The Big Ten will hold its annual media day today in Chicago, and John Mutka writes on Post-Tribune.com how the usual suspects of Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa, will lead the charge in the conference. Mutka also writes how fans can expect a tailback-dominant conference, led by Wisconsin's John Clay and Penn State's Evan Royster. Fourth of July-type fireworks should light up...
QB Terrelle Pryor on the run.The Big Ten will hold its annual media day today in Chicago, and John Mutka writes on Post-Tribune.com how the usual suspects of Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa, will lead the charge in the conference.
Mutka also writes how fans can expect a tailback-dominant conference, led by Wisconsin's John Clay and Penn State's Evan Royster.
Fourth of July-type fireworks should light up your television sets on Saturdays at Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan. All three schools return 10 offensive starters to crank up formidable attacks.
No individual standout will be scoped more closely than OSU's Terrelle Pryor, a 2,000-yard passer who also rushed for nearly 800 yards. His receiving corps starts with Devier Posey, who caught 60 passes, eight of them for touchdowns, and Dane Sanzenbacher, who sprinkled six TDs among 36 receptions.
Expansion
Nebraska will not join the Big Ten until 2011, but Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne will participate in the Big Ten meetings.
The Chicago Tribune gives us a timeline on how Nebraska ended up in the best conference in college sports.
June 10: A Big Ten source tells the Tribune that Nebraska will be formally invited to join the league.
Comment: Will the Big Ten stop at 12? For now, yes.
June 11: Citing a unanimous vote by Big Ten CEOs, Delany welcomes Nebraska to the league, calling it "a phenomenal fit." Competitive fairness and rivalries will trump geography in creating divisions. Nebraska will join July 1, 2011, and Delany is "presuming" the Big Ten will create a conference championship game.
Comment: Osborne says he would like Nebraska to join the Big Ten "tomorrow."
Championship game
Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News writes that Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit are seen as the front-runners should the Big Ten add a title game. More than likely, that title game would take place at either Ford Field in Detroit or Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
In the last two years, Lucas Oil Stadium hosted the 2010 NCAA Final Four and nearby Canseco Fieldhouse has been the site of the Big Ten basketball championship tournament since 2008. Ford Field has hosted a Final Four (2009) and a Frozen Four (2010), as well as every Mid-American Conference football championship game since 2004.
"We stand behind Ford Field for what it's been as a destination venue since its opening in 2002," Lions general manager Tom Lewand said. "We think the Detroit community is one that would openly support the Big Ten championship."