Nebraska set to join Big 10; Missouri next?
As the Big 12 continues falling apart at the seams, the latest beneficiary of the chaos is the Big 10, who have extended an invitation to Nebraska to join the storied conference starting next season. Colorado is already joining the Pac-10 and some say that Missouri is up in the air choosing between the Pac-10 and the Big 10.
With two teams committed to leaving, and more possibly on the way, the Big 12 is now seeming more like malignant Mesothelioma than a popular conference.
The Pac 10 has floated the rumor of a Pac 10-Big 12 merger in which they could invite as many as six of the Big 12 teams to join an expanded Pac 10. That would still leave as many as five more teams to be snapped up by other conferences or left out in the cold. Iowa State could be a nice match to the Big 10, as would Missouri. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State joining the Big 10.
With those six, the Big 10 would include a total of sixteen or seventeen teams, and would have to divide into east/west or north/south subdivisions, but certainly each would make nice additions to the conference.
The increased competition would make it harder for schools like Minnesota to compete for a championship; on the other hand, the increased prestige and competition could make Minnesota a more attractive location for recruits looking to catch the eye of the pros, since the quality of competition they’d face each year would skyrocket.
