http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4735336
Updated: December 11, 2009, 9:00 PM ET
Alvarez: Big Ten to push for 12th teamComment Email Print Share By Adam Rittenberg
ESPN.com
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Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez says the Big Ten will soon make a more aggressive push toward adding a 12th member.
Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion.
"I have a sense he is going to take this year to really be more aggressive about it," Alvarez told the board. "I just think everybody feels [expansion] is the direction to go, coaches and administrators."
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has been the most vocal advocate of a 12th Big Ten team, and he has support from several of his fellow coaches.
A 12th team would allow the Big Ten to split into divisions and hold a conference championship game. The Big Ten typically ends its football season two weeks before the other BCS conferences, though the addition of a permanent bye week in 2010 will shrink the gap by a week.
"We're irrelevant for the last three weeks of the football season because we're not playing," Alvarez said Friday.
Paterno has stumped for expansion several times, but Delany -- who was unavailable for comment -- told ESPN.com this spring that the league has no immediate plans to add a 12th team.
"There's not an obvious move," Delany said in May. "There might be to some coaches, including Coach Paterno, but it's not as obvious to the university presidents and to the athletic directors.
"There are a lot [of schools] that could take a lot away, but there aren't a lot that could bring so much to make the choice an easy one. You have to have a lot to make something go like this, and it's broader than really a championship game or a basketball tournament."
The Big Ten most recently expanded with Penn State, which began competing as a league member in football in 1993. The league has made runs at Notre Dame but hasn't had serious discussions for several years.
Adam Rittenberg covers Big Ten football for ESPN.com. He can be reached at espnritt@gmail.com
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"Big 10" to go to the "Big 12"??
Started by slice slice baby, Dec 13 2009 02:40 AM
13 replies to this topic
#1
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Posted 13 December 2009 - 02:40 AM
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#2
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Posted 13 December 2009 - 09:17 AM
I would hate to see what the divisions might look like for a 12 team Big Ten:
East: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana
West: Iowa, Wisconsion, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois, BLANK
Talk about a grinder in the East. If the new team were to come from a more eastwardly direction, Purdue would probably get shifted to the West, but I cannot see who would be brought in from the Eastern area. Pitt? Cincinnati? It would almost have to be Notre Dame, but they probably are going to be steadfast in avoiding a conference so that they can continue to dominate patsies. However, with Brian Kelly at the helm now, he may want a yearly chance to play Ohio State, so who knows.
East: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana
West: Iowa, Wisconsion, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois, BLANK
Talk about a grinder in the East. If the new team were to come from a more eastwardly direction, Purdue would probably get shifted to the West, but I cannot see who would be brought in from the Eastern area. Pitt? Cincinnati? It would almost have to be Notre Dame, but they probably are going to be steadfast in avoiding a conference so that they can continue to dominate patsies. However, with Brian Kelly at the helm now, he may want a yearly chance to play Ohio State, so who knows.
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#3
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Posted 13 December 2009 - 11:46 PM
I think the addition of ND, Pitt, or Cincy would be a good idea.
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#4
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Posted 14 December 2009 - 01:41 AM
How about no divisions? Who ever is one and two in the standings at the end are in the championship game. That way you have the match up of the best teams in the conference and you don't have the problem the Big 12 has with most of the top teams in the southern division and not always getting the two top teams at the end playing in the championship game. 
I read a few articles about this over the last few years and some other teams I read that they were rumored were Colorado, Iowa St, Missouri, Syracuse, and Rutgers to get into the NYC media market. I can't recall any of the articles mentioning Cincinnati.
I read a few articles about this over the last few years and some other teams I read that they were rumored were Colorado, Iowa St, Missouri, Syracuse, and Rutgers to get into the NYC media market. I can't recall any of the articles mentioning Cincinnati.
Edited by JAB, 14 December 2009 - 01:44 AM.
#5
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Posted 14 December 2009 - 01:14 PM
QUOTE (WONBulldog @ Dec 13 2009, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
It would almost have to be Notre Dame, but they probably are going to be steadfast in avoiding a conference so that they can continue to dominate patsies.
WON........
LOL....and you don't think the Big 10 as a whole doesn't play their share of 'patsies'.....lol.....the way I see it, the Big 10 has become a league of patsies........Notre Dame would be a very welcome addition to the Big 10......and, they would win their share of games and championships!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted 14 December 2009 - 06:00 PM
Don't like it. I'd much rather see a team dropped and a 9 game schedule brought in. Conference title games are nothing but a money grab and do very little to actually show who the best team in the conference is. Just the fact that Nebraska at 9-3 even had a SHOT at winning the Big 12 this year tells you all you need to know about it.
The only BCS conferences that I consider to have a true champion are the Big East and the Pac 10.
The only BCS conferences that I consider to have a true champion are the Big East and the Pac 10.
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Posted 14 December 2009 - 08:22 PM
Notre Dame is no longer an elite program. The odds are stacked against them having a chance to be elite in regards to the students they have to recruit and the smaller pool of persons from which to pull recruits. Adding Notre Dame would weaken any BCS conference except for the Big (L)East.
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Posted 22 December 2009 - 05:58 PM
I like the teams now, but maybe going to 12 it would beef up the schedule a little so they ney sayers cant say how the Big 10 is terrible....I also say no to ND and I absolutely hate them!
Edited by FrOnT RoW JOE, 22 December 2009 - 05:58 PM.
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Posted 22 December 2009 - 07:37 PM
I don't think they should go to the big 12 but rather cincy, pitt, or Notre Dame although notre dame will probably never join. I think cincinatti and pittsburgh would be very competetive in the big 10 and would vastly improve the conference
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Posted 27 December 2009 - 10:11 AM
QUOTE (FrOnT RoW JOE @ Dec 22 2009, 05:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I like the teams now, but maybe going to 12 it would beef up the schedule a little so they ney sayers cant say how the Big 10 is terrible....I also say no to ND and I absolutely hate them!
I would like to see the B10 add a 12th team so that they may have a conf champ but I don't think adding Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia or Missouri is going to beef up the schedule.
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Posted 10 January 2010 - 08:07 PM
The Big 10 asked ND once-don't ask em again......
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#12
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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:43 PM
Here is an interesting link. Some very good points made. You need to think of the Big 11 expanding from a university President's view and not a sports fan.
http://frankthetank.wordpress.com/2009/12/...hade-of-orange/
http://frankthetank.wordpress.com/2009/12/...hade-of-orange/
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#13
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 01:34 PM
Good article, Texas would be an amazing dreamy addition to the Big Ten. Then they could change the conference name to the Big Conference.
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:25 PM
The idea of Texas to the Big 10 isn't as far fetched as anyone thinks. I remember reading that when the Southwest Conference was breaking up, Texas actually approached both the Pac 10 and Big 10 before agreeing to go to the Big 12. I don't remember what the Pac 10's reason for not taking them was, but in the Big 10's case I believe the only reason it didn't get done was because they had a 5 year moratorium on expansion after adding Penn State.
I agree with everything the article said. Why go after Missouri or Nebraska if Texas can possibly be there? Why add just to add if it's not going to gain you anything? Too many people are looking at this from strictly a football championship game angle with no thought to anything else. If I were Delaney, I would be calling Texas up right now. Of course, nothing Delaney does makes much sense.
I agree with everything the article said. Why go after Missouri or Nebraska if Texas can possibly be there? Why add just to add if it's not going to gain you anything? Too many people are looking at this from strictly a football championship game angle with no thought to anything else. If I were Delaney, I would be calling Texas up right now. Of course, nothing Delaney does makes much sense.
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