http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=5267138
Big 10 had ND at its meetings this weekend, and you'd assume an offer to join(but w/o any ND acceptance announcement), but instead, with Neb (and likely, Mizzou) joining Big 11, is soon to be at 13.
Big 10 Commish alluded to another step coming (Big 10 turns eyes eastward--for 1-3 more).
In ESPN article ND AD reiterates it still wants the best of all its worlds: 1) staying a FB indep., not join BE, nor B10 in FB; and 2)remain in 16 team BE for other sports....to wit:
..."Notre Dame doesn't want to go to the Big Ten. But if the Big Ten torpedoes the Big East by taking several institutions on its way to 15 schools, Notre Dame might be forced to join as member No. 16 -- because there might be nowhere else for its non-revenue sports to go and because it could face increased football scheduling difficulty if it doesn't. Yet if Notre Dame must go to the Big Ten, it would much rather go as the only new addition to a 12-team league -- which, of course, it doesn't really want to do...."
BE "proactivity" is strangely silent...the quandry is made worse, not better, by ND...
ND doesnt add to the near minimum size of BE (BCS) FB, at only 8 teams, but it bloats and maxes out the BE BB conf size at 16 teams.
BE cant get excited w/4 teams from Big 12 as orphans (KU, Kst,IoSt, Baylor), because, although adding them (or others in the east) to strengthen the too small 8 team BE FB to say, 10 teams (and replace from poss B10 defections), will also have effect of rendering BE BB conf having poss 17-18 teams--kind of unwieldy.
That said why consider ND, at this point, a positive, in BE issues? ND--please join the BE FB conf., or go, completely...for the good of the rest of us...to save FB, we need your vacancy in BB!
Screw ND!
I agree completely. ND is using the Big East. Once they feel its in their best interest to go, they're gone. ND football in the Big East is no more than a wet dream. The Big East needs to wise up, dump ND, and grab another football school, so at nine the football schools aren't in danger of becoming irrelevant if one football school leaves.
With Nebraska in B 10, ND lost out on opportunity to be sole expansion team of the league.
For Big 10 to now get ND to come in, a perceived tact is for Big 10 to grab up to 3 OTHER BE teams, to ruin BE, for ND in other sports, and to "force" ND to come in at 16...so..
Unless ND joinder in BE FB is insisted on now, on penalty of BE get out...the Big 10 interest in ND paints a bigger target on other BE teams-- to preserve the rest , we should shove ND into arms of B 10.
..dont worry B10 will not cry. On getting ND, B10 can still get its 14 or 16 by grabbing 1-3 B12 orphans...please