Posted: Mike Couzens
The subject of a possible (or imminent, depending on who you ask) expansion of the Big Ten has been of choice ‘round these parts lately. For good reason.
There’s a lot of money on the line.
Brent Axe joined me and Conroy on the latest Fizzcast and felt things looked bleak for the Big East.
“I don’t see another path here. They’ve gotta come out with a huge trump card out of their back pocket that hasn’t been revrealed yet for me to say it wouldn’t be a good move to go to the Big Ten.”
He said the revenue for having schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, etc. into the Dome for football would be almost too much to pass up.
I don’t disagree, however the situation personally revolves around a different point.
How many real rivalries in the current conference do we really treasure as fans?
Lets’s think:
-Basketball: Georgetown, UConn, and Villanova
-Football: Rutgers (?)
It’s a short list.¬†The Per’fesser thinks a move to the Big Ten would hurt the Syracuse recruiting efforts. He told The New York Times, ‚ÄúSay a couple schools go to the Big Ten, who‚Äôs to say a New York City kid would want to go there? There‚Äôs no logical reason for that kid to want to do that.”
But Syracuse, located more than four hours away from NYC in Central New York, is a logical choice for a city kid? Nope. There’s nothing all too appealing about Lexington, KY but high profile kids still seem to like going there. It’s about being part of winning programs and national exposure for recruits.
So think about the new rivalries that could come from joining the Big 10 and the exposure to the rest of the country Syracuse could get.
Hey Doc Gross, how about instead of New York’s College Team, Syracuse becomes America’s college team! I know the hunters in Iowa already love those orange jackets you can buy at a truck stop so why don’t we outfit them in a different shade of orange?
Boeheim also said in the same interview, ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt think we‚Äôll do well in the Big Ten. It‚Äôs possible, but I don‚Äôt think we‚Äôd do well at all. I just don‚Äôt see how Syracuse or Rutgers fits in with Iowa and Illinois.”
But Benjamin Franklin and Grover Cleveland do.
And that’s all that matters.
