By
Steve Seepersaud
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No Need to Fix Big 10
When Miami and Virginia Tech decided to leave the Big East and join the Atlantic
Coast Conference, some people thought it would create a domino effect. They
worried other teams would bolt their conferences for greener pastures, and
that the balance of power in college sports would change. You can count me
among them. I'm just hoping the Big Ten stays-put at 11 teams.
Anyone thinking Penn State should leave the Big 10 and join the Big East
should forget about it right now. That would be a huge mistake. Sure, Penn
State could gain some true geographic rivals like Pittsburgh. But the level
of football competition is much stronger in the Big 10. Pitt and Boston College
are light years apart from the likes of Ohio State and Michigan.
The hoops-crazy Big East would be nuts to take Penn State. The Big East will
lose two of its weakest basketball teams in Miami and Virginia Tech. Penn
State is just plain awful. The Nittany Lions wouldn't give any street cred
to the Big East.
The Big 10 should not add a team and expand to 12. In football, that could
lead to divisions and a championship game, which would destroy the fun of
Rivalry Saturday. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is one of the best, if
not the best, in college football. One thing that makes it so great
is that it's always the final game of the conference schedule. By the time
the Buckeyes and Wolverines meet up in November, there's usually a lot at
stake.
If the Big 10 expanded, the best fans could hope for is Ohio State and Michigan
to be placed in different divisions, to win their respective divisions, and
meet up in the conference championship game. Putting them in the same division
and having them face-off earlier in the season would take a lot of drama
out of the rivalry.
Last season, Ohio State and Iowa shared the Big 10 football title. They didn't
play against each other in 2002, so we'll never know who would've come out
on top. Fans have been and probably still are debating that one. That debate
is a good thing. It fires up the fans and players. It also builds the
anticipation for when these teams meet on October 18 in Columbus.
At 11 teams, the Big 10 isn't broken. It's doing quite well, thank you. Don't
fix it.
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