Big Ten Football: Options for expansion to 16, 18, 20, or 24 teams
By Ryan Kay
Some teams may meet some of the Academic criteria for the Big Ten for example but their football programs may not do enough to entice the Big Ten to offer them a spot in the conference.
Syracuse from the ACC
. team. 827. . . . Orange
AAU Member: No
Top 30 Revenue School: No (#49)
Top 100 Academic National University: Yes (#58)
Top 20 tv/streaming market: No (#87)
Criteria Score Card: 1/4
Syracuse was an AAU member going back to 1966 but left the prestigious consortium of research universities in 2011. Still, Syracuse is a top 60 nationally ranked university, and the Big Ten values schools with high academic standing. However, athletically, the Orange, especially in football doesn’t move the needle in terms of excitement. Historically, the Orange have had their moments in football and they have done well in basketball for a long time but them receiving a possibly invite to join the Big Ten is highly unlikely.
Arizona State from the PAC 12
Sun Devils . . team. 854. . .
AAU Member: No
Top 30 Revenue School: No (#39)
Top 100 Academic National University: No (#103)
Top 20 tv/streaming market: Yes (#11)
Criteria Score Card: 1/4
Arizona State may have only met one of the four above criteria to join the Big Ten conference but they are close. ASU isn’t a bad academic school by any stretch of the imagination, the Sun Devils don’t pull in a ton of revenue but they are not struggling financially, and they are located just east of the city of Phoenix. However, there are other more qualified schools in PAC 12 that the Big Ten would look at first before inviting the Sun Devils to join the conference.
Wake Forest from the ACC Conference
. . Demon Deacons . . team. 889.
AAU Member: No
Top 30 Revenue School: No (#64)
Top 100 Academic National University: Yes (#28)
Top 20 tv/streaming market: No (#47)
Criteria Score Card: 1/4
Being ranked No. 28 among national universities by U.S. News & World Report is very impressive. However, Wake Forest does not have a bad football program but the Demon Deacons are not considered a top-tier team in the ACC.
Also, if the Big Ten were to expand to the state of North Carolina, it would much prefer the Unversity of North Carolina. The Demon Deacons should are a good fit for the ACC and should remain there. A Big Ten invitation may not be on the top of the priority list for Wake Forest anyways.
Then there are other schools and high-end institutions from Power Five schools that meet multiple criteria but have not received much attention about the possibility of joining the Big Ten conference.