Looking at the good and bad of Big Ten expansion
Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne arrives to the University of Nebraska's board of regents meeting which will hear the pros and cons of leaving the Big 12 Conference and joining the Big Ten, from chancellor Harvey Perlman and athletic director Tom Osborne in Lincoln, Neb.
AP photo
The Big Ten plans to continue its expansion study for another six to 12 months, but the push for widespread realignment appears to have subsided for now (though Jim Delany is sure to try and scratch his Notre Dame itch again).Â
So did the Big Ten come out a winner or a loser in expansion? How about, a little bit of both. Sportswriter Dave Birkett looks at the positives and negatives of expansion.
The good
• Better football. Even without the really big splash, Big Ten football is better today than it was a week ago. Nebraska is a preseason top-10 team, and along with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State gives the Big Ten four of the nation’s premier programs. Fans, bowl partners and TV execs are happy.
• A conference championship game: Welcome to the 1990s, Big Ten. Remember eight years ago when Ohio State won the national title but only tied for the Big Ten crown (with 8-0 Iowa)? That won’t happen again. Beyond determining a true champ, adding a league title game is great for fan interest and keeps the conference relevant in early December.
• Likeability. For six months we bandied about scenarios where the Big Ten grows to 12, 14 or 16 teams, and frankly not all of them were that appealing. Were Rutgers or Missouri really going to move the public-interest needle? In Nebraska, the Big Ten got a good fit and a big name, and left itself room to grow again should Notre Dame ever want in. Armageddon may yet happen - the Big 12 remains fragile - but for now the NCAA structure is in tact.
The bad
• Weaker non-conference schedules. The Big 12 is going to a nine-game conference schedule, and the Big Ten is looking at that possibility, too. If that happens, that means one fewer non-conference game per team. With three cupcakes and one BCS conference opponent on most schedules, you can guess which one will go away most years.
• Fewer BCS bids. The Big Ten has earned a BCS at-large bid five straight years. Some think that’s due in part to the lack of a conference championship game. Beginning in 2011, one of the league’s best teams will have one more late-season loss on its resume. With the Mountain West gaining more and more respect, reaching a BCS game just got more difficult.
• Nothin’ for nets. Football drove expansion, but adding Nebraska does little to build the Big Ten’s basketball profile. If you thought the league had it rough in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge now, wait until Nebraska, one of the Big 12’s most feeble hoops programs, gets drilled by Boston College or Clemson or pick a school.
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
PortageLkBlu
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 9:01 a.m.
What is SI? Whatever it is does anybody read it? Oh ya, sports illistrated. I wouldn't know who's on the cover of it and nobody I know reads it. Anyone that would buy it is wasting money. Jason5 do you waste money?
Jaxon5
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 10:39 p.m.
Iron- SI will not put M on the cover. They have given up on that. The last time it was a small corner picture of Tate and that was supposed to be a big comeback. You have to earn the cover of SI and you do that through demonstration of excellence. Haven't seen excellence yet and I seriously doubt we're going to see it this season.
Jaxon5
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 10:32 p.m.
PLB- OSU is not just a team that won a national championship a few years ago, they are a team that has dominated Michigan over the last 10 years. They have reached and surpassed Michigan and left Michigan behind in the dust. That's the state of Michigan football at the present time. June 2010.
PortageLkBlu
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 5:27 p.m.
George, take a chill pill son, gottcha. I hate USC and UCLA I just wanted to see if I could fire any of you up today, I did.
George
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 1:31 p.m.
PortageLkBlu, Lol, what do your friends say about their own UCLA and USC teams? I hope they don't compare UCLA to anyone good and as for USC, great recruiting school who is good but overrated some and plays their big games in their backyard. I'd love to see them play a real bowl outside of Cal. As for Michigan, they will be back. I'd like it to be sooner rather than later but it will happen. I wouldn't rag on OSU for being embarrassed by FL. I don't think they were embarrassed by LSU and as for USC beating them last year, who cares. Mich lost to Appalachian state (didn't spell that right) a couple years ago and then beat a descent FL team in the bowl. You should try to follow your own advise and not rag on teams. You say it but then don't listen to it. As for Tressel, like the man or don't but he is a consistent winner. That's why OSU is talked about so much because they win during the regular season and I believe he is a above 500 coach in the bowl games. If you want to talk about coaches, you should look somewhere else. He's not the man to dog. Love him or hate him, agree with his calls or don't, but his record speaks for itself. Have you been harassing stoops at Oklahoma? He loss two championship games in a row and most of his bowl games after that until last year. As for cupcake B10, cupcake compared to who? PAC1? speaking of beating up on cupcake teams. Try being like oregon state and play Penn every now and then....get rocked and then go beat up on USC. SEC? (about 500 against them in bowls in the last 10 years. Look it up. Don't base everything on two games. They are a top heavy league anyway), B12? no D but they have beaten up on the lower B10 teams? ACC? not great, Big EAST? not good....who is so amazing that the B10 should fear them? As for the coaches, where do you think Urban Meyers, Nick Saban, Tressell, Pelini and most of the best coaches have come from? Each one of those guys passed through OSU or were born there, or spent time in the B10. At the moment, the B10 has three great coaches at least. Tressell, who u dogged earlier (I guess watching him lose in the championship game isn't as cool as watching USC lose to a crappy team during the regular season), JoPa, and Ferentz (who may be the best out of all three of them at the moment). I can see why you would talk to PAC10 fans about football but if you want to talk to real fans who know football, talk to someone else.
Lokalisierung
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 11:25 a.m.
