From: Cleveland Plain Dealer –

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced in December that the venerable conference would consider expanding to 12 or more teams, starting a buzz that continues to echo through the world of major college sports.

Delany said it would probably take 12 to 18 months for the Big Ten to make a decision on such a move.

The consideration of such an event is, of course, rooted in money. The conference has its own cable television Big Ten Network, which has proven successful in artistic and financial terms during its two-year existence.

Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes companion stories on potential Big Ten expansion and on the impact of the Big Ten Network, with both stories referring to how expansion considerations and the cable network affect one another.

Miller reports that the conference would try to attract schools in large television markets and/or with huge fan bases. The marriage might not work with Notre Dame or Texas – schools which have been rumored – but Miller writes in his report on possible expansion:

That leaves a roster of potential suitors so large, it allows fans to mix and match their favorites. Pitt would be a natural rival of Penn State (though the Nittany Lions already dominate Pittsburgh viewership). Syracuse is the only BCS school in New York state and is an elite basketball school, too. Nebraska isn’t in a population center, but the Cornhuskers have a rabid national fan base. Missouri would bring St. Louis, Kansas would lock up Kansas City, and Rutgers, located within 25 miles of Manhattan and 12 million potential fans, just missed going to a BCS bowl three years ago.

When the Big Ten makes its move, a chain reaction is widely expected among other conferences that could change the landscape of college sports. “That’s what keeps presidents up at night,” (Penn State sports media professor Malcolm) Moran said. “Everybody is afraid when the music stops, they won’t have a partner.”

Miller writes in his report on the Big Ten Network:

The channel, a partnership of the conference and Fox Sports (which owns 49 percent), now collects subscription fees (via cable and satellite bills) from nearly 45 million households around the country, is available to 30 million more potential customers, and has increased its advertising revenue by more than 30 percent in the past year, Silverman said.

Best of all for the 11 Big Ten universities: Even after paying its guaranteed rights fees to the conference of more than $60 million last year, the network was so profitable that the Big Ten’s share amounted to an additional $66 million, which each school shared in equally. “We hoped Xenical it would be profitable eventually. But it turned a profit in, what, its second year?” said Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi, whose athletic budget reaped an estimated $22 million in TV rights (including ABC, CBS and ESPN contracts) alone. “I don’t believe anyone truly expected to be this successful this quickly. It’s absolutely remarkable.”

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