Kevin Warren's first call? Assessing the Big Ten's realignment options

Not long after Texas and Oklahoma decided to join the SEC, the speculations about the fate of the other Power 5 conferences began, even if they were not directly impacted by the move. Luckily for the Big Ten, which is widely accepted as one of the most stable conferences in college football, it has some time and a few options. CBS’ Tom Fornelli offered his opinion on where Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren could turn should he need to add more members in the potential dawning age of the college football superconference.

Option 1: Adopt some Big 12 misfits

“Kansas to the Big Ten imminently” was one of the first rumors irresponsibly spewn across the internet shortly after the Texas and Oklahoma announcement came. While that turned out to be false, Kansas and Iowa State, who are both members of the Association of American Universities, make a lot of sense if the Big Ten wants to add schools.

Kansas is already trying to sell itself via this graphic that makes you use your imagination.

Home away from home 😎

Lawrence x Kansas City pic.twitter.com/f1rc30lLzZ

— Kansas Jayhawks (@KUAthletics) July 30, 2021

Kansas basketball would be a valuable addition, but Kansas football… is a different story. New Kansas AD Travis Goff was an associate AD at Northwestern prior to going to Lawrence. He would probably pick up the phone if Warren called.

Iowa State would love the chance to join Iowa in the Big Ten, especially after they have worked so hard to build up a top-10 football program.

Option 2: Head west. Very west.

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 have a long history, most notably in their cooperation on the Rose Bowl. They frequently work in lock step. Remember when they both canceled football last fall only to both bring it back several weeks in? This was not a coincidence.

A few of these schools make more sense than others. The Big Ten prides itself on its research institutions, and the four California schools (Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC) would bolster that reputation. Fornelli threw Oregon and Washington into the mix, Oregon for brand recognition and Washington to get the Seattle television market. 

This makes sense from a revenue and brand recognition standpoint but would be geographically challenging, especially when Warren tries to make the argument that the UCLA softball team needs to fly back-and-forth to Ohio and Pennsylvania every year.

Option 3: Call South Bend

Fornelli entertains this option, even though Notre Dame has repeatedly buffed the conference in the past. This marriage is not likely to happen in the near future. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick recently ensured that Notre Dame’s path to the CFP as an independent remained viable. So, the Irish have no reason to join a conference in football for the time being. Plus, due to its contract with ACC for all other sports except hockey, the ACC would be the first option.

Option 4: Court some southeastern teams outside of the Superconference

The Big Ten and the ACC have many similarities. The academic similarities are widely covered, and there are plenty of options in the ACC including Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia.

While the Pac-12 is the leader in Olympic sports, the Big Ten and ACC produce a fair number of Olympians as well. Virginia athletes just won eight medals in Tokyo. 

Further, both conferences really care about basketball. Sure, Tobacco Road and the Cameron Crazies are synonymous with college basketball, but Indiana, Michigan State and others have storied basketball traditions as well. If Duke and UNC don’t want to make the move, UVA and a blossoming Georgia Tech are not bad options. 

Geographically and culturally, this option makes the most sense too. Pittsburgh, which is an AAU school, culturally aligns with the Midwest, and it certainly is not on the Atlantic Coast. Charlottesville is a day trip away from Happy Valley and College Park. And it’s not like the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Research Triangle is thousands of miles from Columbus.

Option 5: Stay put

The Big Ten took in the most revenue of any conference in 2020 according to USA Today with $768.9 million. The SEC was right behind them, collecting $728.9 million. So, it’s not like the Big Ten is scraping together pennies, and it may be able to survive as it currently stands with its 14 member schools.

However, as Fornelli notes, they very well could regret that decision later if Texas and Oklahoma turn out to be the SEC money makers they are anticipated to be.

Conclusion?

See if the Research Triangle and Charlottesville are open for business.

Image courtesy of Michael Hickey/Getty Images