Tag: Big Ten Realignment

Nebraska AD makes statement that further conference expansion is expected

The Big Ten has been at the center of recent conference expansion and realignment, and it appears more changes will be coming

The Big Ten has been at the center of recent conference expansion and realignment, and it appears more changes will be coming.

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts recently spoke with Amie Just of the Lincoln Journal Star about the recent moves the Big Ten has made in adding Oregon and Washington. As you should know by now, both the Ducks and Huskies will join the Big Ten along USC and UCLA in 2024. Those moves will push the Big Ten to 18 teams and from what Alberts told Just, it sounds like he expects that number to grow even bigger.

See in the tweet below how Alberts envisions the future of the Big Ten and how he expects more expansion to occur:

The statement from Alberts isn’t directly noting the Big Ten is actively looking to add more teams but really comes off as a warning to fans who aren’t happy about the recent moves. Alberts is essentially giving everyone a heads-up that they should expect more changes to come in the future.

We at Spartans Wire also expect more changes to occur within the Big Ten and even put out a list of potential schools the league will pursue. Check out that post below:

Who’s next for the Big Ten? Ranking schools the league may consider if expansion continues

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Who’s next for the Big Ten? Ranking schools the league may consider if expansion continues

If the Big Ten were to continue expanding, who would they most likely consider adding to the league?

Who’s next for the Big Ten?

That’s the million (well, billion) dollar question after the Big Ten and Big 12 made splashes last week in conference realignment. The Big Ten added Oregon and Washington, while the Big 12 has added Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado in the past few weeks. These moves have left the Pac-12 down to just four schools (Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State) and have once again shifted the landscape of college athletics — most notably football.

But are is the Big Ten done? The league will be up to 18 schools next fall with the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, and many are speculating whether or not the conference will look to further expand or stay at 18.

I personally believe the conference will at least reach 20 schools so that means it’s time to take a look at who could be those two (or maybe more) schools for the Big Ten. Check out my rankings below for who I believe the Big Ten will consider if further expansion is in the cards for the league:

RUMOR: Big Ten ‘will most likely’ move to 10 game conference schedule following recent expansion

The additions of Oregon and Washington will reportedly result in an additional Big Ten conference game on everyone’s schedule

The additions of Oregon and Washington will reportedly result in an additional Big Ten conference game on everyone’s schedule.

There is a rumor being reported by a “Michigan insider” at On3.com that the Big Ten will “most likely be moving to 10 conference games” with the additions of the Ducks and Huskies. This would also be the case should the league look to add two more teams to reach 20 total teams in the conference.

This rumor has yet to be reported by any other big-time news media outlets at this time so for now it is simply a rumor. But this rumor does make a lot of sense when you think about the size of the Big Ten and the fact that the TV networks would love additional conference games.

If the Big Ten does actually expand to 10 games — which is still not certain — then it’ll be interesting to see if that’ll occur in 2024 when USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington join the league or further down the road. It’ll result in schools having to adjust their future schedules either way but if it is in 2024, then that would mean Michigan State would have to cut one of their non-conference games against Florida Atlantic, Louisiana or Boston College.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Realignment: What will happen with Oregon?

What will happen to Oregon in the coming days/weeks/months? @ZacharyCNeel and @Donald_Smalley of @Ducks_Wire weigh in.

The Pac-12 could soon die. Realigment is going to dominate our lives for the next 72 hours if not the next few weeks before we finally get back to watching actual college football on television.

The staffs at Trojans Wire and Ducks Wire discussed realignment scenarios. We start with Oregon and what will happen to the Ducks.

Don Smalley, Ducks Wire: I never believed it before now, but I think with the lack of a decent media deal, Oregon has no choice but to jump ship to the Big Ten.

Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire: The Big Ten doesn’t necessarily want Oregon or Washington, but if the Pac-12 dies, will the Big Ten have a choice? Superconferences will emerge, and Oregon will be in the Big Ten.

Zachary Neel, Ducks Wire: The end result in my mind has always been Oregon following USC to the Big Ten. Whether that happens now or in six years, I truly believe that is the final result. Let’s get it over with now and stop talking about it.

Matt Wadleigh, Trojans and Buffaloes Wire: With all of the smoke going on around the country, it would be stunning not to see Oregon join the Big Ten. It makes sense for all sides, especially with the Pac-12 getting worse by the day.

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Report: Big Ten targeting four west coast schools in expansion efforts

Where will the Big Ten go next for expansion?

Rumors surrounding conference realignment have gone into a tailspin since news of UCLA and USC leaving town for the Big Ten conference broke earlier this month.

There was realistic speculation about the Big Ten looking to continue their addition efforts now that the Trojans and Bruins are on board, and according to a new report from CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd the conference may be heading back to the Pac-12 well.

Dodd mentioned four west coast schools, and a pair of Florida schools in his latest report. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren shut down the rumors at media day, but did not completely shut down the idea of adding members. “We’re not targeting anyone,” said the Big Ten commissioner on Wednesday at media day. “I really like our 14 current schools and I really like our two new additions that are coming in 2024.”

