The View From Wisconsin

As a Big Ten apologist, I kinda feel I have to give my US$0.02 on the news that the Big Ten is seeking to expand.

The reason isn't just to increase revenue by creating a championship game from two divisions in the FBS, but to address some inequities in the Big Ten's schedule (read: the conference falls off the map after the regular season ends, while the Big 12 and the SEC get the pub and the TV time for their championship games).

The Holy Grail of institutions, of course, would be UND - located smack dab right in the middle of Big Ten country and one of the largest and most loyal (Charlie Weis nonwithstanding) fan bases. The biggest issue with the Golden Domers, though, is that it doesn't fit the one main tenet that defines a Big Ten University: the big, state-run, research-minded institution. There are, however, at least seven other schools that the conference is considering:

• Cincinnati. This makes sense, as it's not as far outside of the Big Ten "area", and there'd be an automatic rivalry with OSU. The Big East might balk at its champion (and potentially undefeated team, if they defeat Florida in the Sugar Bowl) leaving for greener pastures.
  
• Louisville: This one would work as well, though it would make the Men's Hoops tournament the Rick Pitino Invitational.
  
• Missouri: There are two issues with this choice - Mizzou wouldn't want to give up their lucrative position in the Big 12, and the travel would be nightmarish for them; they'd be the westernmost team in the conference. It would also mess up a potential divisional alignment; there's already six teams west of Indianapolis (Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa), and Lucas Oil Field would be one of the potential sites for a Big Ten Championship Game.
  
• Pittsburgh: This one would be a winner, and the most logical of them all. It'd give JoePa and Penn State an in-state rival; it'd put six teams in the Eastern Division (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt and Purdue); and Pitt's status as a long-tenured institution would also help. What the Big Ten presidents wouldn't care for, though, is that Pitt shares its football stadium with another team (the Steelers).
  
• Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights fit the Big Ten mold, but they're waaayyyy out of the way geographically. It'd give the Big Ten an "in" with the New York area, though.
  
• Syracuse: Another "way out there" geographically option, and the fact that the Men's hoops tourney would become the Jim Boeheim Invitational as well. Pluses are the same as with Rutgers (read: New York fan base).
  
• West Virginia: This is another geographical oddity, and though it's a "state" school, I don't think that would necessarily give them an in with the Big Ten's school presidents. And now that I've gone through and noticed, is there something to wanting to add three-fourths of the Big East's teams to the Big Ten or something?
• Other "sleeper" picks: Illinois State; Northern Illinois; Iowa State; any one of the directional schools in Michigan (Western, Central, Eastern); and - the ULTIMATE sleeper, based on the "nationwide" comment Alvarez made - Boise State.
  

I would think that, if Pitt can't be convinced to make the jump to the Big Ten, Louisville or Cincinnati would be idea choices. I do wonder, though, if there's a school the conference honchos already have in mind; maybe Notre Dame realizes it needs to affiliate with a conference because it can't afford to keep firing coaches every five years?