(08-10-2022 06:51 AM)Skyhawk Wrote: I like history as much as the next person.
But you or I are not guilty of actions those before us may have done, unless we continue those actions.
The past is the past.
And does anyone seriously think that such prior attitudes represent the B10's current thinking?
I highly doubt it.
Whether the historical background for the animosity to the Big Ten is still part of the current strong preference among ND donors for independence is a moot point, since that current strong preference does indeed exist. So long as a credible path to a national championship exists for ND playing as an independent, we should expect ND to remain independent.
However, the Big Ten is still a conference with an academic snob block of votes, and both Stanford and Washington are, for example, higher ranked in the ARWU than any current Big Ten member (mind, Stanford at number two in the world is higher ranked than any University not named Harvard). Meanwhile, Oregon is in the 301-400 tier, below Nebraska in the 201-300 tier.
Now, Cal is higher ranked than Washington, but from the network perspective, having two schools for the Greater SF Bay Area of 7.7m is a bit redundant, while Washington State is about 7.5m people.
Also, under the new state quo, at 16 with no divisions and scheduling each school with three schools they play annually, every "non big brand name" school gets to play every brand name school twice in four years, and host them once ... even if they are not an annual game. That would be an appeal of the new status quo to the Western Division schools, that they get to host OSU, Penn State and That School Up North more often, now along with USC. Adding schools past 16 means that some schools will be seeing each other twice in six years in a schedule cycle.
So while the Big Ten has reportedly negotiated an opportunity to expand into the upcoming contract, a next move to 18 is more likely than a move to 20, and a move to 20 more likely than a move to 22 or 24.
Indeed, since there are rising opportunity costs to expansion with declining benefits to the conference, unless ND is on offer, standing pat at 16 is also a real possibility.