We're Going to Wait This One Out

Excuse us while we let the Big Ten expansion chips fall where they may. You might have heard a rumbling or two the past few days about 4 schools being offered a formal invitation to join the Big Ten conference. Those 4 rumored schools are Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers and Notre Dame.

Now while I concur that these 4 schools are great picks, and realistic ones at that, I have yet to see one shred of actual evidence that points to these formal invitations actually being offered to these schools.

This whole mess started from this report from Sports Radio 810 WBH in Kansas City, MO. The article seems definitive, but neglects to name any sources and just uses the typical lingo "sources close to the negotiations..." and "...while nothing can be approved...". We've been seeing reports surface like this one since Jim Delany announced the expansion idea.

Besides, officials at the two Big 12 schools have come out against the report saying that no offer or invitation has been received from the Big Ten.

What seems strange about the report is that only 4 schools are offered - creating a 15 team conference if all 4 agree, which does no favors to the equal divisions argument. The other interesting note is Notre Dame being mentioned. The prospect of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten is about as lucrative as you can get, and if that were to happen, a 16th team could more than likely be found. And if Notre Dame declines and the others agree, a 14-team conference is formed.

But we need more evidence before we declare this an honest story to run with. Right now it's just speculation and hearsay. If we stumble upon something substantial, we'll be sure to post it here. Until then, nothing to see here.