Around the Big Ten

[THE_WIZARD_]

I'm thinking B1G...80 teams...4 20 team pods...NE, SE, SW, NW Pods. Winner of each pod plays in a 4 team tourney...winner plays the Sun Belt Champ for all the marbles!

[Hannibal]

Big Ten coaching legend: Mack Brown

[Hannibal]

Who was a better Big Ten receiver -- Hermann Moore, or Peter Warrick?

[Optimus Prime]

I'm thinking B1G...80 teams...4 20 team pods...NE, SE, SW, NW Pods. Winner of each pod plays in a 4 team tourney...winner plays the Sun Belt Champ for all the marbles!

You walk a fine line between pure genius and obvious mental deficiency.

[youtube]d-1xU0VfJ-g[/youtube]

[Whitley]

I'd personally would like to see the B10 stop at 16 with NC/Virginia. 20 does make some sense if the B10 lands at least 5 of its 9 top targets left: Virginia, NC, ND, FSU, GT, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Duke which is awfully unlikely imo...

At 20 teams, you can play 4 pods of 5.

I don't know. UVA and GT would be slam dunks. FSU would jump to the Big Ten without a doubt.

At that point you would be looking at a very iffy ACC and that might cause UNC to come along with Duke. ND would have no choice (if they want a national schedule, especially for their Olympic sports) but to join the B10.

[THE_WIZARD_]

OP:

shaddup

[WM Wolverine]

14 doesn't work too well but will be slightly improved with a 9-game B10 schedule.

16 works better than 14 if you can balance the pods of four along with rivalries and competitive balance. We'll have to wait and see if the B10 is smart enough to use pods with 16; otherwise 16 certainly needs a 10-game conference schedule.

18 is awful for a football conference (unless you can work with the NCAA on 3 divisions of 6), 20 works much better as you have four divisions (pods) of 5.

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The issue is the B10 wants NC, Virginia, Notre Dame and maybe GT... They need to add just 2 or 6 to avoid an 18-team league... Agree on the East-West balance, the new additions are pretty balanced and if they keep adding Eastern universities, the center of the league is moving from basically Illinois to now Indiana and eventually to nearly Ohio, who is barely in the midwest. Demographics, markets, recruiting grounds say the B10 should tap the Virginia, North Carolina markets...

Kansas I see as a complimentary addition; like Rutgers was to Maryland. Agree they'd add 'balance' to an Eastern addition(s) but I see the 'southern' additions (UV, UNC, GT, FSU etc.) as more valuable.

[Optimus Prime]

OP:

shaddup

Come on man, don't be like that Eddie.

'Cause I feel like.....

"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up, this is *ucking awesome

I wear your granddad's clothes, I look incredible
I'm in this big ass coat from that thrift shop down the road"

[youtube]QK8mJJJvaes[/youtube]

[Whitley]

14 doesn't work too well but will be slightly improved with a 9-game B10 schedule.

16 works better than 14 if you can balance the pods of four along with rivalries and competitive balance. We'll have to wait and see if the B10 is smart enough to use pods with 16; otherwise 16 certainly needs a 10-game conference schedule.

18 is awful for a football conference (unless you can work with the NCAA on 3 divisions of 6), 20 works much better as you have four divisions (pods) of 5.

-

The issue is the B10 wants NC, Virginia, Notre Dame and maybe GT... They need to add just 2 or 6 to avoid an 18-team league... Agree on the East-West balance, the new additions are pretty balanced and if they keep adding Eastern universities, the center of the league is moving from basically Illinois to now Indiana and eventually to nearly Ohio, who is barely in the midwest. Demographics, markets, recruiting grounds say the B10 should tap the Virginia, North Carolina markets...

Kansas I see as a complimentary addition; like Rutgers was to Maryland. Agree they'd add 'balance' to an Eastern addition(s) but I see the 'southern' additions (UV, UNC, GT, FSU etc.) as more valuable.

The only way Kansas makes it to the Big Ten is if they do not want FSU (and that is a possibility because of AAU status). The problem is that Kansas is walking a very line (due to the politics in Kansas) and could very well lose their AAU status. I do think that Kansas would jump to the BIG Ten in a heartbeat, but I wonder if that would be for Notre Dame's sake.

If you take out FSU and add Kansas then you would pods like this....

POD 1: Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota

Pod 2: Virginia, UNC, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland

Pod 3: Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern, Indiana, Ohio State

Pod 4: Michigan, MSU, Purdue, Rutgers, Penn State

Preserve Michigan/OSU and Indiana/Purdue

Pod 2 is not a great football pod, but they each school would be getting at least 2 marquee games every year (Nebraska/Wisky, ND/OSU, Michigan/PSU) and maybe more certain years (pretty certain that most of those schools would not mind playing in those recruit rich regions).

[THE_WIZARD_]

Can't they come up with a better term than "Pod"? Sounds so gay...sorta like "Optimus Prime"...

[Wild Hoss]

I prefer "subdivision".

Agreed on the gayosity of Optimus Prime.

[THE_WIZARD_]

OP is "Uber-gay"

[Optimus Prime]

If I wasn't a well-adjusted whore tamin' mofo, I'd take issue with that.

Spring Break, 84F sunny, boat full of co-eds....you guys trying to flex on me? Don't be silly.

[Optimus Prime]

Even Talent's boy Tressel came down to get his freak-on! Hatteras 77 convertible, brand-new.

[Wild Hoss]

If I wasn't a well-adjusted whore tamin' mofo, I'd take issue with that.

Spring Break, 84F sunny, boat full of co-eds....you guys trying to flex on me? Don't be silly.

Somebody's dad has to drive the boat.