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Adding 12th team to Big Ten a good idea
The Big 12 was once the Big Eight.
Florida State, and a slew of other football programs, were independents.
Joe Paterno, up until a few years ago, could hold his bowels on the sideline.
Things change. It's time for the Big Ten to change and join the 21st century and add a 12th team, which would bring some much-needed interest to a conference that has been treated like Elin Nordegren the last few years. Reports have surfaced that this is now a real possibility and it's something that should happen soon.
No matter what team it is (it's been rumored to be Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse or Iowa State), the Big Ten would be able to establish a conference championship game, which would mean an additional $5-$7 million for the conference. That conference game would be played in early December - uncharted territory for the Big Ten. That would keep the conference's top teams at the top of the minds of pollsters and give them a chance to impress the computers, as well.
A downside of scheduling a conference title game is the gate. Most stadiums (Beaver Stadium, The Horseshoe, The Big House) are much larger than where the conference title game would be played. If the game is played in either Soldier Field, Lucas Oil Stadium or Ford Field, some teams would lose 30,000 seats. But tickets for the conference title game would be at a premium and cost more than a regular-season game in Ann Arbor or Columbus.
Adding an additional squad would also call for a schedule shake-up.
Oftentimes (not always), Michigan and Ohio State will be at the top of the conference and would meet in the league's championship game. No one outside of Columbus or Ann Arbor would want to see the teams play two straight weeks, meaning the annual rivalry game could be moved around on the schedule, a la Texas/Oklahoma, Notre Dame/USC. Playing that game, let's say, six weeks before the conference championship game would allow the fanbases to stew and give Big Ten fans something to hope for come early December.
Adding a twelfth team would call for divisions to be formed in the conference. Some have said there should be an East (Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and the new squad) and West (Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Purdue). The East would be stacked, as it has all the power teams, meaning there would be basically no intrigue leading into a conference title game, unless the team out of the West has a special year.
I would opt for a North/South split, with the conference shaking out like this:
North
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin
South
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Ohio State
Penn State
(Pittsburgh/Rutgers/Syracuse/Iowa State)
I know it doesn't make a lot of sense geographically, but you keep the eight-game conference schedule, with the teams in each division playing every season, and rotating three teams in and out from the outside division. In order to keep rivalries in tact (I'll use Ohio State as an example), The Buckeyes would play their five division games - including a rivalry game with Penn State each season that would (most likely) have championship implications each year - Ohio State would still play Michigan every year (presumably in mid-October), while rotating two other teams from the North off their schedule every couple of years.
With the rotating games, teams that play for rivalry trophies would still be able to do so. Wisconsin would still have its game each year against Iowa, as the Badgers would have two teams in the South that would rotate off their schedule every couple of years, while the Hawkeyes would be a staple on Wisconsin's slate. Same goes for Northwestern (Illinois every season), Purdue (Indiana), Minnesota (Iowa), Penn State (Michigan), Michigan State (Penn State). Sure, some rivalry games would take place every couple of years (Penn State/Minnesota, MSU/Indiana), but the big ones would remain an annual happening.
A North/South split would balance out power in the conference. You have Michigan in the North, along with teams like (Wisconsin, Purdue and, sadly, not my alma mater in Green) that are capable of special seasons and winning a conference title. In the West, you have traditional powers in OSU and Penn State, along with Iowa, which has made runs recently, and the new squad. Putting the new squads in the same division with OSU and PSU, and having them play every season, would give the new squads a chance to legitimize themselves.
This move would be much more of a football one than basketball. There seem to be many more positives than negatives. The only major negative I see is if the new team flops and doesn't add anything to the Big Ten. So, if this does come to fruition, Commissioner Jim Delany and whomever else has a say better be careful which team they choose.
I only have one request, though: make it a squad State can beat. Please?
Florida State, and a slew of other football programs, were independents.
Joe Paterno, up until a few years ago, could hold his bowels on the sideline.
Things change. It's time for the Big Ten to change and join the 21st century and add a 12th team, which would bring some much-needed interest to a conference that has been treated like Elin Nordegren the last few years. Reports have surfaced that this is now a real possibility and it's something that should happen soon.
