B1G to Target Texas, Oklahoma when Big XII GOR Expires

Mavric said:
If it goes to 16 teams, it should be a Pod system

East Pod: Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland

North Pod: Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern

West Pod: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois

South Pod: Texas, Oklahoma, Purdue, Indiana 
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You want to keep the rivalries within a pod since they play every year. Also try and keep them geographically close. 

Pod1: Nebraska, Texas, OU, Iowa

Pod2: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois

Pod3: Michigan, MSU, OSU, Indiana

Pod4: PSU, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue

Purdue and Indiana can play in a non-conference game every other year as the only protected game.

Pod 1and 3 would only ever play two teams from the other pod to keep the schedule balanced better.

 
Landlord said:
I mean maybe you live in Texas so it's easier for you personally, but 9 of the 13 other teams in the BIg Ten are closer to Lincoln than Austin Texas is.
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I live in Austin  :D . I'd honestly be happy to never play them again really, but part of me wants the chance to get some revenge also. Those lucky little s#!ts don't even have hate back for us with how many times they pulled one out of their a$$ vs better teams. I feel like we could change that with Frost. 

 
nic said:
You want to keep the rivalries within a pod since they play every year. Also try and keep them geographically close. 

Pod1: Nebraska, Texas, OU, Iowa

Pod2: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois

Pod3: Michigan, MSU, OSU, Indiana

Pod4: PSU, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue

Purdue and Indiana can play in a non-conference game every other year as the only protected game.

Pod 1and 3 would only ever play two teams from the other pod to keep the schedule balanced better.
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Iowa fans would be pissed at this 

 
I don't like the pods idea. However, if we were going to do it, I'd be ok if the Big 10 kicked out Rutgers, and somehow added Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.

I hate Texas and don't trust them, but I'd be ok with it if the other two came also. And I have no interest in the Big 10 adding Kansas. They already have Rutgers, what do they need another one for?

 
I'd prefer Kansas and Texas.  I really don't care about the old Oklahoma rivalry anymore.  They chose to tether to Texas and Oklahoma adds nothing for recruiting territory in a league that needs new recruiting areas.  I'd like a close Lawrence, KS campus to drive to and see KU basketball in a better league too.  Maybe the Big Ten sees that UT and OU are joined at the hip and wants the OKC market too?  Texas joining the SEC is as about as remote as BYU becoming part of the Pac-12.  Next to zero and it's not just the Longhorn Network.  SEC is not strong academically and that's important to UT-Austin.  I think they would only consider the Pac-12 and Big Ten for that reason.  Same reason Texas Tech or Oklahoma State has about next to no chance of joining the Pac-12 either, as a stand alone university not good enough academic schools.  If this happens, to me this is extra pressure on Scott Frost to get Nebraska back as an elite program before then.  Having Wisconsin and Iowa to beat to get to a title game is one thing, Oklahoma and Texas most years with their resources should be even more difficult.  However, until I see someone like Frank The Tank start talking about this latest round of realignment, I'm still looking at it as someone throwing stuff against the wall for attention.

 
I don't think the solution is a division or pod system, but simply a "rivalry" system. I think the two most important issues that need to be addressed when making the schedule is 1) each team needs to play a home/home series with every other team within a 4 year period. 2) rivalries. 3) schedule parity. 4) conference identity.

In a 16 team conference (or even in a 14 team conf.) each team can play every other school twice during a four year period with a 9 game schedule... But instead of divisions or Pods, each team would have 3 protected rivals. Then the two best records go to the conference title game.

If OU and KU or TX or whoever were to join, then NU would play OU, KU, and Iowa each year for example. Then rotate the rest of the 12 conference teams on a continual home/home series rotation no different than the B12 used to do, except the rotations for each specific team wouldn't be based on division, they would be based on Parity....

With 3 protected games, and 6 home/home rotating series, then each team will play their "un"-protected games twice every 4 years making everyone feel like they are a part of the same conference..... I have this schedule set up on a huge spread sheet for the entire B10 going forward like 20 years, I don't have time right now, but I can maybe link to the full schedule later this weekend. Looking at the entire body of the schedule addresses some of the parity issues and the "unfairness" of the "protected rivals" that you see listed here.

Protected games:

NU: OU, KU, Iowa
Iowa: NU, Minn, and Wisc
Wisc: Iowa, Minn, and NW
Minn: Iowa, Wisc, Mich

NW: Wisc, ILL, MD

ILL: OSU, NW, Purdu

Pur: OU, ILL, IU

IU: MSU, Pur, KU

MSU: Mich, IU, RU
OSU: Mich, PSU, ILL
Mich: OSU, MSU, Minn
Penn State: OSU, MD, and RU

MD: RU, PSU, NW

RU: PSU, MD, MSU

OU: NU, KU, Purdue
KU: OU, NU, and IU

 
husker_fan_from_sweden said:
Pod 1 and 3 might need a shuffle. Those are too stacked.
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I think it will be Kansas and not Texas. In the end Texas will demand to keep their network. 

Pod1: NU,OU,Iowa,Kansas 

They also will want MSU,OSU and UofM playing every year. The same for NU and OU, and other pod match ups.

I like the pods because teams will play each other every two years and have a home and home every 4 years. With 8 team divisions we would never see some teams.

 
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r06ue1 said:
Would love to have OU back and maybe their little Brother but F Texass.  
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I'm for this.  OU and Kansas (basketball) or OU and Ok State - which has also been good at football and basketball but still doesn't add a lot of TV sets when you already have OU.  Kansas would be better.  Or go the other direction and add OU and Virginia Tech or go deep into Texas and grab the Houston Market or the Dallas market wt TCU.   I have no desire to see texas in our conference again. 

 
In the end it will be about $ and egos. The B1G isn't going to not get Texas because Texas might screw up the conference. They won't believe it's possible.

 
A disclaimer: I live in Texas and would love for the B1G to expand in this general direction

I see the Texas and OU conversation pop up relatively frequently anytime the off season realignment speculation kicks in. I wonder, though, why hasn't the expansion talk ever directed itself towards Texas A&M? I've been to college station plenty of times (Purify in the endzone. I was 20 yards away from that catch) and I think from a conference standpoint they are a much better fit in the B1G.  They have a robust following, great traveling fans, top notch academics,  and are generally less lousy in how they treat their conference mates. Are they, now, too attached to the SEC to even consider it? Or should the B1G try to nab both UT and TAMU in future realignment talks? Or hopefully just TAMU...

 
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