Big Ten Expansion... to Include Virginia?!?

It sounds crazy, I know. But Scott Wilson from Bleacher Report makes a pretty compelling argument.

I honestly hate the idea of seeing us leave the ACC. But if Duke and Carolina bail out, I do think we should follow them. Besides, the ACC treats us like second class citizens, especially in terms of scheduling and officiating. The ACC expansion to include Miami, BC, and Virginia Tech has been an unmitigated disaster -- the football championship game has fallen flat, the creation of an unbalanced basketball schedule has tainted that once-elite product, and now the conference is struggling to find even a decent television contract. (Ready for ESPN2 Wednesday night football, ACC fans?)

The Big Ten, meanwhile, provides the holy grail of television revenue: its own dedicated network. The football is at least as strong as the ACC's (and I would argue better, once Michigan returns to its rightful level of strength as a program, and especially if Notre Dame joins the conference), and the basketball played by Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois more than replaces what we'd be leaving behind in NC State, Wake Forest, GT, BC, VT, Miami, Florida State, and Clemson.

Virginia would be hailed as one of the gems of expansion as the Big Ten becomes the Big Sixteen.

So while I hate the idea of leaving the ACC, I must admit that the lure of the Big Sixteen is pretty strong right now.

Major "seismic" conference realignments seem to be coming this decade, and I hope we end up in a position of strength once the quakes die down.


Big 16 West:
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Purdue
Wisconsin

Big 16 East:
Duke
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
North Carolina
Ohio State
Penn State
Virginia