The Confidential

Big 10 Looking East For Expansion

Amid all the rumors of this team or that team being lured into the largesse of the Big Ten, the latest word is that, notwithstanding the additions of Rutgers and Maryland, Big Ten expansion into the East remains on the table.  Only the Big Ten is apparently looking a lot farther east than one might have expected.  A Northwestern blog is reporting that, not only is the Big Ten considering adding schools, it is considering the addition of six schools.

While Frank the Tank speculates on Florida State, the major development is that the Big 10 envisions four, 5-school pods, with one being made up exclusively of teams from east.  As in way east.  Here are the five favorites for that far eastern pod:

• University of Pune (India).  With 500,000 students enrolled, this would, by far, be the largest university in the Big 10.  Assuming roughly 75,000 graduates per year, Big Ten Network executives project that it will be difficult for any local cable carrier to not carry the BTN on basic cable.  Wikipedia has this to say about student life at what the Big 10 expansion committee amusingly refers to as “Pune State”–“It is very challenging in PU. I worked hard and came out with flying colors but story is not same for everyone.”  Sounds like an SEC student.  But, lest you think “Pune State” is only churning out telemarketers and electrical good troubleshooters, the school has well-respected colleges in all the major fields.  For information on Pune football, see here.
• University of the Punjab (Pakistan).  Founded in 1882, the University of the Punjab has a healthy 450,000 students enrolled.  The Big Ten apparently envisions that it can capitalize on the friendly political rivalry between India and Pakistan to elevate Pune-Punjab into the next Michigan-Ohio State.  Indeed, the schools already have some bad blood, apparently originating from one school referring to the other as its “little brother” following a cricket victory.  A Big Ten source notes that an invitation to the school is not a guarantee, but the major proponents see the school as a “Purdue in the Punjab.”  Or vice-versa.  For more information on Punjab football, see here.
• Peking University (China).  Despite having only 30,000 students, Peking University was the very first modern university in China.  The Big Ten likens Peking to a public Northwestern, with a small student body but the high quality that one comes to expect from anything with the words “Made in China” on it.  The plan is to use Peking to capture the central region of China, which is estimated to have eleventy billion television households.  If there is a drawback for Peking, it is the absence of a football team at this time.  However, a Big Ten source dismissed this issue: “We just took Rutgers, didn’t we?”  Touche, Mr. Anonymous Big Ten source.
• University of Tokyo (Japan).  Lest you think the Big Ten’s expansion plans were based solely on the “P” book from a set of encyclopedia, the Big Ten is looking strongly at Tokyo.  Admittedly, there is some urgency to add Tokyo.  With the Big East’s recent rumored addition of Hawaii, they will certainly be looking for a Pacific Rim partner.  Tokyo fits the urban university model that makes made the Big East a great good satisfactory conference.  With nearly 14,000,000 people living in Tokyo, Big Ten Network bean counters are literally drooling.  With an 80.3 in research, this website lists Tokyo as #1 in research among Asian universities, which has strong appeal to the Big Ten’s CIC research consortium.  That’s right, an 80.3!  That’s a lot of dongs or yen or whatever.  Look, the Confidential likes pie charts much better than bar charts.  Sorry.  For more on Tokyo football, see here.
• University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong).  The UHK boasts that it is “the oldest tertiary education institution in Hong Kong.”  Founded in 1910 (the year Greg Oden was really born), the UFK fits the Big Ten mold of a flagship university.  The UHK will have to invest some funds to expand the Stanley Ho Sport Centre to accommodate the 40,000 Nebraska fans that go to every road football game.  But it looks like the Henry Fok Swimming Pool already looks ready to host a Big Ten swim meet.  And the academic types already love the UHK–a University so passionate about research that it devoted an entire website tab to the subject.  It is unclear whether UHK has a football team, but Bobby Petrino’s father indicates that there is mutual interest between the school and his son.

So those are the five leading candidates right now.  If true, this expansion is sure to anger some of the American schools that were hoping for an invitation.  But the Big Ten’s mantra has been about expanding into new, vibrant markets.  With the United States meandering from recession to recession, it is clear that the Big Ten needs to be looking at tomorrow’s markets from a population and financial standpoint.  So, with apologies to schools throughout the southeast United States, the Far East makes perfect sense–as in dollars and cents–for the Big Ten.  These are 100-year decisions, after all.

Expected Pods:

Far East: Pune, Punjab, Peking, Tokyo, Hong Kong

East: Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers, Ohio State, [20th team, TBD]

Central: Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern

Far Central: Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois

Protected rivalries are Northwestern-Illinois, Michigan-Ohio State, Rutgers-Peking.