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I am getting it from the same people that told me last year Maryland was interested in the Big Ten, which I was adamant about on here despite no one believing it.

Of the teams that were feasible to land, these are the ones Penn State wanted. I'm certain of that. Very certain. I said it two weeks ago and I said it last year when ya'll wouldn't believe me about Maryland being involved.

These are the teams Penn State lobbied for. They got what they wanted out of this round of expansion. They have travel partners and fellow East coast teams. There's no reason for them to leave, now. Before, it was something that they considered. But again, it's only because they were the...

I get what you're saying but I look at it like the opposite... if the Big Ten were to expand to 20 teams, hypothetically, what they would be doing in essence is pairing most of the original Big Ten schools in one division and the new Big East/ACC in the other. Notre Dame, Penn State, Maryland...

Most definitely not. The Big Ten always planned on expanding to 16(ish). But previously, it hoped to do so with Notre Dame and a less-is-more approach if it could first hit the home runs. All Notre Dame to the ACC did is changed how they would fill the spots. This isn't about revenge...

From what I gather, the Big Ten now believes it will have to act in two phases: Phase one: expand to 15 or 16 to rattle the ACC. That might be Georgia Tech or Virginia. If the Carolina schools stay committed, the Big Ten could consider Connecticut to take away the only remaining safety net the...

I believe the Big Ten's 2017 projection was $43 million in conference distribution based on 14 teams and projecting roughly 45-50 cents per sub in NYC, FWIW. That number included bowls, basketball fund as well as both tier-1 and tier-2 rights.

The Big Ten isn't stopping at 16 for the right teams.

And I made it clear that I'm ignoring the Grant of Rights aspect because I think not enough is truly known about it yet since there are only scattered reports about its makeup. But like I said, even ignoring the GOR, there's really not much reason for Texas or Oklahoma to leave now. They have a...

The Pac-12 had the chance to take Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last year and passed on them. And if they'd taken that next step, they may have had an inside track on getting Texas when the Big 12 died. Now the Big 12 has a much stronger television contract to give very little reason for them to...

That's what everyone told me for a year about Maryland when I said they were talking to the Big Ten and showing interest. I don't know what the ACC is wanting to do, nor am I pretending to. I do know, though, that there are a few schools in the ACC that are awfully flirtatious with the Big Ten...

You were trying to say a third party has no bearing in a lawsuit, yet here you are telling me that voting on whether to sue in court would have any relevance in whether or not Virginia could leave without paying $50 million? I'm not the one trying to have it both ways.

Good grief, calm down a bit. I'm not anti-ACC. But at this point super conferences are coming and the ACC appears to be low-hanging fruit. So I'd rather just see it get put out of its misery since it seems inevitable. I truthfully wanted, when this all started, the ACC to survive as the...

It's not solidarity, it's business. Every school right now is more interested in keeping a facade going in public while it scrambles behind the scenes to prepare for every possible scenario. People are reaching to imply this is a sign that everyone is committed. The real sign of commitment would...

It doesn't make any sense to me why Texas would have just signed the Grant of Rights agreement two months ago if they were plotting to join the ACC with Notre Dame.

For what it's worth, Tony Basilio, a 20-year radio man in Knoxville, is standing behind his report that Cincinnati players were informed this morning of a move to the ACC. He has over 6,000 followers on Twitter, if those numbers mean anything to you.

Waiting on Notre Dame is the equivalent of being on the Titanic while waiting for a rescue boat, even as the Hull is half-submerged underwater. It's all about survival at this point. You ask Notre Dame once to join and if they say no, make other plans. Waiting on them is a surefire disaster...

My opinion is that if the ACC invites multiple teams it's because it's hoping to make everyone happy. I think FSU wants Louisville and the basketball schools want UCONN. So Swofford's approach might be to add three teams and hope that it satisfies them all.

I agree with Omni. ESPN is desperate to keep NBC out of the game as far as competition is concerned. With the Big Ten coming up in four years, the one shot Comcast has of making NBC a fully-fledged alternative sports network to the Worldwide Leader is by landing the Big Ten's tier-1 rights. So...

They were rejected twice in the past 5 years for partial membership in the Big Ten. That was not going to happen. The Big Ten want(s)(ed?) them like crazy but it was never willing to do so on partial terms.

"We are in the Big East until at least Monday." This according to a Cincinnati beat reporter on Twitter. This could be a general response to the possible Big East dissolution or it could be a reference to the rumor of Louisville, Connecticut and Cincinnati to the ACC.

Isn't that saying the same thing? An exchange of consideration is a mutually beneficial arrangement. It doesn't mean the considerations have to be of equal value, nor is that what I'm saying, but both parties have to benefit from it.

Sometimes, people with legitimate information are questioning whether to share it. That he deleted it could be an indication he had second thoughts about putting it out there and calling too much attention to it. Guys that are just throwing things against a wall for attention usually have no...

