By Paul M. Banks
A Kansas City radio station reports that the Big Ten has made initial expansion offers to Notre Dame, Rutgers, Nebraska and Missouri, citing multiple unnamed sources close to the situation. This is how we have to get Big Ten expansion news, through “multiple unnamed sources,” since commissioner Jim Delany says absolutely NOTHING about the situation every time he publicly comments on it.
WHB-AM (810)’s report continues to say:
While nothing can be approved until the Big Ten presidents and chancellors meet the first week of June in Chicago, the league has informed the two Big 12 schools, Notre Dame and Rutgers that it would like to have them join. It is not yet clear whether the Big Ten will expand to 14 or 16 teams. … If Notre Dame joins, sources say an offer will be extended to one other school making it a 16-team league. …
Big Ten representatives have also told Missouri officials they would like to have the entire expansion process wrapped up this summer with a formal announcement coming no later than July.
So who will the Big Ten take if ND turns it down? Probably either Pittsburgh, Syracuse, or Connecticut. All would help solidify the league as a basketball uber-conference, and also make progress in penetrating eastern seaboard markets that the league currently lacks. Despite the wet blanket comments of the Cuse’s Jim Boeheim, I think the Orange would be the front-runner in this scenario. Did you see their 2009 football schedule? It’s apparent they’ve been trying to join the conference for a couple years already.
As for ND, it’s time to quit being to stubborn and reactionary. Aside from their own sweetheart deal with NBC, they have no reason to stand alone anymore. And the presence of the Big Ten network can go a long way towwards neutralizing that. Of course, no Notre Dame Athletic Director wants to be one who pulls the trigger on it. They have some weird sense of shame thing over there in South Bend that the leader who finally joined a conference, is the leader who finally surrendered. They should probably get over that.