Bigger Ten?

Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany told The Gazette in May that league expansion rhetoric was “a back-burner topic.” It's now moved to the Big Ten's front burner.

The 11-member Big Ten Conference, which includes the University of Iowa, immediately will explore adding a 12th member. A statement released by league officials Tuesday afternoon said the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) “believes that the timing is right” for the league to consider expansion, with a 12- to 18-month timetable for recommendations.

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Football has become the driving force for expansion. Several Division I league have added highly visible - and lucrative - conference championship football games in early December. Several Big Ten coaches, including Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, support adding a 12th team so the league can split into two six-school divisions and compete for an championship. The NCAA does not allow conferences to hold championship games unless it contains at least 12 schools.

There is no specific criteria for admittance, but all current Big Ten schools are prestigious academic institutions. Any incoming member would have to rank equally among Big Ten universities.

University of Iowa President Sally Mason referred questions to Delany. Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said Tuesday he supports expansion - if it's the right member.

“We do have a great conference, and in order to add somebody, it's going to have to make sense,” Barta said. “When we added Penn State, it worked out wonderfully. They fit our philosophy. They fit athletically, academically, geographically. If we ever find the perfect partner, then I think it's worth looking at. If we don't find the perfect partner, then I'm not interested in expanding.”

Athletics play just one role in deciding a potential new member. The Big Ten was established in 1896 and is among the nation's most prestigious conferences in academics. All its public institutions rank in the top 29 in the most recent U.S. News and World Report's annual public college rankings. All of them are members of the Association of American Universities, a renowned research association.

Speculation swirls to several universities as prospective candidates, such as Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Boston College. All but Notre Dame are members of the AAU. All but Missouri rank among the nation's top 66 private or public colleges by U.S. News and World Report.

All but Pittsburgh generated athletics department revenues of at least $52 million in fiscal 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Every Big Ten school but Northwestern had revenues exceeding $55 million the same year.

There are no rules regarding a prospective candidate's location, Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman said.

Delany will gather information without holding formal discussions with any potential school. If the discussions become serious, Delany is required to inform COP/C Chairwoman Lou Anna Simon, president of Michigan State University, and the prospective school's league commissioner.

“A potential school would submit an official application, and our board of directors (COP/C) would vote on whether or not to grant admittance,” Chipman said.

The Big Ten last expanded in 1990 with Penn State, which began competing in 1993. The league invited Notre Dame to join as its 12th member but was rebuffed in 1999.

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