The name “Big Ten” is becoming more insignificant with each year.
Last Monday, a unanimous decision was made by the Big Ten Council to add Rutgers University and University of Maryland to the conference, totaling the number of schools in the conference to a whopping 14.
The addition of the teams will completely change the geography of the Big Ten. Traditionally a Midwestern conference, the two eastern schools are making the Big Ten much more widespread.
For consideration to be added to the conference, teams must submit a written application and must be approved by at least 70 percent of the council.
According to a Big Ten news release, Maryland will begin competing in the conference in the 2014-15 school year. No start date has been determined for Rutgers as of yet.
Many teams in the conference are concerned that having competitions so far away will limit the number of fans that will travel to away games.
The Daily Nebraskan reported that University of Nebraska is especially concerned for their fan base.
“Invasions like that are going to be less likely with the addition of East Coast opponents,” reported the Daily Nebraskan.
This change is coming at time when the Big Ten is falling behind and losing its name as a frontrunner in collegiate athletics. League commissioner Jim Delaney knows that something needs to be done about the reputation of the conference.
“I saw somebody had us ranked as the fourth-rated conference in football,” he said. “The goal is to be No. 1. People don’t want to hear about No. 2, 3 or 4,” said Delaney.
Delaney hopes that the addition of the east coast teams will bring in a larger fan base for the conference, as well.
SportsIllustrated.com reported that this expansion could bring in an extra $100 million to $200 million for the Big Ten network.
Kristin Lanxon, assistant football recruiter for the Illinois team, thinks that adding more opponents to the conference will only hurt U of I’s winning chances.
“I think its good for Maryland and Rutgers, I don’t know if it’s necessarily good for u of I,” said Lanxon.
There are definitely other notable drawbacks to the expansion, notes Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune columnist. Adding more schools means that teams will play each other less frequently, causing rivalries to die, says Greenstein.
Many sports enthusiasts are scoffing at this change, claiming the driving financial reasons behind them are
Maryland is joining because they will be earning $24 million as opposed to the $17 million they were earning in the ACC. However, to leave their current conference they will have to cough up a $50 million exit fee.
The Big Ten itself will be gaining more revenue from this change, as more teams means more money. Then network will attempt to expand its audience into New York and New Jersey, adding millions of potential viewers.
The final question on everyone’s minds concerns the legends and leaders divisions. Delaney admits that nothing has been determined yet. However, speculation has been raised that Maryland and Rutgers will be leaders, moving Illinois to the legends.
With the changing geography of the conference “East” and “West” divisions may make the most sense in this matter.
It is unknown when or if the Big Ten will ever stop expanding. Maybe they’re going for world domination. If that’s the case, they’ll definitely need to consider a new name.