No matter what team it is (it's been rumored to be Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse or Iowa State), the Big Ten would be able to establish a conference championship game, which would mean an additional $5-$7 million for the conference. That conference game would be played in early December - uncharted territory for the Big Ten. That would keep the conference's top teams at the top of the minds of pollsters and give them a chance to impress the computers, as well.
A downside of scheduling a conference title game is the gate. Most stadiums (Beaver Stadium, The Horseshoe, The Big House) are much larger than where the conference title game would be played. If the game is played in either Soldier Field, Lucas Oil Stadium or Ford Field, some teams would lose 30,000 seats. But tickets for the conference title game would be at a premium and cost more than a regular-season game in Ann Arbor or Columbus.
Adding an additional squad would also call for a schedule shake-up.
Oftentimes (not always), Michigan and Ohio State will be at the top of the conference and would meet in the league's championship game. No one outside of Columbus or Ann Arbor would want to see the teams play two straight weeks, meaning the annual rivalry game could be moved around on the schedule, a la Texas/Oklahoma, Notre Dame/USC. Playing that game, let's say, six weeks before the conference championship game would allow the fanbases to stew and give Big Ten fans something to hope for come early December.
Adding a twelfth team would call for divisions to be formed in the conference. Some have said there should be an East (Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and the new squad) and West (Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Purdue). The East would be stacked, as it has all the power teams, meaning there would be basically no intrigue leading into a conference title game, unless the team out of the West has a special year.
I would opt for a North/South split, with the conference shaking out like this:
North
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin
South
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Ohio State
Penn State
(Pittsburgh/Rutgers/Syracuse/Iowa State)
I know it doesn't make a lot of sense geographically, but you keep the eight-game conference schedule, with the teams in each division playing every season, and rotating three teams in and out from the outside division. In order to keep rivalries in tact (I'll use Ohio State as an example), The Buckeyes would play their five division games - including a rivalry game with Penn State each season that would (most likely) have championship implications each year - Ohio State would still play Michigan every year (presumably in mid-October), while rotating two other teams from the North off their schedule every couple of years.
With the rotating games, teams that play for rivalry trophies would still be able to do so. Wisconsin would still have its game each year against Iowa, as the Badgers would have two teams in the South that would rotate off their schedule every couple of years, while the Hawkeyes would be a staple on Wisconsin's slate. Same goes for Northwestern (Illinois every season), Purdue (Indiana), Minnesota (Iowa), Penn State (Michigan), Michigan State (Penn State). Sure, some rivalry games would take place every couple of years (Penn State/Minnesota, MSU/Indiana), but the big ones would remain an annual happening.
A North/South split would balance out power in the conference. You have Michigan in the North, along with teams like (Wisconsin, Purdue and, sadly, not my alma mater in Green) that are capable of special seasons and winning a conference title. In the West, you have traditional powers in OSU and Penn State, along with Iowa, which has made runs recently, and the new squad. Putting the new squads in the same division with OSU and PSU, and having them play every season, would give the new squads a chance to legitimize themselves.
This move would be much more of a football one than basketball. There seem to be many more positives than negatives. The only major negative I see is if the new team flops and doesn't add anything to the Big Ten. So, if this does come to fruition, Commissioner Jim Delany and whomever else has a say better be careful which team they choose.
I only have one request, though: make it a squad State can beat. Please?
Labels: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, The Big Ten, Wisconsin
posted by Jason Carmel Davis at
2:23 PM
3 Comments:
Central Michigan has dominated the MAC. Give them a chance, it would offer a budding school a chance to grow!
It may seem implausible at first,
BUT
Central has kept it close with (and beaten) many Big 10 teams in the past and this would give them a chance to increase their recruiting and compete consistently!
Does central have the facilities? Is Mt Pleasant a Big 10 type town & campus? I think thats a bad idea. They should look at an untapped market like NY or Jersey (Rutgers). Or maybe even Missouri whose been rumored 4 some years now.
Central has been competitive against Big Ten teams (don't remind me. That onside kick still haunts me), but I don't think their facilities are on par with those of a Big Ten school. Also, I believe CMU would have to add at least 20,000-25,000 seats to its stadium to be considered.
Of the rumored choices, I would go with Pitt, as that would instantly create a rivalry with Penn State and allow more Big Ten schools to tap into the recruits Pennsylvania has to offer. Plus, Pitt is competitive in both major sports. Rutgers, Syracuse and Iowa State aren't.
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