Pittsburgh to Big Ten?

[slack00]

Says a source to Ben Maller:

 

http://benmaller.com/archives/2010/02/01/source-pitt-headed-to-big-10/

 

There have been whispers about it for awhile. Could be the start of a chain reaction similar to a few years ago when Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech left the Big East to move to the ACC.

[patrickgpe]

makes more sense than rutgers which was rumored, due to the fact that Pittsburgh has a natural rival with Penn State and have better football and basketball programs than Rutgers.

[RyDogg66]

Interesting. Of all the schools I heard Pitt definitely is one of the better options. Is the conference name still going to be the same? I suppose, with Minnesota and Northwestern as part of the conference, Big Ten is still probably an accurate conference name.

[GoudaBrew]

I was wondering about the name too. Considering they have a TV network by the same name, I bet it stays the Big 10. What about the Big 11 logo though? Someone could probably make a lot of money if they could somehow make a hidden 12 in there somehow.

 

I hope this happens. A Big 10 football title game would be so sweet.

[TooLiveBrew]

So would it be an East/West divide of the conference?

 

Indiana Illinois
Michigan Iowa
Michigan State Minnesota
Ohio State Northwestern
Penn State Purdue
Pitt Wisconsin

That East division would be insanely loaded in terms of football.

[Oldcity]

This would be a great get for the Big Ten. A top 25 team in football and basketball regularly the last couple years.

[slack00]

So would it be an East/West divide of the conference?

Indiana Illinois
Michigan Iowa
Michigan State Minnesota
Ohio State Northwestern
Penn State Purdue
Pitt Wisconsin

That East division would be insanely loaded in terms of football.

They wouldn't necessarily need to divide the teams geographically. The schools are close enough in proximity that they could do something similar to what the ACC does for football (after all, you would only need a split for football) and have divisions that are not necessarily split geographically.

 

 

[Invader3K]

I'm sure I read somewhere a while ago that they intend to keep the Big 10 name no matter what.

[temke]

big 10 says the info is not true. pitt says the info is not true.

 

On Twitter, Pittsburgh associate athletic director/media relations E.J. Borghetti wrote: "Now hear this: rumors on Internet message boards shoutl be read for amusement purposes only, and not consumed as responsible journalism."

 

http://www.chicagobreakin...set-to-join-big-ten.html

[bacon06]

big 10 says the info is not true. pitt says the info is not true.

 

On Twitter, Pittsburgh associate athletic director/media relations E.J. Borghetti wrote: "Now hear this: rumors on Internet message boards shoutl be read for amusement purposes only, and not consumed as responsible journalism."

 

http://www.chicagobreakin...set-to-join-big-ten.html

That doesn't exactly deny anything.

[Point Beer Is Best]

I was hoping for Missouri, which would open up a spot for Boise State in the Big 12. There's a rivalry there between Missouri/Illinois - they definitely hate each other.

 

At least Pitt would seem to fill the requirement that the 12th school be a "fit" academically. They don't let just anybody in (I'm looking at you, SEC).

[lodiness]

The problem with Missouri is that the conference is looking for a natural travel partner with Penn St. Some of the other sports like Volleyball, softball, and soccer make "Swings" when they do road trips. If they play at Michigan one night, they play at Michigan St. the next game, or Indiana/Purdue, etc. This helps to save on travel costs. That being said, I really thing that the Big Ten is trying to break into the New York area market. There is lots of money to be made there, and really, that is what this all comes down to.

[paul253]

I was actually hoping for either Nebraska or Texas. Nebraska doesn't bring much in terms of basketball, but what a great tradition-rich football program. Can you imagine watching Nebraska against Michigan, Ohio St and Penn St every year? Either way, with Pitt included, this is how I would set things up. Each team plays the five other teams in its own division. Thats 5 conference games. They play one team from the other division every year. Then they rotate between the remaining five teams in the other division every year to make up the final 2 conference games. I'd set up the divisions like this.

 

Wisconsin Penn St

Illinois Ohio St

Northwestern Pitt

Minnesota Indiana

Michigan Purdue

Michigan St Iowa

 

Obviously Michigan--Ohio St could play every season. I just can't see a setup where the two most storied programs would never be able to meet in the conference championship game. Wisconsin could play Iowa every year. Michigan St-Penn St. and so on. I think it keeps the typical rivalries (Ohio St-Michigan, Michigan-MSU, Pitt-Penn St, Wisco-Minn, Indiana-Purdue, Illinois-NW) in play every year. Plus you dont have one dominant conference with Michigan, Penn St and Ohio St all in the same division.

[berniebrewer4life]

Texas wouldn't happen because the Big Ten has already stated it will only expand into states that currently border the Big Ten area. Nebraska would be nice, but they don't really have the academics, same can be said about Mizzou. I think Pitt would be the perfect fit, as PSU has no real rival(a lil bit with ohio, but that's not that strong yet), and is very strong in football, basketball and academics.