Big East coaches want ultimatum issued to Notre Dame football regarding Big Ten expansion

Posted on Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 1:51 p.m.

Big East coaches want ultimatum issued to Notre Dame football regarding Big Ten expansion

By AnnArbor.com Staff

The Big East has a strategy in surviving Big Ten expansion - try to strong-arm Notre Dame football into joining a conference.

Assuming it wouldn't join the Big East, issuing an ultimatum that would force Notre Dame into joining the Big Ten would be the best way to ensure the Big Ten doesn't cast it's eye toward more than one Big East team.

The ultimatum came to light when UConn football coach Randy Edsall said football coaches have asked the Big East to deliver such a strong statement to the Irish for two years, according to ESPN.

Here's the complete story.

Comments

bmaloy

Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 12:31 p.m.

Live4fall, I think Nebraska is a very real possibility. They are unhappy with the Big 12. They were the Kings of the Big 8, now Texas calls all the shots in the Big 12. Get Nebraska and ND will follow (in my opinion).

live4fall

Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.

bmaloy, I understand. I think most Big ten Fans want expansion for the Championship game becasue it adds to the season. And ND is the best option becasue of geography. But I don't think ND is the only option. I would like to see Nebraska or Missouri join.

bmaloy

Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 11:30 a.m.

Live4fall (nice name by the way, although the end of summer is sad, football starting up in the fall makes you forget about it completely), I certainly realize the other teams don't field a D1 football team. I'm just pointing out that there are other schools that contribute the same to the Big East as ND does. Why are Big Ten fans (I'm assuming most posters where are Big Ten fans) so concerned about ND joining a conference in football?

live4fall

Fri, Apr 30, 2010 : 11:14 a.m.

bmaloy, None of those other basketball only schools in the Big East have a D-1A Football program.

bmaloy

Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 7:05 p.m.

Tater, what exactly have you wanted the Big Ten to do to ND for years? ND doesn't cherry pick anything. They enter into mutually agreeable contracts with teams that agree. As I recall UM just signed up to a 25 year contract with them. Did UM have a gun to their head? There are many teams in the Big East that participate in all sports other than football.

Macabre Wolverine1

Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 6:49 p.m.

One might circumize that the relevance of this topic may go on forever. It is most crucial indeed that the university administrators have the final word regarding such expansion for the benefit of mankind.

RudeJude

Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 3:19 p.m.

@ AnnArbor.com Staff Has the Big East actually issued the ultimatum to Notre Dame? From reading the linked ESPN article, it sounds like the Big East coaches want an ultimatum to be issued, and that the conference may consider issuing one, but that no ultimatum has been issued yet. Your headline reads as though it has been issued. Am I wrong? If not, I think you should revise it.

Macabre Sunset

Thu, Apr 29, 2010 : 1:31 p.m.

Gotta admire that conference for trying. I still think it's most likely the Big Ten adds only one team and lets someone else make the jump to 14 or 16 first. So they would be trading having Notre Dame for everything but football for not losing Pittsburgh (or Rutgers). Probably a good trade for them. Problem is, what if Notre Dame calls their bluff and refuses to leave? Meanwhile, the Big Ten issues its own ultimatum or just invites Pittsburgh anyway.