Bradley to A10?

[rlh04d]

Well just earlier today, we got Grant of Rights from the ACC. That maybe killed off most of the relevancy of this post.

I think the Big 5 are done moving, unless the Big 12 actually wakes up and realizes West Virginia is on an island, and adds Cincy. Seriously, I can't believe the long term plan there is to hang WVU out to dry.

Theory: Add Cincy to go to 11. UConn as a football only to go to 12 teams. UConn can then join the Big East in the other sports (might take some coaxing, but if UConn can park football in the Big 12, that might work for everyone. But wait, it gets more brilliant. Big 12 can then take a non-football, in the midwest, to balance UConn out. Anyone know of a really good program in the midwest, who doesn't have the BEast as a possibility, that would be a geographic fit?

Hey now ... you took off my edit where I realized that everything I just said had instantly become irrelevant

Theory: B1G expansion will still happen, but in 2025, when the ACC's grant of rights ends. Interesting news from FSU's side -- we were just named a "Pre-Eminent University" in the state of Florida along with UF. Which translates out to $75 million in increased funding largely towards research for both schools over the next five years, which FSU has already raised donations to match. $150 million is going to go a long way to getting FSU's programs up to AAU standards. Despite DJA's trolling, after seeing that news, I'd put FSU getting AAU status by 2025 at 50/50 now (the newish medical school and the college of engineering are the two main issues that need to be buffed up). B1G TV contract ends in 2016 ... a lot of the talk about current expansion was to beef up that contract before it was renegotiated. But it'll likely be renegotiated again in 2026 ... right as the ACC's and B12's GOR ends. Very possible everything with the B1G still ends up happening in 2026 ... depending on what changes by then. And tons can change by then.

I like your B12 theory, though. I do think they absolutely need Cincinnati ... but from what I've read it seems that the B12 presidents believed that only a few colleges would raise the per-team TV revenue (FSU & Notre Dame, primarily). I don't think they would consider Cinci or UConn able to do that, and certainly not WSU. Of course, WSU is kind of irrelevant to that, because obviously you'd only give WSU a share of the basketball side of the contract.

[TheAsianSensation]

Hey now ... you took off my edit where I realized that everything I just said had instantly become irrelevant

Theory: B1G expansion will still happen, but in 2025, when the ACC's grant of rights ends. Interesting news from FSU's side -- we were just named a "Pre-Eminent University" in the state of Florida along with UF. Which translates out to $75 million in increased funding largely towards research for both schools over the next five years, which FSU has already raised donations to match. $150 million is going to go a long way to getting FSU's programs up to AAU standards. Despite DJA's trolling, after seeing that news, I'd put FSU getting AAU status by 2025 at 50/50 now (the newish medical school and the college of engineering are the two main issues that need to be buffed up). B1G TV contract ends in 2016 ... a lot of the talk about current expansion was to beef up that contract before it was renegotiated. But it'll likely be renegotiated again in 2026 ... right as the ACC's and B12's GOR ends. Very possible everything with the B1G still ends up happening in 2026 ... depending on what changes by then. And tons can change by then.

I like your B12 theory, though. I do think they absolutely need Cincinnati ... but from what I've read it seems that the B12 presidents believed that only a few colleges would raise the per-team TV revenue (FSU & Notre Dame, primarily). I don't think they would consider Cinci or UConn able to do that, and certainly not WSU. Of course, WSU is kind of irrelevant to that, because obviously you'd only give WSU a share of the basketball side of the contract.

Bah, I can't be bothered to read the entire thing

B1G will expand with someone in 2025. I'm not convinced that FSU is the best idea, but they'll expand. 3x20 or 4x16 is the endgame here.

I think the Big 12 is going to have to take a hit financially. They've got to be getting dirty looks from everyone else in FBS right now. I think they're now the last one that isn't going to a conference title game in the near future. I think the new playoff revenue is structured so that a conference can have 12 teams instead of 10 and not impact the team-by-team payout.

