Monday, April 19, 2010

Would The Big Sixteen Have 17...???

((HT: Chicago Tribune/Greenstein via Howard Bloom))

High-ranking Big Ten representatives met yesterday in Washington, DC to talk about expansion of the Big Ten. The Association of American Universities has its semi-annual meetings through Tuesday and all 11 Big Ten schools are AAU members.

Among those attending will be Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and Illinois' interim chancellor, Robert Easter.

If the conference figures out whether or not they want to do it then, Commissioner Jim Delany could talk about it in front of the Bowl Championship Series meetings outside Phoenix next week.

It would be then that Delany would let other conference heads know he's chasing after their schools to fill his new roster.

Is Big East Commissioner John Marinatto ready for that phone call...??? Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Syracuse would easily be on Delany's radar to add those media markets to the Ten/11's books.

Delany would have to make sure he gets most of his talking done by the beginning of the next fiscal year so the dollars and the scheduling could get figured out...

"I don't think 16 is scaring anyone off, as long as you can find (five) that are a good enough fit," said one source told Greenstein. "They're looking long-term, across the horizon. What gives them the best shot at keeping value at a high level?"

And you know Jack Swarbrick is getting a call as well to see if Notre Dame would be anywhere-close-to-be-interested...

More when we know more...

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