The Big East Conference is preparing for war once again. Seven years ago Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech ditched the Big East in light for the ACC and changed the college athletics landscape. With talks of the Big Ten looking to expand, the Big East has looked to a former son to help keep the conference in tact.Paul Tagliabue, the former NFL commissioner and alum of Georgetown University, was hired last week as an unpaid consultant to help the conference survive if the Big Ten comes picking for teams. Tagliabue may be a consultant but his strategy to protect the Big East has started in an interesting way. His unique strategy apparently consists of demeaning teams already in the conference.
"Is Minnesota and Rutgers going to get a big rating on Long Island?" Tagliabue said in an interview with the New York Times. "Give me a break. Every game isn't Michigan and Michigan State."
Well so much for being nice to teams like Rutgers in hopes of convincing them to stay in the league if the Big Ten comes calling. Tagliabue said his statement meant that the Big Ten is over reaching its boundaries by coming east if it decides to expand.
But Taliabue may be a bit naive. Will Rutgers and Minnesota peak the charts? Most likely no, but if teams like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State come to New Jersey I have a feeling there may be some true interest. Rutgers would easily sell out every home game with teams like that visiting the Garden State.
Taliabue then went on to question what teams like Rutgers or Syracuse could do for the Big Ten Network. There is no question the Big Ten Network would love to expand east and bring in the New York market. Rutgers has had record number of viewers the past three seasons on ESPN for prime time college football.
So what does the Big East have to offer that is better than the Big Ten? Tagliabue clearly doesn't have an answer but instead likes to focus on shaping the future.
"You shouldn't just try and sit back and try to anticipate a future created by someone else." He said. "You are in a position to shape the future. Let's figure out how to do it."
The honest truth though is if the Big Ten wants to grab teams from the Big East or Big 12 they can and they will. The Big East is too late to start shaping the future now. The Big Ten members each make $22 million annually in television revenue, four times more than the Big East members according to NJ.com. I think the advantage is clear.
Let's also not forget about the bowl tie-ins for football in the Big Ten, which blow away those from the Big East. I think most Rutgers fans would take the Outback Bowl over the Papajohns.com bowl.
The bottom line is the Big Ten talks are starting to get serious. The Big Ten will expand, it is just a matter of when. And when they make the move, the college landscape will change once again like it did seven years ago. Tagliabue can try and make the Big East football teams seem unattractive but the fact is they are attractive to the folks in the Midwest.
My advice to Tagliabue is simple. Like Georgetown and the other small, private catholic schools their primary focus is on basketball. The Big Ten will come calling east, and the Big East will not be able to stop them from raiding the conference once again. Start looking for other schools in the area that can fill your "basketball" conference and give up on keeping the conference how it is now.
Teams like Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia are all good fits for the Big Ten and its apparent by Tagliabue's quotes that he knows it as well. Tagliabue may want to stay away from Rutgers this fall because those "Long Island" people may be interested in teaching him a lesson about running your mouth.
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