And I say that not as an Alabama fan but as a Notre Dame h8r. 
Honestly, I don't know. It all started with the one bowl game Ohio State played against them in. They got all this hype cuz of Brady Quinn and it annoyed us a lot so we hated them more than other teams. Then OSU destroyed them and we hated them some more cuz they got hype they very obviously didn't deserve. Then there was that whole expansion thing where they didn't wanna join the Big 10 so we really said screw 'em. They suck and they know it.
B) They're already a member of the ACC for basketball, and their football contract is about as big as the B1G's - why would they take a pay cut for no gain?
C) You got Nebraska, which (last I knew) is the 3rd-winningest football program in history, sets a new record for consecutive sellouts every time they play, one of the most dedicated and widespread fan bases in all of D1, and was in 40+ bowl games. Does it really feel like you "settled"?
(Interesting side note: My brother attended IU in the late 90s. He told me that, while he was there, the Hoosiers had less football conference wins than the University of Chicago - which hasn't been a member of the Big 10 since the 40s.)
A) Yeah, Brady Quinn was totally overrated.
Totally.
B) They're already a member of the ACC for basketball, and their football contract is about as big as the B1G's - why would they take a pay cut for no gain?
Cuz the reason they make a lot of that money is that a fair amount of their schedule is against B1G teams. ;) Plus why not? If you're good, play in a good conference. Don't beat up on Navy and Air Force, let's step it up. The B1G is decreasing the number of Little Sisters of the Poor they beat up on annually. So far, they're the only conference that's made that move.
C) You got Nebraska, which (last I knew) is the 3rd-winningest football program in history, sets a new record for consecutive sellouts every time they play, one of the most dedicated and widespread fan bases in all of D1, and was in 40+ bowl games. Does it really feel like you "settled"?
Meh, they're not that great now. Plus they made no sense - not that that matters to the B1G brass. I mean, we just got Maryland and Rutgers and they're terrible. I'd rather pull in a good team that makes no sense regionally than a regional team that makes no sense competetitvely. But it's all about tha dollas.
Plus we don't need teams with a history of winning - the B1G has plenty. And fanbases? We've got Ohio State, ttun, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State. Hell, even Iowa gets out for their team.
(Interesting side note: My brother attended IU in the late 90s. He told me that, while he was there, the Hoosiers had less football conference wins than the University of Chicago - which hasn't been a member of the Big 10 since the 40s.)
They look to be heading to a resurgence of sorts. They hung almost 50 on Ohio State last year (in a loss - and it did make OSU's D wake up) and they should be able to score well this year, too. Thing is, no D. At all. Hard to get stars on both sides of the ball when you've got a new coach on a team in the same conference as OSU, Penn State, etc.
), they played in the conference championship in baseball, and their fan base is nationwide. Plus the Big 10 is the most academic of all the conferences, and Nebraska fits in with that, too.Uh... How does Nebraska make no sense competitively? They played in the conference championship in football (cuz y'all are dirty
Derp alert!
I didn't say they didn't make sense competetively, I said Maryland and Rutgers didn't. Nebraska doesn't make sense regionally.
Oh, and OSU beat down both teams in the championship game. Woulda been the same had they been allowed to compete (as they should have been).
And Nebraska is adjacent to Iowa, meaning it makes at least as much sense as adding Happy Valley.
And... Yeah, OSU would have beaten either one.
Meh. Not my fault you can't type what you mean.
*looks over post* Y ... Yes it is!
And Nebraska is adjacent to Iowa, meaning it makes at least as much sense as adding Happy Valley.
Shut up!
And... Yeah, OSU would have beaten either one.
OH!
Yeah, fo' realski. They had a rough start but the end of the year, man, they were pretty awesome. Neither of those losers had the D to stop Ohio State and they certainly didn't have the offense to keep up - especially since OSU's D got A LOT better toward the end of the year.
The national championship would have gone pretty much the same, though. Notre Dame shows up lookin' hawt to all the morons and then gets curbstomped by a vastly superior foe.
