[bobjam]

Personally, I think the Big 10 should go for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is an AAU university, good football program (maybe not PennSt or OSU, but certainly in line, if not ahead of Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin), plays multiple sports well, and strengthens the Big 10 presence in NYC. Also, New Jersey is good for recruiting.

[JLS]

Not a bad idea. ‘Cuse would get them into NY state which might be better than Rutgers for them.

Really if they are going to continue to call themselves the Big Ten with 12 members, they need to try to end up in 10 states. Right now they are in 1. PA, PSU 2. Oh, OSU 3. IN, IU/PU 4. MI, MSU/UM 5. IL, NWU/UIl 6. IA, UIa, 7. MN, UMn. So could they add three states? Rutgers, ‘Cuse and say Missouri?

[libs_kma]

Lets add Notre Dame so there’s a new doormat for the football teams to beat up on...

[CommerceComet]

I suspect that the Big Ten would love to add Notre Dame or Texas. Any addition other than those two would be somewhat disappointing. The other schools mentioned are solid programs but not the gold-standard of Texas or Notre Dame.

[edcoil]

Just stay out of my Pac 10.

[Publius Valerius]

Interesting in that it might set off a chain reaction. I’ve heard some scuttlebutt that the Big East teams that have a basketball only membership are giving some thought to forming their own conference, and this might give a little bit of a push to that idea.

A new conference consisting of Villanova, Marquette, DePaul, Georgetown, Notre Dame (obviously basketball only), Seton Hall, plus maybe Xavier, Dayton, Temple, and Butler would be an interesting idea.

[bamahead]

Ping

[GOP_Raider]

The FR College Football Ping List FReepmail GOP_Raider to be on or off this list

[rintense]

From everything I'm hearing, Rutgers is No. 1 on the list. The AAU is a requirement for the Big Ten and will limit the number of schools. This is the order I'm hearing:

1. Rutgers

2. Nebraska

3. Missouri

I can assure you, it will NOT be Notre Dame.

[N3WBI3]

Now, now...

Not allowed to talk about Big Ten Expansion Rumors without knowing the rules:

http://www.ubbullrun.com/2010/02/ncaa-aq-theater-big-ten-expansion-rumor.html

[Sideshow Bob]

Rutgers is an AAU university, good football program (maybe not PennSt or OSU, but certainly in line, if not ahead of Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin)

****

Rutgers football program in line with or ahead of Wisconsin?

Hardly.

Since 1993:
Rutgers
79-118-1 (.401 winning pertage)
Zero Conference Championships
5 Bowl Games (4-1)
Insight, Texas, International, Papajohns.com, St. Petersburg

Wisconsin
147-65-4 (.690 winning percentage)
3 Conference Championships
15 Bowl Games (10-5)
Rose (3), Capital One (2), Outback (3), Champs Sports (2), Alamo, Sun, Music City, Copper, Hall Of Fame

While not as good as Wisonsin's recent history, I'd be willing to wager that Illinois & Purdue have far better recent records than Rutgers, too. And I won't even mention the fact that Big Least football is on par with Conference USA.

Oops, I guess that slipped out.

Want to compare basketball records next?

Look, I am reluctantly in favor of Big Ten expansion. But if the Big Ten can't pull in Notre Dame, they should be selective about whom they include. I'd prefer taking Missouri to any Big East school, but if forced to go east Pittsburgh makes far more sense for the Big Ten than Syracuse or Rutgers.

Adding Rutgers will not help Big Ten recruiting in New Jersey, it will only help Rutgers to recruit New Jersey.

[CTGopher]

I like U of Cincinnati, even though they have a tiny stadium. Iowa State would be a great addition.