The Big Ten conference is currently discussing the possibility of expanding its football membership. The league currently has 11 teams, but rumors have circulated that it could expand to as many as 14 to 16 teams. Syracuse — among other Big East schools — has been mentioned as one of the schools that the Big Ten considered offering a spot in the conference.

On Monday, a radio station in Kansas City reported that the Big Ten extended offers to join the conference to four schools: Rutgers, Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska. However, the report was quickly squashed. Rutgers, Missouri and Nebraska released statements denying that they received such an offer. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany sent out an e-mail to the athletic directors of the current Big Ten schools to let them know that no new schools have been offered a spot in the conference.

The Big Ten first announced it was going to examine the possibility of expansion in December. When it was announced, the conference said it would take 12 to 18 months to come up with a decision about the future of the conference. That changed when Big Ten officials met on April 18 in Washington, D.C., to discuss expansion possibilities again. It is now believed that a move could be made as early as next month.

Delany has stated that commissioners of other conferences would be notified before the Big Ten contacts a specific school about joining the conference. This would mean that if the Big Ten were to offer Syracuse a spot in the conference, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto would be the first to find out.

— Compiled by staff writer Mark Cooper

 

Shuffling the deck

The expansion of the Big Ten could be just the first move in reconstructing the country’s four major conferences. As other conferences angle themselves for similar additions, here’s a quick glance at what the major conferences could look like when it’s all said and done:

Big Ten              SEC                    Big 12                   Pac-10
Illinois                 Florida                 Kansas State        Oregon
Indiana               Tennessee           Iowa State             Arizona
Iowa                    Georgia               Kansas                  Oregon State
Michigan             South Carolina    Texas                     Stanford
Michigan State    Kentucky             Oklahoma State    Southern California
Minnesota           Vanderbilt            Texas Tech            Boise State
Northwestern      Clemson              Oklahoma              Fresno State
Nebraska            Florida State        Texas A&M            Nevada
Ohio State          Alabama               Baylor                   California
Penn State         LSU                      TCU                      Washington
Purdue               Ole Miss               Tulsa                     UCLA
Wisconsin          Arkansas              BYU                      Arizona
Rutgers              Auburn                 Utah                      Washington State
Syracuse           Mississippi State   New Mexico         Colorado
Missouri             Georgia Tech        Houston                UNLV
Pittsburgh          Miami                    Colorado State     San Diego State

Big Atlantic
Boston College
Wake Forest
NC State
Maryland
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Cincinnati
Connecticut
West Virginia
South Florida
Memphis
Temple
Central Florida
Louisville
Villanova*
Notre Dame*
Georgetown
St. John’s*

*Basketball only

Source: Newark Star-Ledger
 

Published on May 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr