It seems rather imminent now that the Big Ten Conference will expand, maybe sooner than we all thought. My personal feeling is that if invited, Syracuse should go.
Do I like the idea of losing traditional rivalries, namely in basketball and football ending? No. Do I think Syracuse has to go if invited? Absolutely. Hear me out.
Let’s say for sake of argument, the Big Ten takes three teams, and let’s say those teams are Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. Syracuse is left in a Big East, which still has some might, but in turn will be watered down by whatever schools replace those two traditional teams.
Most likely, the schools replacing departing Big East teams will not turn into BCS contenders like South Florida, Louisville, and Cincinnati did when they entered in 2005. The reality is those teams filling the gaps would be the likes of East Carolina, Memphis, maybe Central Florida among some others that simply aren’t as appealing as the aforementioned schools.
With that said, I feel that if invited, Syracuse needs to go to the Big Ten, for the simple argument of not being left behind, like they were for the ACC expansion in 2003. Sure, the Big East responded well to that raid, but on the football end of things, which remember brings in the most money, there just doesn’t seem to be anyone left out there to fill the gaps like what happened before.
Syracuse in the Big Ten does sound a little weird, and may make Doug Marrone’s turnaround of the football program more difficult than anyone ever thought. But the money the Big Ten network along with its new conference championship it would have in football would bring to Syracuse might be too sweet to pass up. I do get excited by the new, national faces coming to the Carrier Dome, with the hopes that teams like West Virginia and football and Georgetown, ‘Nova, and UConn in basketball could find their ways to the ‘Cuse.
The reality is, that if the Big East is raided again, and remember, rumors are the Big Ten could take anywhere from one to five schools, it might just fold. Don’t get too nervous this is just absolute and pure speculation, a domino theory so to speak.
Let’s say the Big Ten expands to add Notre Dame, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Missouri. (The rumor is Notre Dame might just go, despite previously not going down that road, if two northeastern schools go) The Big East probably can’t survive that. Moreover, if the Big Ten makes a power play, the other leagues have to keep up. How would the Big 12 replace Missouri? Does the SEC add any other schools? What about the ACC, Pac 10 etc?
Clearly, nobody in the world knows exactly what will happen, but Syracuse might be best served being proactive with a conference invite, and not reactive like it was in 2003.
Big Ten:
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Syracuse
Rutgers
Pittsburgh
Wisconsin
Indiana
Purdue
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Illinois
Notre Dame
Missouri
ACC:
Clemson
Florida State
Miami
Georgia Tech
Duke
North Carolina
NC State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Maryland
Boston College
Wake Forest
UConn
South Florida
