Big 11 Expansion?

Yeah, this is two straight long-winded posts in a row. Must be Friday. According to CNNSI, officials of the Big-11 will likely discuss expanding to 12 schools. T his would change the conference name from Big-11 to Big-12 East. J ust kidding about the name change. Why would they add another school? Money, of course. Specifically, money from a Big-11 title game shown on the new Big11 Network, which I don’t know if everyone can get that channel or not. Look, I think the network is already a joke. While Big 11 football games are on an unknown channel, that means more air time for SEC, Big-12, PAC-10 and ACC football…shown in more households. This can only hurt the Big-11. So can a conference championship game. Just ask Mike Bishop and Kansas State, circa 1998.
If they do decide to add a school, Notre Dame is sure to top their wish list. Not gonna happen in a million years. Why would ND want to share BCS paychecks with 11 other members when they can pocket it all themselves as an independent? Besides, remember when Coke Bottles Paterno and big, bad Penn St entered the league? They were elite. After a few great years, they’ve dropped down to the 3rd or 4th best program in the league. Notre Dame would do the same. Iowa St, Missouri, and Pitt have been mentioned in the past. ISU does nothing to push the TV dial, so they’re out. Missouri would probably be better served in the Big-12 North than the Big-11. They are located inbetween KC and STL, but do people in these cities even care about Mizzu football/BBall? Geographically, Pitt fits in perfectly. It bridges the Penn St gap and brings another good sized metro area to the conference. More people = more eyes watching the Big-11 Network. My vote would be for one school not yet mentioned: Louisville. It’s a big city, the basketball program is excellent, and the football team looks to be on the verge of being consistently in the top 20. Yes, that could change moving to the Big-11, but they’ve got a good thing going right now. Not only would they be adding a big city to the audience, it taps into an entire new state. Unless you think there is a huge Kentucky football following who don't watch Louisville. Doubtful. Plus, it would be easier for the Big East to replace Louisville or Pitt to their mish mashed conference than it would for the Big-12 to replace Mizzu. Actually, the Big-12 would be scrambling. They could probably mine either TCU or Colorado State from the Mountain West, but that would be like adding another Baylor to the conference.

Will it happen? Of course it will. S ooner or later, the lust for the football championship game dollars will be too much to overlook. Especially when money grubbing School Presidents, ADs, and coaches are involved.