Big Ten Expansion

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around the last few months when the big ten announced they would look into expanding the conference. By adding a 12th team the big ten will be able to have a big ten championship game. This benefits the league with higher revenues and more national exposure. Many big ten coaches have felt that they were at a disadvantage when their season ends much earlier than other teams playing in bowl games. Many schools have surfaced to be a good fit or possibilities to join the big ten. Some of the mention names have been Missouri, Pittsburgh, Rutgers to name a few. The most recent name to surface has been the University of Texas. Geographically, most people would be scratching their head with this pick, but according to this source, the big ten has opened discussions with the university into joining the big ten. 

Here are some highlights from the article. 

“There have been preliminary exchanges between the Big Ten and Texas,” the source told the Journal-World on Wednesday. “People will deny that, but it’s accurate.”

-Travel costs, in terms of money and fatigue, make Texas seem on the surface like a stretch, but TV revenue would more than make up for the fatigue factor.

-Getting TV sets in the massive state of Texas tuned to the Big Ten Network would qualify as a home run for the Big Ten.

-Geographic concerns don’t carry the weight they once did because TV revenues have grown so much, and this wouldn’t be the first time Texas has considered such an odd geographic match. Before joining the Big Eight with three other schools from Texas, the Longhorns looked into joining the Pac-10.

“No one seems to recognize the genius of this suggestion, which may be evidence of its genius,” DeCourcey wrote. “Everyone else seems to be thinking small and boring, but as I suggested not long after the Big Ten Network was conceived, Texas is the one program that could dramatically expand the money-making power of the league's cable operation.”