This conference just can’t sit still.
After an uncharacteristically settling Saturday in the Big Ten, in which top teams Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Northwestern all scooped up crucial wins, news broke of a potential conference expansion that would officially welcome Maryland and Rutgers as early as this week. And with that burgeoning expansion came an overwhelming level of backlash.
Maryland regents voted to accept the move on Monday, while it looks like Rutgers could join them on Tuesday.
In many ways, the addition of these schools and the extension to a 14-team conference is troubling. Maryland’s football team has seen two 2-10 seasons in the past four years, while the Rutgers men’s basketball team has not had a winning season in seven years. Moreover, adding two satellite programs dilutes the sense of tradition and rivalry that the lauded Big Ten has to offer.
Of course, conference realignment forces fans to mull over an endless slew of what ifs. There are plenty of other programs that would fit in and make sense for the Big Ten, perhaps even more so than the Terrapins and Scarlet Knights. ACC staples Miami and Clemson, two traditional football powers, have been rumored to be potential candidates for conference realignment.
But lurking beyond all this is an enticing opportunity for the Big Ten to grow after a whirlwind year.
Academically, the Big Ten will bring in another pair of important research institutes. Rutgers and Maryland are just two of 34 public universities belonging to the Association of American Universities, a conglomeration of such schools. This is excellent news for a conference that’s already known to hit the books decidedly harder than most, and both Maryland and Rutgers uphold, if not improve, the Big Ten’s academic standards.
And it is tough to ignore the progress that Rutgers is making on the gridiron. After head coach Greg Schiano (now with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers), led the team to five bowl victories in six years, the Scarlet Knights now sit No. 18 in the BCS standings, a ranking that can only be matched by three of the Big Ten’s 12 members.
Maryland, meanwhile, brings a prestigious basketball history that includes 24 NCAA Tournament berths, five Elite Eight appearances and a national championship in 2002. The Terrapins’ 2012 incoming recruits include two four-star forwards and one of the nation’s most touted young centers in Shaquille Cleare. Factor in Maryland’s perpetually competitive lacrosse team and there is plenty to be excited about here.
Geographically, the expansion to the eastern seaboard opens up endless possibilities for the conference. Garnering hubs in New Jersey and Maryland allows for improved recruitment efforts along the coast, where some of the country’s best young talents reside. The addition of Penn State has bolstered the Big Ten’s presence in one of the most populated regions of the nation since 1990 – just think what two more east-coast programs brings to the table.
Fiscally (which holds more weight than any other aspect in the eyes of conference commissioner James Delany), the move makes all the sense in the world. The Big Ten’s current media package expires in 2017; adding two extensive, passionate state-wide fanbases makes the conference far more appealing on a national scale. Expanding past the Midwest brings in more revenue from viewership and merchandise sale.
As we inch closer to an NCAA dominated by super-conferences, gaining two diverse new programs promotes further growth and marketization. Sure, the expansion has its faults, but for a Big Ten with an increasingly misleading name, the idea that adding Maryland and Rutgers is all wrong is pretty misleading too.