The Front Row

It's no secret the B1G wants to ensure brand stability and ultimately strengthen it, which is smart. And we know it wanted to penetrate these "key" markets. However the conference wasn't in peril as an entity -- like the Big 12, ACC and Big East. And it's not as if the league's license to print money (The Big Ten Network) has yielded a competitive advantage on the field for the current members, and Rutgers and Maryland certainly don't help that aim any, so ... why add them? Is there a higher purpose -- like more money pumped into the educational arm of the schools? Or a fulfillment of some power-driven manifest destiny? Or simply all about the money? Or a little of everything? I don't fault them for any reason the conference has financially, if that's the motive, but ...

... On the fields of play, this lands with a giant thud. Maryland won't hurt the basketball profile (p.s. -- we all know basketball takes a backseat to football in these deals anyway) but will lower the sad state of football even more. Rutgers will lower b-ball standards and, in a best-case scenario, maintain the current competitiveness in football. Neither creates a compelling rivalry with any current league member. And neither is an appealing enough athletic program, save for the long-dormant Maryland hoops squad, to get anyone other than their own fan bases excited about this move.