[NU Sports] Pac 10 to invite 6 Big XII schools to join?

[Mike Nolan]

Here are two posts that I wrote on the Husker List, what I said is not 
all that different from what Peter concluded:
--
Mike

> And because of TV revenue.  The Big 12 may be a better conference than 
> the Big 10, but Northwestern earns more TV money than NU does, by far.  
> TO was not in favor of the Big 12 from the beginning, where everything 
> seems to be about the state of Texas and those schools. It is all about 
> money and NU would make more money as a member of the Big 10 than they 
> do in the Big 12. 

The Big XII was always going to be Texas and the Six Dwarves.  Just compare
the 2009 population of TX (24.8 million) and that of the other six states:

MO:  6.0 million
CO:  5.0 million
OK:  3.7 million
IA:  3.0 million
KS:  2.8 million
NE:  1.8 million

If this was 1960 rather than 2010, Nebraska might have trouble getting
invited into the Big Sky conference, much less the Big 10.  

Aside from its recently restored (we hope) prowess in football, what does
Nebraska bring to the table?  
--
Mike Nolan

> Northwestern likely could accommodate 15,000 Husker fans for a weekend 
> in Chicago.  If they thought they could get more, they might move the 
> game to Soldier Field. 

Michigan brings at least that many every other year, about the only time
that The Stadium Formerly Known As Dyche is anywhere near its 47,130 
capacity.  

Notre Dame will sell it out, in fact they used to set up bleachers to 
raise the capacity to over 50,000, though the construction of the new 
locker room in the north end zone now makes that impossible.  But according 
to multiple sources, Notre Dame has declined several offers of a home/home
schedule with Northwestern.  (I suspect Nebraska has as well.)  

As to playing in Soldier Field, apparently that's not as easy to schedule 
as it sounds.  FWIW, Northwestern is moving the Illinois game to Wrigley 
Field this year.  Wrigley hasn't hosted a football game since the Bears 
left after the 1970 season.

Don't get me wrong, I think Nebraska would be foolish not to accept an
invitation to join the Big Ten (especially if the Big XII falls apart
as rapidly as appears possible), but other than a good football program 
and a devoted football fan base (though with a small media market), 
Nebraska really doesn't bring a lot to enhance the reputation of the 
conference in athletics, and not that much in academics, either.  

The Big Ten is a strong basketball conference, our men's basketball team 
is pathetic and the recent strength of the women's team is far from the 
dynasty stage.  The best years of the men's gymnastics team are in 
the past (I don't know that the NCAA is committed to maintaining that as
a championship sport, either), and the baseball team appears to have 
returned to mediocrity.  Women's volleball might challenge Penn State's 
recent domination of the conference.  I don't know what status bowling has
in the Big Ten.  
--
Mike Nolan