More information could be learned today at meetings of the Big Ten and Pac-10.
Developments throughout college football may force Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and the conference's school presidents to make some immediate decisions about expansion.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The torrent of news about college sports expansion has made one thing clear.
Everything is connected.
Nebraska and Missouri, logical Big Ten targets, have been given deadlines to declare their allegiance to the Big 12 or else. Because ...
If those schools leave for the Big Ten, then six other schools, led by Texas, might head to the Pac-10. So ...
Texas, one of two "home run" options for the Big Ten, would be off the table, leaving only Notre Dame as the only earth-shattering addition left to be made. However ...
My belief is that Notre Dame is more likely to consider joining the Big Ten if the league is doing more than just adding the Fighting Irish to reach 12 teams. Notre Dame may need seismic change in the college landscape to give up its independence, and that would mean the Big Ten adding multiple teams to reach 14 or 16. And ...
That would mean the Big Ten adding schools like Nebraska and Missouri.
It's a great big circle, and that means the Big Ten's timetable, originally announced at 12 to 18 months in December, doesn't exist in a vacuum. No one is going to be hasty, and no one wants to admit they are being reactive instead of proactive, but if one shoe drops, it's likely that several others will. For instance, if Nebraska wants the Big Ten, and the Big Ten wants Nebraska, but Nebraska needs assurance within the next week that it's getting an invite, then that forces the Big Ten's hand.
Big Ten presidents are meeting in Chicago today, and Big Ten boss Jim Delany is expected to speak with reporters there later this afternoon. With the Pac-10 also finishing meetings in San Francisco, there could be much more news by the end of the day.