Ok I know expansion is going to happen....

[Crimson09Crazy]

We don't know who is going where and what conferences are doing what. My thought....The Big East Football is going to be disbanded completely. The Basketball league will stay together and be a very powerful Basketball league with Georgetown and Villanova. But for the other 8 members who do have a football team it is going to be very interesting to see where everyone ends end. Pitt, Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse are all going to get picked up. But what happens to Louisville, Cincy, and USF....and the most interesting one WVU. Who knows I don't have an answer and either does anyone in America. But as a Pitt fan all I hear is Big Ten this Big Ten that. Are we going to end up there? More then likely. Do I want to? Hell no. I know the Big East is done. Here is what I would want to do. Let's go to the ACC. IF the ACC will take us and Syracuse, I would be all over it. Why? Well first of all I think joining the Big Ten hurts us Basketball wise. We recruit primarily Philly,Jersey and NYC. They aren't going to be thrilled playing Iowa and Minnesota and Northwestern ect. But by joining the ACC, We're going to be able to get the same type of recruits. We're also going to be able to keep our coach. Dixon does not want to go to the Big Ten, but I don't think he would have trouble going up against Carolina and Duke year in and year out. And from a Football perspective. We maintain a BCS affiliation in the ACC just the same as we would in the Big 10 or wait 11...or 14....or 16. Also as a fan, I would be more inclined to want to travel to away games in Virginia and the Carolinas rather then Wisconsin and Minnesota half way across the country. Also It benefits us to join the ACC because it brings back our former rivals. I think Va Tech and Pitt can become something pretty special. The teams did not like each other when they were in the Big East and I think we can pick up where we left off. Also for a team that is recruiting more in Florida rather then the Midwest, It'll be good to see FSU and Miami on a regular basis. Also with the whole academic thing, we join a conference with Virginia and Duke among other solid schools. We do not lose anything there. I think the ACC keeps our status as a top tier Basketball program and also we have a pretty good position in the pecking order among Football schools.


So we don't get our shot to be in the same conference as the Nitters? Oh well the rivalry will be renewed once Joe goes, It would be a consistent non conference game for both of us, when it happens.

[The Ancient Enemy]

A lot of people are making the mistake of looking at this from a strictly athletic perspective. This has a lot to do w/ academics and research collaborations. The Big Ten is NOT an athletic conference, the way the Big XII and Big East and SEC all are. The Big Ten and Pac-10 were created by academic institutions who wanted to collaborate. From those bonds, they started playing sports against one another b/c it made sense.

This is why WVU and Cincinnati and Louisville are all in trouble right now. The SEC has said they are not interested in expanding northward. Those 3 schools have no chance of a B10 expansion bid b/c of their academics.

Pitt needs to do what is right for them as a university. You need to swallow your basketball pride and understand that this move will give Pitt a steroid injection in all sports (we can make a case for bball in a minute) and as an academic institution. ESPECIALLY in academics. You guys simply cannot collaborate with USF the way you can benefit from Penn State or Northwestern.

The Big Ten has such an insanely huge undergrad enrollment that every year they are pumping out way more alumni than the other conferences. For this reason, the Big Ten will conceivably never go away. Even if the football programs all start getting throttled by C-USA members, they will never lose that automatic BCS bid. There's too many people who are Big ten fans, and there is a ridiculously huge market for the Big Ten.

There is no comparison between the Big Ten and the ACC or the Big East.

You said you would rather go to the ACC... Be my guest. Those schools are not making anywhere near the revenue that the Big Ten schools are making.

Pitt would be retarded to turn down a Big Ten invite.

You say basketball will take a big hit. Will it? Doesn't the Big Ten get teams to the final 8 or 4 almost every season? Syracuse is a school in hot Big Ten contention, so why would it hurt if Syracuse and Pitt both joined the Big Ten?

The Big Ten is also all-inclusive. It's a fraternity, and would never allow Notre Dame to play all their sports in the Big Ten and play football as an independent.

Go take a look at the football bowl tie-in payouts if you think the Big Ten doesn't have enough clout to take who they want. The only school, that makes geographical sense, that would turn down the Big Ten is maybe Notre Dame. Other than that, they'll get whoever they want. And if you think WVU or Syracuse or Rutgers wouldn't jump ship... Wait and you will see.

[Crimson09Crazy]

First off it is absolutely 100% Athletic based. Do not try to convince me or even yourself for that matter that it isn't. IF The Big Ten could get the same money without adding a team to have a Conference Title game, They wouldn't be doing it.

I'm sorry but Pitt is a top university academically in this country whether we play in any conference or not.

I know Cincy,the ville, and the 'eers are in trouble. Nobody wants them. Sucks for WVU because if you combine Bball and Football success over the past 10 years they are among the top 10 no doubt

Solid move in all sports? Pitt is in the top 25 in Baseball. We're already building new digs for a number of athletic teams, playing in the Big Ten isn't going to make a difference for our other programs, They'll get better on their own.

I'm not denying the Big Ten has good fan bases and lots of alumni, thats great.

I'm saying we would not get the same players for Basketball as we would if we stayed in the Big East or went to the ACC.

I Hate the Big Ten, I Hate how we're going to

[The Ancient Enemy]

Then why is Rutgers in so much consideration, and why are some people (myself included) thinking Rutgers gets in ahead of Pitt? Rutgers football is decent at best and their basketball team sucks. Those are the only 2 revenue sports.

Why wouldn't the B10 take Missouri without any questions asked if this was an athletic move? That locks up St Louis and probably half of Kansas City to the market. Missouri's academics are in question.

Doesn't Pitt get a lot of players from NYC in basketball? How many kids do they get from South Carolina? So if Rutgers and Pitt go to the B10, why would you have trouble recruiting NYC?

The research opportunities Pitt would have would be 10 times greater than they do now. There is no comparison between conferences when it comes to academics. It's the B10 and then everyone else.