[NU Sports] Big Ten Expansion

[cherron604 at aol.com]

Driving around Chicago on Sunday - Hub Arkush (Pro Football Weekly) and Barry Rosner (Arlington Heights Daily Herald) were hosting an afternoon show on the Score, 670 AM.  Both men should know better, but shot back with stale, old statements when a caller asked about Big Ten expansion and Texas.

Both men shot back that 'Texas makes no sense', though some of the links we saw in the last few weeks indicate that there are good arguments for Texas (best public academics between Berkeley and Champaign).  Arkush brought up Missouri as the best match, though most of what we have read indicates that Missouri has broached the subject - but they don't bring us much in the way of TVs to get the Big Ten Network.  Texas would, and Texas makes less from their TV deal than Indiana makes from ours...

Rosner also shot back with 'Notre Dame makes the most sense, but it'll never happen', and he backed that with the (discredited) notion that 'they have their own broadcast network'.  Again, all the stories that have been linked to us show that ND makes way less from their TV deal ($8 million ?) than our least accomplished conference mate makes ($22 million ?).

It's always annoying when the voices at sports talkers parrot these myths (Notre Dame has it's own network !  Making huge bucks !  Texas makes no sense !) and don't get called on it.  Also both men treated it as pretty much a sports question - Everything we have read indicates that Missouri and Texas officials consider it to be mostly an academic question.  Other than the Ivy League, all are admitting that the Big Ten represents the highest order of academics, and the other leagues aren't even close.

Chuck Herron   Tech '85



=