Posted on Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 8:09 a.m.
Big Ten and Notre Dame have entered expansion talks
By AnnArbor.com Staff
Talks have started again between the Big Ten and Notre Dame about the Fighting Irish joining the conference, according to Fanhouse.com.
Should Notre Dame join the conference, senior writer Terrance Harris theorizes there's a possibility the Big Ten stays at 12 teams, the Big 12 and Big East stay intact and college sports armageddon is forestalled.
It'd clearly be good for college sports. The only question is whether the Irish are finally willing to give up the mystique that comes with being independent in football.
Comments
David Briegel
Fri, Jun 11, 2010 : 2:53 p.m.
Veracity, I can't believe how they are going to destroy the greatest conference in the nation. I too want a round robin. They demand premium prices for 2 MAC teams, another patsy and ND and want us to be happy. What a joke! You can be champ without playing 2 teams now and 6 or 8 in the future! Crummy!! I used to love the inter-sectional rivals that came to town. A rarity under the "new and improved" system. Miami, Fla St, Colo, Neb, Missouri, UCLA, Tex A&M, Ore, Wash, Baylor are just a few that come to mind.
james Kurtz
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 6:06 a.m.
Notre Dame will not join the Big Ten for several reasons. Among them are the Bishops want to remain independent at any cost to the Catholic brethren; they know in the best of their seasons in the Big Ten they would not win more than 7 games and finally in the non revenue producing sports they would not be able to be competitive, especially in the female sports. However, they financially may be forced to a larger conference.
RobbiesBoyfriend
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 5:03 p.m.
Ooh crap, Here we go again. more expansion stories, more stories where no one wants to come forward. One insider told FanHouse..... The source said..... Another source familiar with..... When will we learn to stop caring about these stories?
bmaloy
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 5:02 p.m.
"let them come groveling to the Big Ten in five years when their team stinks and their TV money is gone so we can turn our nose at them the way they have to us for so long!" It seems like I've heard this before..........Oh yes, 1999, after ND rejected the last Big Ten offer.
michboy40
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 2:48 p.m.
I guess I understand the Big Tens infatuation with ND. They bring a lot of fans to the table, and that equals a lot of dollars, but from a fan perspective I would much rather see a Big 16 with Nebraska, Mizzoo, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Pitt. That would give us east coast exposure, tons of dollars, and we could watch ND languish in their own insanity. What could be better? ND does not want a conference, and we certainly don't need ND if we get Nebraska, et al., so who cares if they join...let them come groveling to the Big Ten in five years when their team stinks and their TV money is gone so we can turn our nose at them the way they have to us for so long!
Veracity
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 2:04 p.m.
I will be saddened if the Big Ten expands. I am hoping that the conference football schedule will be changed so that each participating school's football team will play every other team in the conference. After two initial non-conference games as a tune-up, each team then plays the other ten teams. No longer will anyone wonder if the final conference standings will have changed had each school played the two teams excluded from its schedule. Obviously, some Big Ten schools benefit more than others depending on which two teams are not on their schedules. With twelve or more teams in the conference, the Big Ten will have to divide into two divisions for the football schedule. The placement of teams into each division will be difficult. For instance, Michigan's six team division should include Michigan State and Ohio State as natural rivals. Penn State and Notre Dame or Nebraska (which ever is added) are other schools that play Michigan tough. The last school should be either Iowa or Wisconsin which are frequently difficult opponents. In this case I will choose Wisconsin. The other division will have the remaining teams including Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, and Indiana. Iowa and Purdue should be the perennial best teams in their division and one or the other will likely play in the divisional championship. But what about Michigan's division? The competition will be more intense and the outcomes less certain. Each team can be expected to vie for leadership each year. While Iowa and Purdue will likely have one or no losses in their division, the leader in Michigan's division can have two or even three losses. Furthermore, due to the high quality of the teams in Michigan's division the additional losses will hurt each team's national standing and chances for the BCS. Then again, since only five games will be played against division teams, how will the remaining seven games be scheduled? If three or four are against the other Big Ten division teams that leaves two or three teams that will not be played. Again some Big Ten teams will have easier games against other division opponent. How can Big Ten team standings reflect the best teams in the Big Ten? It can't.
gatling64
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 1:12 p.m.
What mistique?i havent seen any lately
Yelmonian
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 11:40 a.m.
I don't want just Notre Dame. If this stops expansion at 12... forget about it. I want Nebraska. Come on, regular clashes between OSU and Nebraska, or clashes between UM and Nebraska. That would be fun to watch!
lumberg48108
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 9:52 a.m.
Clearly good for college sports? How? This is about FOOTBALL -- not other sports! lets admit that when discussing expansion
81wolverine
Wed, Jun 9, 2010 : 7:49 a.m.
I think ND really must join the Big Ten - if not now, pretty soon. Independence is not a mystique. Maybe it was in the past. But, the college sports landscape has changed. I hope it happens, as it will make the conference even stronger. And I like the idea of staying at 12 teams for a while. There are too many cost issues that have not been resolved if the league went up to 16 teams. Travel for the non-revenue producing sports (most of them) would be a lot higher - placing a burden on the schools, students, and families.