Notre Dame AD “Somewhat” Retracts Stance About Big Ten Expansion
Just today, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick told the media that the way things are currently going in the college sports landscape (with Big Ten & Pac-10 looking into expansion) could force Notre Dame independent status in football. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated broke the story with statements of what Swarbrick said in today’s media statement. It seems as if he’s “somewhat” retracting his stance about the Big Ten expansion from December, where he stated that Notre Dame will still maintain its status as an independent in football (most of its other sports programs are in the Big East).
It seems to me that the school is now starting to make its move in the expansion process, and seriously looking into it, as what Swarbrick said when he’ll be discussing with ND President John Jenkins to see what might happen down the road.
However, he still says that “while we’re paying attention [to realignment], we’re trying like heck to maintain our football independence. It’s good for college football and it’s great for Notre Dame. That’s our goal.” Pretty much he’s still trying to stay on his stance that he’s been standing by with since December, but also notices that deep down inside that Notre Dame can’t stay independent forever with a lot schools getting more dough than they’re receiving in the future and knows that once the Big Ten expansion finally comes to a close forever, it’s close forever, with no way of getting in. So he still has an opened mind about it and somewhat making a move, and that’s what Jim Delany wants.
But with more and more articles that I see on the Big Ten expansion with the potential candidates for the prestige conference, I’ve come to believe that I think that the Big Ten will go ahead with adding three schools to the conference, creating the first super conference in close to two decades. This way, it’s almost certain that Notre Dame has a VERY good chance of being invited to the prestigious league, along with two other schools. But what would be the other two schools to come along with Notre Dame? I know I’ve picked Texas, Mizzou and Rutgers in my Big Ten expansion article, but I think that these picks would probably be more realistic to come along with Notre Dame:
I think that these are more realistic picks for the Big Ten. You get two nationally-recognized schools and a school that’s considered a sleeping giant that has the potential of carrying the New Jersey market and hopefully the NYC market, which the Big Ten is really wanting to go after.
Nebraska has a huge fanbase but lacks the TV market and Rutgers has the TV market but lacks a huge fanbase. This I think that these two schools will balance out and thus making me to believe that the Big Ten will go Big 14, cementing Delany’s legacy.