Let's be realistic here, the fee was raised to that amount because it was hoped the amount would bind the institutions to the conference without being able to afford the penalty. That was the intent; it was meant to be restrictive to each school. Now whether that intent is shown in court or not...

I understand what you're saying but we'll have to agree to disagree. To emphasize, my point about the third party is simply that the third parties are essentially trying to force all schools to stay because of the fee and because of that dynamic, it might well matter that it's not just two...

I agree, but that's what makes it punitive. If the fee is meant to be restrictive, it might not be enforceable. The fees are supposed to be about compensating the ACC rather than imposed to force schools to stay.

It means something when the point of the fee was institutions trying to make it nearly impossible for a school to get out of the deal... which is the point I'm making. Then it becomes punitive. Obviously the ACC won't admit as such, but the whole point of the fee was not a reasonable damage but...

The states won't get involved. Not now. Not in this environment. There's too much risk for any legislature to block a move.

It's a contract, but I wonder how much is different because this is a contract with three parties involved instead of just two. For instance, in most contracts, you're signing with a second party where there's presumably no duress and the stipulations were mutually agreed upon. But in this case...

I don't believe the BC rumors, but at this point, I think I'd be crazy to outright reject them. I still think UVA and UNC are next on the list, but if the Big Ten thinks it has a way to get Notre Dame, then perhaps it might still go that route.

Thanks. Have they said how many games will be retained? I think this year they had around 80 total games if memory serves me correctly.

I thought I read that ESPN will be distributing that network.

Yep. The Big Ten has never viewed 14 as a stopping point.

Yes, that was announced last summer. It's already final, which is why Notre Dame approached the Big Ten about it. This came about after Penn State received the $80 million donation to form a hockey program. As of now, it's Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn...

It's possible, though I missed that if it happened. I was under the impression there was talk of the partial membership with the Big 12 but they (Big 12) ultimately decided against it. I do know the Big Ten was approached about Notre Dame last fall with a very similar arrangement they struck...

I honestly don't think it is a case of Notre Dame showing the ACC is where they want to be. They joined because the ACC was willing to give them partial membership which is what they craved most after the weakening of the Big East. Neither the Big Ten or Big 12 was willing to give that...

It's kind of hard to reconcile that with his earlier comments that there may be potential interest in the SEC. I think now he's just trying to do damage control.

Everyone's clear-cut favorite expansionist, Greg Swaim, tweeted tonight that the SEC would like to expand with Tech and UNC. He later added that Big Ten will also offer UNC and that the odds of UNC leaving the ACC are increasing.

I could really see Duke winding up in the Pac-12 with Notre Dame when all these spots fill out. I still just don't see any other good options for them, other than BYU who they would hate to add.

I heard him talking about prime numbers but I may have heard him talking about that part at a different portion of the presser. Either way, I had my own brain freeze in not thinking about 14 being divisive by 2 :)

All the SEC insiders have been adamant that Virginia Tech is very high on their list... possibly No. 1.

I was complimenting him the other day on Twitter for the job he's done reporting through the past week. He did a tremendous job, and if he says they have offers, I would be inclined to believe him. I know they are high on the Big Ten's list but I don't know what the 'invite' status is at the moment.

I think the Big Ten realizes that's a possibility. But if that happens, then major conference expansion will seemingly be done for the time being anyhow until/unless the SEC came calling Virginia Tech (in which case it could start all over). And in that scenario, the Big Ten would be content...

Not necessarily "can't," just "won't." There is no contiguous state requirement within the Big Ten bylaws as has been mistakenly believed. But the last two days the Big Ten has clearly made a big deal about going that route nonetheless.

No doubt about that. This is partly personal for Delany IMHO. I think he's committed to making this work for the Big Ten, but there may be some ulterior motives too. I don't think the Big Ten has ruled out Notre Dame. After all, I think their plan relies on the ACC being shaken with or without...

I don't think the Big Ten would mind Notre Dame going to the Pac-12 at this juncture. I think the Big Ten and Pac-12 are pretty closely affiliated with one another and they'd be willing to stomach that move.

I'd give anything to see the exact wording of the Big 12's Grant of Rights agreement with ESPN/FOX. I still continue to hear conflicting info as to whether it's all media rights or tier 1 or tier 2 rights and whether the rights extend to only rights owned by these two networks or whether they'd...

I noticed Delany made a couple of points repetitively both Monday and today about expansion. And Delany is typically very calculating, so he might have given us some clues about the Big Ten's plans. First and foremost, he repeatedly floated the idea of 16 teams. And in both occasions, he...

I would like to think that articles are being written from a television perspective, so it might be implied that we're dealing with the DMA rather than the city itself. Then again, I confess that might be giving some writers too much credit.

I agree with that, but the market has to be looked at as a whole in these TV dealings. It doesn't really make sense to differentiate how much is NJ and how much is NYC if the whole point is about the NYC TV market as a whole. Cable operators deal with the whole market as an entity.