Big Ten Football: Top 5 expansion candidates for the conference

If the Big Ten is looking to advance southward, it could also take a long look at the University of Virginia. The Cavaliers have fared even worse in recent years on the football field than North Carolina, but the university is impeccable in terms of its academics and would also fit right in with the other members of the Big Ten.

Virginia would also provide a natural rival to current Big Ten member Maryland. The two schools were regular opponents when both were in the ACC, and they would serve as bookends to lock down the Beltway market around the nation’s capital.

Bronco Mendenhall has the Cavaliers on an upward trajectory after the former BYU head coach took over in Charlottesville a few years ago. Their introduction to the conference would lead to some shuffling in the divisions, which could also help break up the overloaded East and provide greater competitive balance in the league.

In another realignment, the Big Ten would be operating from a position of strength. And given Virginia’s historical status as a doormat for the ACC, it could look at an invitation to the Big Ten as a way to enrich its coffers and finally turn things around on the gridiron.