Which is why I also think a football-only member in the Big 12 is possible. No one outside of Cincy is a real fit for all sports (and Cincy is only a fit because they need to get help for WVU), so adding a football-only doesn't create for geographic issues. I suppose South Florida's in play too, but UConn is more likely to be desperate to make a move to make them appealing to the Big East. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they park football in the MAC soon just for that purpose.

[matter_of_fact]

"Hey, look: Creighton is #231 according to Forbes"

It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Forbes has Creighton ranked as the best undergraduate school in the MVC or that Drake, Evansville and Bradley are the next highest ranked in the conference.

[Wufan]

Illinois State is the highest ranked public school (by a lot) followed by WSU. UNI is one back of the Shockers per Forbes. Missouri State is about 10 back. Indiana State is bringing up the rear.

[IllinoisState]

Illinois State is the highest ranked public school (by a lot) followed by WSU. UNI is one back of the Shockers per Forbes. Missouri State is about 10 back. Indiana State is bringing up the rear.

Forbes is a horrible company. I don't take anything Forbes releases as real unless it's raw data. They contradict themselves and/or use strange metrics to get to their conclusions.

[rlh04d]

Illinois State is the highest ranked public school (by a lot) followed by WSU. UNI is one back of the Shockers per Forbes. Missouri State is about 10 back. Indiana State is bringing up the rear.

Forbes is a horrible company. I don't take anything Forbes releases as real unless it's raw data. They contradict themselves and/or use strange metrics to get to their conclusions.

Compared to US News & World Report? I'd take Forbes in a second. The former is well known for being very easily manipulated.

[saluki762]

Illinois State is the highest ranked public school (by a lot) followed by WSU. UNI is one back of the Shockers per Forbes. Missouri State is about 10 back. Indiana State is bringing up the rear.

SIU is ahead of WSU.

[frankthetank]

Illinois State is the highest ranked public school (by a lot) followed by WSU. UNI is one back of the Shockers per Forbes. Missouri State is about 10 back. Indiana State is bringing up the rear.

Forbes is a horrible company. I don't take anything Forbes releases as real unless it's raw data. They contradict themselves and/or use strange metrics to get to their conclusions.

Compared to US News & World Report? I'd take Forbes in a second. The former is well known for being very easily manipulated.

On this metric, US News is FAR FAR FAR more in line with real world academic reputations compared to Forbes. It's not even close. The schools that aren't ranked well in US News will obviously knock them, but even if there are problems with the methodology (and there definitely are major issues with it), admissions standards actually closely track those US News rankings. At the end of the day, they're important whether people like them or not because high school students/parents have deemed them to be the most important set of rankings for years. So, top 50 schools end up getting top 50 caliber applicants, top 100 schools end up getting top 100 caliber applicants, and so on and so forth. That's why universities complain about the US News rankings on the one hand and then do everything that they can behind the scenes to get a rise in the rankings on the other hand because they know it's the only one that really matters.

Now, this is just for undergrad. The graduate research rankings (which is what a conference like the Big Ten would be looking at more closely) are a different matter, where other metrics (e.g. the AWRU rankings) are more important.

The Forbes undergrad rankings are horrible. They have absolutely no real life application. In fact, Forbes itself says that it isn't trying to measure academic reputation. It's simply attempting to measure its own definition of return on investment as applied to attending college, which is how it comes up with some bats**t crazy conclusions. (The University of Wisconsin-Madison and St. John's are right next to each other in the rankings, which is asinine for anyone that has ever taken 2 seconds to look at who they admit. The US News rankings at least pass the smell test and they're pretty much in line with what a high school senior can reasonably expect in terms of "chancing" themselves for schools.)

[BUDude]

A10 has solidified itself with recent additions of George Mason and Davidson. If Bradley was ever considered I would hope we would listen.

[matter_of_fact]

I would think that Bradley would fit the profile for possible membership in the Big East (new) (i.e. private school, solid academics, no football). The AD of Seton Hall has said that that league plans to ultimately expand to 12 schools.