Now that the SEC and the Big Ten have expanded to 16 schools beginning in the next few years, should they keep going and add even more teams? How about 20 teams each?
The rapidly vanishing Big 12 Conference lost anchor tenants Texas and Oklahoma to the expanded Southeastern Conference. In terms of damage to a conference, the loss of Texas and OU within the Big 12 equates to losing Macy’s and Target from your local shopping mall. Though the mall still has a number of tenants, the interest and traffic will significantly decline.
A few weeks ago, the Big Ten plucked USC and UCLA away from the Pac-12. From my perspective, the Pac-12 could easily add San Diego State and Boise State to their conference and be nearly as potent in most major sports.
Ah, yes. This issue is not about increasing the level of the competition on the field for each conference. It is mostly about the television markets which each team in the conference will bring to the table.
To their credit, the Southeastern Conference still believes that their members should remain a good geographic fit in addition to providing a sizable television market. With the 1991 addition of Arkansas and South Carolina and recent westward expansion to soon include Texas and Oklahoma, every SEC school’s state border touches at least one of another conference member’s borders.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten has opted for the “We’re BIG, Bad, and Nationwide” expansion strategy. By adding two West Coast teams in USC and UCLA along with East Coast conference members Rutgers and Maryland, the Big Ten Conference now stretches from sea to shining sea. Whether that is a good idea is the subject for a future discussion.
Let’s now pause for a bit and reflect. What would each of these two growing mega conferences be considering as they ponder increasing from 16 teams to as many as 20 teams each.
Big Ten Expansion Possibilities:
With their national brand strategy, it makes the most sense to add teams which already can boast of having a national appeal regardless of the school’s location.
Colleges which fit this profile would include Notre Dame (Catholic Church), Brigham Young’s growing Mormon following, and the military service academies. Notre Dame (ACC in all sports except football) and BYU (set to join the Big 12 in 2023) already boast of having a dedicated national audience and would pad the Big Ten’s growing television profile.
University of Miami (FL) – I can also make a case that the Big Ten might be interested in bringing the U onboard, too. The Hurricanes have developed a nationwide following over the past 50 years, are located in the nation’s #16 television market, and would be a premium travel destination for fans of the Big Ten. The Canes (currently residing in the ACC) are like the Dallas Cowboys of college football. Fans either love them or loathe them, but they watch this team anyway.
Oregon – The West Coast equivalent to Miami may be the Oregon Ducks from the Pac-12. Though not as widely loved or despised nationally as the University of Miami, Oregon’s athletics resume has been growing over the past decade and developing a national following.
So, my predictions for the Big Ten’s next additions are:
* Notre Dame
* BYU
* Miami (FL)
* Oregon
SEC Expansion Possibilities:
Now, let’s take a detailed look at the next best options for the SEC. Up to this point, the SEC has continued to grow its reach by adding geography along its current borders.
After the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, the states which border the new SEC (from east to west) are North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
By process of elimination, we can drop Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,
