Eleven teams make no sense to former Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel. He can explain 10, because the conference is called ‘the Big Ten.’ Twelve teams make sense, too – it would be a great revenue source.

But 11? That doesn’t make sense.

Since Crouthamel’s time at Syracuse, starting in 1978 and ending in 2005 to give way for current AD Daryl Gross, he’s advocated for Syracuse to join the Big Ten. For any team to join the Big Ten, for that matter. Back in Crouthamel’s days, the Big East was in its infancy and struggling. The Big Ten provided more financial support to its teams and a higher level of competition.

For now, the Big Ten consists of 11 schools, one more than its name suggests and one short of giving the conference the ability to split in half and conclude each season with intra-conference playoffs. Big East teams like Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Rutgers are mentioned as possible expansion teams for the Big Ten.

‘All conferences are expanding, the Big Ten is no different,’ Crouthamel said. ‘Ten, 11, doesn’t make sense. Twelve, going to 12 makes sense. Follow suit.’

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno has openly talked about his desire to expand the conference for years with a team like the Orange or the Panthers, but specifically not Notre Dame.

Mark Abbott, the assistant athletic director at Iowa who schedules the Hawkeyes football team’s opponents, said he looks for teams that play in areas that Iowa recruits in, and Big East opponents fit that bill – making them an ideal pool of applicants for expansion.

‘I don’t think we take into consideration that these current Big East schools could be potential conference foes in the future,’ Abbott said. ‘We look to schedule a BCS conference opponent in an area we recruit.’

Iowa just finished a two-year series with Syracuse and is slated to play another series with Pittsburgh starting next season. Michigan also scheduled a Big East team, playing 2008 conference co-champion Connecticut in 2010.

The Big Ten schools might not be trying to schedule prospective conference rivals, but if the Big Ten contained 12 teams, the conference would split evenly. Playoffs could be held for two different divisions and then a larger Big Ten championship game. Other major conferences like the Big 12 and Southeast Conference have a playoff system in place. Playoffs and conference championship games provide extra revenue. ‘It just makes sense,’ Crouthamel said.

‘We’d entertain the possibility of increasing conference games if our peers also considered it and it fit well for everyone,’ Abbott said about the future of the current Big Ten.

But creating playoffs could potentially diminish the lure to the Rose Bowl for the Big Ten. The Rose Bowl, the oldest bowl game in college football, created in 1902, traditionally has Pacific 10 and Big Ten conference tie-ins and is highly coveted by Big Ten teams.

Adding a playoff system within the Big Ten would change the landscape of college football, Crouthamel said. In order to expand the Big Ten, it would have to steal teams from other conferences.

Transferring conferences could help and hinder teams that might consider the move. The Big Ten could financially benefit teams with its stronger postseason presence, Crouthamel said. But with the bigger conference comes stronger opponents.

‘With a quality upgrade comes quality competition,’ Crouthamel said. ‘Who is prepared for that upgrade? That’s not a put-down on the Big East, but I don’t think top to bottom the Big East can compare with the Big Ten.’

This season’s Top 25 boasts Big Ten powerhouses, where the Big East is invisible. Ohio State leads the Big Ten with a No. 6 preseason ranking, followed by Penn State at No. 9. Iowa rounds out the list at No. 22.

So, for a conference with no teams in the Top 25, it’s difficult to find a team that could handle the upgrade.

For Syracuse nose tackle Art Jones, leaving the Big East would mean disbanding the traditional opponents the Orange has a rich history with.

‘It’s a smaller conference, the Big East,’ Jones, a senior, said. ‘It would be sad to see us leave.’

Crouthamel and Abbott both agreed an expansion in the near future is unlikely because of how the expansion would affect the rest of college football. But if the Big Ten could expand, the most likely suitor may not even be in the Big East.

‘The main school out there that the Big Ten would want to recruit at any time of course is Notre Dame,’ Crouthamel said. ‘In my lifetime we won’t see that happen. Notre Dame will stay independent.’

But Paterno disapproves of Notre Dame joining. Right now, the Big Ten teams are relatively equal in media exposure and finances. Notre Dame’s strong alumni base and deal with NBC Universal for football games puts the Fighting Irish on a different playing field.

‘Notre Dame brings a whole different environment,’ Crouthamel said. ‘With their own TV network (NBC) and its alumni base, it transcends everything in terms of loyalty and giving financially. Notre Dame is delighted to be in the Big East for its other sports without football – not many other major conferences would have done that.’

Abbott said he doesn’t give expanding the conference too much thought and just tries to schedule teams for Iowa. There’s too much politics to know what’s truly going on.

‘I don’t have answers to if the Big Ten will ever expand,’ Abbott said. ‘Fans give this stuff a lot of thought, much more than anyone else.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on September 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm