Because of the B10 tv network I expected the additions to come from out east as there are so many more potential viewers to draw on.
maybe after locking in football powerhouse Nebraska (and this expansion is all about football since football generates so much more money than basketball does) they will pull in a team or two from out east to pay for the picking up of Nebraska.
"wpr" wrote:
That's why the Rutgers talk made a lot of sense when expansion talk started at the end of last season. You bring in the New York market and you are set.
The main con is that this is pretty much the reason why the Big Ten was so adamant against a playoff system at the time. If the format had been changed, there would be almost no point in expanding or for schools to switch conferences. Wetzel explains it better than I ever could-
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-expansion060610 The Big Ten Network, as much as I love it, is a big factor in all the decisions regarding the conference. Adding markets brings in more money for the conference. Of course, a playoff would bring in even more money, which I believe a portion of the playoff money does get shared across the conference.
As long as it ends with a Big Ten Championship game, I think the pros outweigh the cons.