Expounding Expansion

Well, it's time for FTS to finally address the expansion issue again. I tackled Big Ten expansion over the summer, but now that expansion seems more reality than fantasy, the possibilities are bigger than even I imagined. It's very likely that the B10 will pick up not just one team, but three...or even five! No matter what they do, the waves of this change will be felt across college football. One team? The PAC-10 expands to 12 in two seasons, tops. They create a 14-team league? The majors follow suit and the mid-majors adapt or die. 16 teams? Everything changes: the Big East dies, the B12 reforms, whole conferences disappear, with teams consolidating into 4 major super conferences, the BCS crumbles and a playoff inches closer and closer. So, once again, all that is college football hinges on the Big Ten.

Before we get into all the what-ifs that could befall the cfb universe, let's focus on the league at hand; what should the Big Ten do? First, the most obvious (but least likely): They pick up Notre Dame and settle with 12 teams. This will not happen, as Notre Dame, unless the shake-up is seismic, will choose to retain its football independence. Besides the Irish, why talk about the other one team additions? It's been done.

Moving on.

14 Teams

If the Big Ten decides to make the move to expanded conference, it would make sense that it would consist of two seven team divisions. Perfectly do-able, especially considering the PAC10 already plays 9 conference games. When choosing teams, I agree with JoePa that the B10 should pull one team from the west and two from the East to even things out.

Western candidates: Missouri or Iowa State. As I've said before, I like Mizzou for this, but State's not a bad call and either way, the Big-XII has to regroup.

Eastern candidates: Ooh...sorry, Big East, but it looks like the death knell for your f'ball competitiveness. Who's up? Well, how about Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Louisville. If I was choosing two, I'd go Pitt and...uh...I guess the 'Cuse. It's tough not to pick Rutgers there, though. Honestly, either way's a good call. WVU does not fit the mold in other way other than they play sports and beyond these four teams, you're too far east.

Wildcard: Cincinnati. They should be considered - and passed up - for obvious reasons.

16 Teams

Like a kid in a candy store, the Big 10 could reach anywhere they wanted to find the 5 teams needed to fill out to sixteen. Here you would basically have two almost autonomous 8-team conferences. You'd obviously rotate off-division series like in a 12-team league, but certain match-ups would be few and far between. The options would also be open to divide almost anyway, be it East/West, North/South, Land/Lakes, etc. For the sake of balance, let's say 2 from the west and 3 from the west would do the trick and go from there.

West: Missouri and Iowa State. Or, if we're getting nuts here, bypass Iowa State again and reach for Nebraska. Think about it, the B10 already has the Iowa market on lock and that in-state rivalry won't be as big as others across the conference.

East: Pitt, Syracuse, and......Rutgers. Why? Pitt makes a great addition, despite the fact that PSU's got the state's market on lock. Any extra revenue from a major urban area's fan base is a boost, which is why Pitt's a better pull than Iowa State out west. Beyond that, Syracuse and Rutgers would give the league exposure across two of the most populous states (NY and NJ) as well as football dominance in the nation's largest market. Think about the marketing power a league could have that was the dominant football conference in Chicago and NYC. It's too much to pass up.

Wildcards: Cincinnati, again. Or, everybody says "fuck geography" and the Big Ten pulls the Texas stunt. The state legislature would somehow force Texas A&M to go to, like a mother making her oldest son take his little brother to play outside. Once you do that, you my as well try to pull OU and Nebraska...and start setting up for a championship game on the moon!

Stay Away From

Please, Big Ten, do us all a favor and leave all the MAC teams where they are. They don't need to be called up. Hell, most of the Big East doesn't need to be where they are.

There's much to be said about he fallout that the Big Ten's decision will have on other leagues across the country. If they expand, the PAC-1o will almost assuredly follow, and if they jump to 14- or 16-, expect the SEC to follow suit. The Big-XII will play as much keep up as they can, but if they lose their big dogs, it'll be the SWC all over again. Hell, we could even see Texas in the SEC! As for the ACC? Well, once the football schools jump ship for wealthier shores, they could merge with the remaining Big East also-rans and form the Super, Mecha, Robo-Voltron of basketball conferences, because as a football league, they'd be dead.