tell you some of the issues that concern me - I don't want anything to destroy some of the traditions our conference has, and Michigan in particular has. I don't ever want to end the season with a game other than Ohio State. I think it's important we always play Michigan State. I don't want to see any of those elements change.''


http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/annarbornews/football/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1185536411302400.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

And then he quickly backpeddles (sp?):


There won't be a 12th school added to the Big Ten Conference any time soon, if ever.

League commissioner Jim Delany made that clear Monday night at The Big Ten Network's new studios in Chicago, chuckling over the reaction to his recent expansion-related comments in the Des Moines Register, which he said were much more limited in their original context.

Delany, speaking after a tour of the studios, said he told The Register the conference would re-examine expansion, at least in part because such a move would boost the Big Ten Network, the league's fledgling television arm.

"But I went on to say that we totally have our plates full with regard to building this network, number one,'' Delany said Monday. "Number two, we take a generic look at expansion every three to five years.

"We have no plans to make contact with any other institution. I think a lot has been made of a pretty direct answer to a pretty direct question, and then - around the quotes - they inserted the names of other universities that I never mentioned. So, I guess it was a fun article, but I'll put it into perspective tomorrow.''

Delany said the conference hasn't seriously examined expansion since 1999, when Notre Dame turned down an invitation to join the conference, choosing instead to remain in the Big East in all sports but football, in which the Irish are an independent.

He expected the topic would be discussed at today's meeting with the league's football coaches and athletic directors, mostly - he admitted - because they'd have questions about his comments in Iowa.

It's probably about time to have another, more substantive, examination of expansion, Delany said, but the issue will not be a top priority for the conference.

"Every now and then, you take a look at it,'' the commissioner said. "I just think it's probably time in the next year or two, but I have a really good sensitivity to the gestation period of any particular issue.

"You never overburden any system, and this system would be overburdened if we moved quickly to expansion in an environment where we're trying to build a television network. (The Big Ten Network) is our first priority.''

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/annarbornews/football/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1185876611139630.xml&coll=2

That's too bad. I think a school like Syracuse would be a nice addition.

Personally, however, I always thought Pitt would be a better addition. I used to like Louisville as a possibility, but there isnt' nearly as much revenue to be generated from the Bluegrass State as there is from Pennsylvania or New York.

The beauty of Syracuse is it adds another state that hasn't been tapped and it's a program that is capable of being good in both football and basketball, adding to the conference there. Sure, their football team hasn't been great in a while but when you talk about playing in the Big Ten and boast alumni like Donovan McNabb and Marvin Harrison, you should be able to get things turned around. Playing in the Big East usually isn't nearly as compelling.

I've always thought Pitt would be a great addition as well. Not a huge powerhouse, but respectable enough to move the SOS up a couple of notches. They'd probably be consistantly the 5th team in the league, and no lower than 6th or 7th on a down year.

I've liked Pitt because they've seen their fair share of time in the top 25 in both major sports. Plus, it makes a ton of sense regionally. It's closer than State College and it's a school that already has a bit of a relationship with some Big Ten teams, including Penn State and MSU.

The drawback, from the angle Delaney first mentioned, is that it's already in a Big Ten-type area regionally. That area makes sense for Big Ten coverage. Syracuse, on the other hand, is close enough but it brings a whole new market and expands the regional Big Ten coverage, even though it's potnetially even closer to Penn State.

We have enough powers in both sports. I don't want the Cuse because of basketball and Pitt has been a Top 10 team for years in bball as well. I'd like Rutgers. Bring in the NY market and bring in two programs that aren't complete jokes, yet beatable. In bball, we've got MSU, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin for powers- 4 is plenty. In fball, we've got Michigan, OSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn St.-5 is more than plenty.

I don't like that approach. When the ACC was adding teams, it went after Miami and Virginia Tech, which at the time killed the Big East for football and made the ACC one of the top conferences.

We need to add pieces that will make us rival the ACC in hoops and the SEC in football. At least, that's how I feel about it. It may make conference championships a bit tougher to win, but it makes it that much better when we do. In hoops it will help the RPI. In football, as long as a playoff is on the horizon, it will help as well.

We have enough powers in both sports. I don't want the Cuse because of basketball and Pitt has been a Top 10 team for years in bball as well. I'd like Rutgers. Bring in the NY market and bring in two programs that aren't complete jokes, yet beatable. In bball, we've got MSU, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin for powers- 4 is plenty. In fball, we've got Michigan, OSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn St.-5 is more than plenty.

Not trying to start another tussle, but what kind of chicken shit approach is that?

If they add another school, add the most powerful school possible.

Make the league as strong as possible, don't run from better competition.

Raise the level of play/prominence.

I agree. Do like you did with Penn State and bring in a good program. If you can snag Pitt, all the more better.

We have enough powers in both sports. I don't want the Cuse because of basketball and Pitt has been a Top 10 team for years in bball as well. I'd like Rutgers. Bring in the NY market and bring in two programs that aren't complete jokes, yet beatable. In bball, we've got MSU, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin for powers- 4 is plenty. In fball, we've got Michigan, OSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn St.-5 is more than plenty.

I think adding power would be great for the conference. I know we all look out for #1, but we don't want a bunch of chodes in the B10. Syracuse would be tiiiiiight. Don't be scurred!

The Big 10 was caught with their pants down after adding Penn State. They thought Notre Dame would join up, with two divisions featuring UM and OSU in one, and PSU and Notre Dame in the other. They've held their breath waiting for ND for nearly fifteen years, and all Notre Dame is doing is using the Big 10 for leverage.
Now that Notre Dame is NOT going to EVER join the Big 10, they don't know what to do, as adding a Pit, or a Syracuse, Rutgers, or Missouri solves no problems, and would only take away from the UM-OSU rivalry, like what happened in the Big 12 with Nebraska-Oklahoma.
At this point, the ONLY school that makes sense is Nebraska. Nebraska HATES the Big 12, HATES the Texas stronghold on that conference, and Nebraska would give Penn St a rival in a separate division opposite UM and OSU.
Rutgers might be nice, Pitt might keep PSU happy, but Missouri is just plain DUMB. Bring in a big name like Nebraska, a school with tradition that has been killed by the Big 12, and stop pretending that you don't wish Notre Dame would change their mind.

So would we ever change the name of the conference? The Big Ten sounds kindof stupid when you don't have 10 teams (which it's been that way for a long time).

I like "The Big Uglies"

I just like to call the Big 10 "boring"

Add two teams and make it "The Big Baker's Dozen"

I wouldn't be surprised if it changed to something hokey like Big North.

NMWBSEC

Northern Mid-Western But Slightly Eastern Conference

The Big Tenuous

Fuck guys there is only one big.

The Big Lebowski.

Jesus gets your shit straight.

The Big Tenuous

I lol'd

The Big Tenuous

WINNER!
Post of the day: 312 points.

The Big Tenuous

Wizzle finally gave in. If you can't get them to stop, join them.

I think that was you hoping for an end to the tenuous thing.

A 12th team?

How about Appalachian State?

NO POWERHOUSES GLENN!

GOD DAMNIT JICKBOY, WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MATTER? MICHIGAN LOST TO A 1AA TEAM DAMNIT.