The Big Ten conference is currently discussing the possibility of expanding its football membership. The league currently has 11 teams, but rumors have circulated that it could expand to as many as 14 to 16 teams. Syracuse — among other Big East schools — has been mentioned as one of the schools that the Big Ten considered offering a spot in the conference.
On Monday, a radio station in Kansas City reported that the Big Ten extended offers to join the conference to four schools: Rutgers, Notre Dame, Missouri and Nebraska. However, the report was quickly squashed. Rutgers, Missouri and Nebraska released statements denying that they received such an offer. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany sent out an e-mail to the athletic directors of the current Big Ten schools to let them know that no new schools have been offered a spot in the conference.
The Big Ten first announced it was going to examine the possibility of expansion in December. When it was announced, the conference said it would take 12 to 18 months to come up with a decision about the future of the conference. That changed when Big Ten officials met on April 18 in Washington, D.C., to discuss expansion possibilities again. It is now believed that a move could be made as early as next month.
Delany has stated that commissioners of other conferences would be notified before the Big Ten contacts a specific school about joining the conference. This would mean that if the Big Ten were to offer Syracuse a spot in the conference, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto would be the first to find out.
— Compiled by staff writer Mark Cooper
Shuffling the deck
The expansion of the Big Ten could be just the first move in reconstructing the country's four major conferences. As other conferences angle themselves for similar additions, here's a quick glance at what the major conferences could look like when it's all said and done:
Big Ten SEC Big 12 Pac-10
Illinois Florida Kansas State Oregon
Indiana Tennessee Iowa State Arizona
Iowa Georgia Kansas Oregon State
Michigan South Carolina Texas Stanford
Michigan State Kentucky Oklahoma State Southern California
Minnesota Vanderbilt Texas Tech Boise State
Northwestern Clemson Oklahoma Fresno State
Nebraska Florida State Texas A&M Nevada
Ohio State Alabama Baylor California
Penn State LSU TCU Washington
Purdue Ole Miss Tulsa UCLA
Wisconsin Arkansas BYU Arizona
Rutgers Auburn Utah Washington State
Syracuse Mississippi State New Mexico Colorado
Missouri Georgia Tech Houston UNLV
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