[NU Sports] Big Ten Expansion this week?

[Mike Nolan]

> I think you're right about the super conferences and I also think there will
> probably be five or six when all is said and done.  However, we will still
> have BCS automatic qualifiers and non-qualifiers since the money and power
> are divided that way and I don't see the current six relinquishing that
> without a fight.

Yeah, but the non-BCS schools have got the United States Senate and
the President of the United States to carry their water.  Obama has got
to be drooling over the prospect of dealing with something that can actually 
get done (even if it has no impact on the USA as a nation-state) rather
than standing around watching the media count oily birds.  Of course, 
the fact that it is likely to get done better and faster without a bunch 
of political hoo-ha's getting involved has never stopped them from 
getting involved anyway.
 
> Although you're a great deal closer to UNL than I am, I can't but think that
> it is farther along with the Big Ten than they would have us believe by
> what's publicly known.  Otherwise there would not have been an ultimatum as
> UNL would not have given the Big XII reason to question its desire to stay
> in the conference.

Only geographically, but I suspect you are correct there has been a lot 
more happening behind closed doors than anyone has let on, possibly even 
in South Bend.  (Wait until the FOIA requests start getting filed!)

One spin on it that I've seen is that Texas was the one behind the power 
play at last week's Big XII meetings, that they wanted the Big XII to 
draw a line in the sand and dare SOMEONE ELSE to cross over it--first.  

Texas is in many ways a bigger prize than Nebraska (what conference 
wouldn't want them?), but making Nebraska out to be the bad guys has 
been a Texas theme since the initial talks that led to the formation 
of the Big XII.
--
Mike Nolan