Yuck, I didn't go to OSU and the thought of doing anything in Ohio other than buying fireworks repulses me. I'm just talking about football programs here. I'm from Ann Arbor, but if you think taking a serious look at the Michigan schedule means I must have Ohio ties whatever.
blueiniowa
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 9:47 a.m.
Lokalisierung-- Yes Yes-- I get it now. "All thing buckeye good." "All thing Michigan bad." If you're a grad of O$U, you're deep insights are not representing your school well.
PortageLkBlu
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 7:24 a.m.
I keep hearing comments from some of you boys and girls that are consistently derogatory and argumentative against Michigan. Whenever I talk about Ohio State with USC friends or UCLA friends out here we just say pretty decent team sometimes and leave it at that. I don't understand the obsession some of you have against Michigan which becuase of your continuous obsession would leave Michigan fans to assume that you really have quite a respect for Michigan. If I don't like someone say a RR or something say a Michigan Wolverine team I generally don't give that person, place or thing much of my thinking time it would be a negative to me to do that. For instance, I guess ohio state is a decent team they did win a championship several years ago and they have reached the promise land since although they were way over matched and I came away from watching those games thinking that it wasn't fair to the Ohio State fans to match them against teams that dominated them and really embarrassed the state of Ohio but I really wasn't angry at ohio state for being so over matched I really felt almost embarrassed for ohio state and sad for their fans they looked so sad and pitiful when the camera's panned on them during these horrible losing efforts. You guys have to remember that Mich. will be back just like ohio state at some point will be back and consistently be able to play with the big boys and not just once in awhile. I for one like the great rivalry that has gone on between Michigan and ohio state and I'm happy to see both teams doing well before their annual match up. No I won't rag other teams like MSU or ohio state I love those schools and teams and I have always given them a fair share of my pity when they are consistently embarrassed in big games like last year USC had a pitiful team which was almost an embarrassment to the school after years of descent teams and I don't think USC was cheating last year I think their team was truly lousy without any cheating and my goodness they beat a greatly admired ohio state team, now that was pitiful. They did beat a fairly good Oregon team but by losing to a bad USC team they proved a harsh reality that under Tressell they are not going to be consistant winner, as a Michigan fan I can sympathize with you buc fans it really is a sad time for the school. I like Nebraska coming in and a championship game. It really is sad to see how the Wolves and bucs have sunk. Well, your not going to hear me throw a bunch of worthless stats at you ohio state fans what good are stats when all you do is beat up the,"cupcake" big ten only to lose to a team in the BCS no that wouldn't be fair of me. In my heart I know that ohio state and MSU are trying really, really hard no, my hats off to you guys and I want you to know I truly do have pity for your teams if this is the best you can muster under your current coaches hey, a thought just occurred to me maybe your coaches aren't that good, well I'll be doggone.
ironyinthesky2
Thu, Jun 17, 2010 : 6:32 a.m.
Jaxon5 - so, what have you done for us lately? Yes, Michigan has been down for a few years. Is there a program out there that hasn't had similar problems in the last 40 years? Michigan is still a premier program but, like every other program, will occasionally have a down year or two. They are still a major draw and will be on the cover of SI if they have a hot start.
aarox
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 9:26 p.m.
I think Michigan is still a premier program. Just look around at all the t-shirts and hats. A huge following. Just don't confuse premier with good. Good we ain't. But we are Meeechigan! Just look around.
Jaxon5
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 5:23 p.m.
Great article Dave. A balanced view showing both sides of the picture of the expansion. The only comment I would disagree with is the inclusion of Michigan among the nation's premier football programs. That, it clearly is not. At least not lately.
Lokalisierung
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 4:07 p.m.
"Better yet, stop obsessing over 12-0 records" Couldn't agree more. At the end of the year people are always talking about "HOW can you overlook a team with a perfect record?!?" Really I can do it quite easily, and it isn't that hard.
Macabre Sunset
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 4:03 p.m.
Well, the Mountain West just got weaker - its best program is moving Pacward. And Boise State will get a dose of reality now that it will no longer have a schedule strength in the 110s. Hopefully, the BCS will make changes so that schools aren't encouraged to schedule three cupcakes instead of a good challenge and two cupcakes. Better yet, stop obsessing over 12-0 records so that the schools have no incentive to schedule cupcakes at all. If the writers who do the voting actually watched games rather than ranking teams solely on reputation and record, we wouldn't have this problem.
Lokalisierung
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 4 p.m.
Ha. My horse is not that high, but it is taller than the pony UofM rides into the likes of Deleware State, Eastern, Western....etc. I understand Michigan is all about tradition, but you need to change with the times. ND has been horrible for 15 years. Look inthe last handfull of years where OSU has been playing Texas and USC and been in big games at the end of the year. Michigan has been playing cupcakes and not getting anywhere, The kool-aid I'm drinking is a program that's top notch and worth something at the end of the year...if you don't want that then fine, have fun.
blueiniowa
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 3:40 p.m.
"Other teams *ahem* around these parts should learn a thing or two." Is it lonely up there on that high horse? UofM has been linked to ND as our perennial non-conference foe since forever, and that has included more than a few years when they were NC contenders. Does the buckeye kool-aid really taste that totally lol awesome?
Lorain Steelmen
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 2:50 p.m.
Perhaps the league could incerease the conference schedule to ten games, and take the pressure off getting as many OOC games. The teams should drop the cup-cakes on their own and increasing the league requirements helps!
Lokalisierung
Wed, Jun 16, 2010 : 1:54 p.m.
Happy about the Championship game that has been needed for a long long time. As for the cupcake/BCS games it depends on the program. Ohio State has shown they aren't scared to play some real teams and it has helped them a lot. Other teams *ahem* around these parts should learn a thing or two.