Which schools did Dodd mention in his latest report as potential additions? Here is a look:

The definitive, final, ‘show me the money’ top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates

If the Big Ten expands again in the future, this is the list of teams and the rankings that Big Ten brass should operate from.

Enough talk about who fits in academically with the Big Ten through their Association of American Universities ranking. Let’s get down to brass tax. Who can Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren add that increases everyone’s bottom line?

Let’s end the charade. That’s what all of this expansion business is about anyways. Warren and others can act like it’s about respected research universities, but this is about dollars and cents. It’s why he convinced Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff that they were on the same team, and then turned around and poached his league’s two biggest assets.

For the most part, this isn’t about regional fits anymore. USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten in 2024 shows us that. Now, adding a dance partner or two for the Trojans and Bruins makes sense, but only if it enhances the league members’ per-school payouts.

So, what should the top 25 big board of future Big Ten expansion candidates look like? Feel free to reference this list as needed Mr. Warren. It’s the “Show Me the Money” rankings. If your school isn’t on this list, sorry, you’re not joining the Big Ten conference now or in the future.

For our friends over in Ames, Iowa, save your time. Iowa State isn’t joining the Big Ten and, in fact, they’re not in the top 25 pool of candidates either. This is about TV ratings and expanding market shares. The Cyclones don’t add anything that the Big Ten doesn’t already have with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Every program is fair game so long as they aren’t already in the Big Ten or SEC.Without further ado, here’s the official, no-need-to-look-anywhere else top 25 future Big Ten expansion candidates.

Should Notre Dame be the next to join the Big Ten?

Could or should Notre Dame join the Big Ten?

When the Ohio State Buckeyes open the 2022 campaign with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, could they be looking at a future conference rival?

For years many college football pundits have asked the question of when the Irish would join a conference and give up their independent status in FBS. Recently the BYU Cougars made the move to go from independent to joining the Big 12 along with Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston. BYU left the Mountain West in 2010 and remained Independent over the next decade-plus.

During the pandemic season of 2020, Notre Dame joined the ACC for scheduling purposes and ended up playing for the ACC title. However, they play a schedule with plenty of Big Ten teams. Their annual matchup with the USC Trojans will soon be another Big Ten showdown.

Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports answered the question of joining a conference whether it would be in the ACC or Big Ten.

What Athlon Sports Says…

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Have the additions of USC and UCLA improved the Big Ten’s odds of landing Notre Dame? Most likely. But was it enough? Probably not. From a financial standpoint, the Fighting Irish could certainly make more money in the Big Ten and would give the conference another powerful brand to go with Ohio State, Michigan, USC and UCLA. The overall landscape of college football is rapidly consolidating around the Big Ten and SEC. However, as long as the Fighting Irish have access to the CFB Playoff, can schedule games it wants, and aren’t limited by a Big Ten versus SEC-only postseason, then it’s hard to see this program giving up FBS Independence right now. If college football does shift to superconferences in the next few years, then Notre Dame would have no choice but to join the Big Ten, ACC or SEC. Will they or should they is question looming here. If I was in charge in South Bend, I think the financial incentive, consolidation around the Power 2 (Big Ten and SEC), and the additions of USC and UCLA would tilt me into the yes category. However, I would be surprised if the Fighting Irish gives up FBS Independence right now

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The best social media reactions to USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten

How social media reacted to USC and UCLA heading to the Big Ten

On Thursday afternoon, the landscape of major conference college sports was turned on its head. Los Angeles became Big Ten country as USC and UCLA bolted from the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten conference.

Reactions quickly started pouring in from all corners of the college sports world with news of two Los Angeles programs heading to a conference of schools mainly located in the midwest. Speculation about what dominoes were next to fall also dominated the discourse, as the move felt like just one of many we would see in the coming weeks and months.

Here is a look at some of the best reactions to the Bruins and Trojans heading to the Pac-12:

MSU AD Alan Haller hints at upcoming conference realignment for Big Ten

It appears there will be some shakeup to the Big Ten conference in the near future

It appears there will be some shakeup to the Big Ten conference in the near future.

Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller made some interesting comments on Monday regarding potential conference realignment in the Big Ten. Haller was asked about any shakeup to the Big Ten coming down the pipeline during the Michigan State luncheon with the Detroit Economic Club and he hinted at something being in the works.

Here’s what Haller had to say (courtesy of the Detroit Free Press’ Tony Garcia):

At first glance, this seems to be related to the conference working to either remove or adjust the current divisions used in football. For a long time, the imbalance of competition between the Big Ten East and West Divisions has been clear so it appears the league is working to resolve this issue.

Haller’s comments could also be related to the league exploring adding more teams to the conference. There was a ton of buzz last year when Texas and Oklahoma jumped ship of the Big 12 to join the SEC, but the Big Ten has been quiet ever since then. Could this mean the league is finally getting off the sidelines and looking to add one or two more teams?

Either way, it’s exciting to hear the conference is looking to make some changes that I’d assume would be positive moves. We should hopefully know soon enough what those changes will be.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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