Posted on 07/31/2023 8:29:27 AM PDT by FLNittany
College expansion has been a wild ride over the past year or so, and it doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon.
The Big Ten has spearheaded the movement. The storied conference adds USC and UCLA in 2024. It may not be done, either.
Barstool Sports' Jack McGuire is hearing a rumor that the Big Ten is adding four schools this week: Clemson, Florida State, Oregon and Washington.
That would poach two universities from the ACC - arguably its top-two athletics programs - and two from the Pac-12 - arguably its best as well, even with USC and UCLA in the mix.
Oregon and Washington have been rumored to the Big Ten for a while now, but the rumors died down recently. But Colorado's abrupt exit to the Big 12 has pretty much re-opened the door.
The expectation is that the Pac-12 is done for. Eventually, schools like Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will likely head to the Big 12. Oregon and Washington need a new home, and each belongs in the Big Ten.
Clemson and Florida State, meanwhile, probably make more sense for the SEC. But the Big Ten might want to enter the Florida recruiting market and tap into the Clemson roots.
Buckle up. It could be a busy week in college athletics.
(Excerpt) Read more at athlonsports.com ...
Not only about getting a foot in the door in a particular region, although that’s a benefit. TV revenue/TV ratings are king today.
Clemson-FSU are an odd fit geographically for the B10, but both pull very good numbers on TV. Having Clemson-FSU show up week after week at Michigan, PSU, Ohio St, Wisconsin, etc would proabably be a TV ratings win all the way around. And yes, having the B10 show up on a regular basis in or near SEC territory could shake up things in recruiting.
When the Big Ten morphs into the Mediocre 50 and the game of the week is Podunk U versus Cupcake College, I don’t think there will much interest.
I see it differently. W/ expanded playoffs, schedules should get tougher. I also think the SEC will go to 9 conference games soon.
I'd say this is more than smoke. This is pretty much going to happen one way or another.
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