Who is Big Ten looking to add?

So the Big 10 is finally moving into the 21st century and has figured out they actually need a conference championship game to remain relevant in the final weeks of college football’s regular season.  For that they need to add another team.  They also need to be able to count, but that’s another matter.

Over the weekend word first leaked from Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez that the Big 10 would be looking into adding another school.  Tuesday the conference made it official, putting out a statement to that effect.  So now the guessing game begins.

the last time there was discussion about this, Notre Dame was invited to join but said no and inked a lucrative deal with NBC for themselves.  This time around, most Big Ten coaches have taken a screw you approach to issuing another invitation to the Irish. So where will they go and how might the dominos fall if they do attract a 12th team and break into two divisions like the Big 12?

There have been rumors for years that the Big Ten would like to have Missouri in their conference a rumor usually floated by Missouri and Tiger fans like to state that they’re educational philosophy is more in line with Big Ten schools.  That’s all well and good, but this is about money, not education.  College sports moved past that a long time ago.

A more likely scenario is that the Big Ten looks east towards West Virginia or Pitt.  Bringing in the Mountaineers would bring in a natural border rival for Ohio State and they have the football and basketball programs to compete.

Same goes for Pitt.  Asking the Panthers to join further secures the Pittsburgh television market and surrounding areas of Philly and New York, brings in a football and basketball power and a natural rival for Penn State.

Don’t be surprised if they also take a look at Syracuse or Rutgers.  This is all about TV markets and producing revenue, remember.  Missouri can bring St. Louis, but that pales in comparison to the northeast.

What if Missouri went to the Big Ten?  Where would the Big 12 turn?  Look no further than TCU.  They now have a powerhouse football team, they’ve been good on and off in basketball and they would further secure the Dallas-Ft. Worth market.  They’d  be made to play in the north division, but would jump at the offer.

If Pitt or West Virginia left the Big East, they’d probably go after Memphis or maybe try and lure Boston College back from the ACC.  It all becomes a shootout at the OK Corral. This is all conjecture at this point in time, but the picture will get clearer in the next year to 18 months.