ESPN College Football

CHICAGO -- The first Saturday of the 2012 college football season is highlighted by a blockbuster game taking place at a cavernous NFL stadium.

On the night of Sept. 1, Michigan and Alabama will take center stage in Arlington, Texas, at a shrine to all things big and bold, nicknamed "Jerryworld" after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. It will mark the latest in a series of national showcase games during the regular season that take place at neutral sites.

Last year, LSU and Oregon kicked off the season on the same field. Notable neutral-site games this fall include Miami-Notre Dame at Chicago's Soldier Field and Clemson-Auburn at Atlanta's Georgia Dome.

The trend is clear, and many major-conference teams see the neutral-site games as a nice alternative to the home-and-home series that take longer and give up a precious home game.

Big Ten athletic directors are split on the neutral-site issue. Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, who helped organize the Alabama game, said last month that the school has had preliminary talks about playing a neutral-site game at Sun Life Stadium near Miami.

Iowa opens the 2012 season against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field, and Hawkeyes athletic director Gary Barta recently told the Des Moines Register that he is "wide open to the concept" of more neutral-site games.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips on Wednesday expressed interest in playing a game at New York's Yankee Stadium, and, with the Big Ten/Pac-12 scheduling partnership approaching, added, "We need to get out to California some." Northwestern moved its home game against Illinois to Wrigley Field in 2010, and the teams could play again at Wrigley or Soldier Field.

Illinois AD Mike Thomas also wants a bigger presence in Chicago and could schedule a game at Soldier Field as early as 2013, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Illini used to open the season against Missouri in St. Louis, but the series is on a hiatus.

The neutral-site surge isn't for everyone, though. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN.com last month that he's extremely reluctant to give up a home game for a neutral-site contest.

"I love Dave Brandon at Michigan and I applaud them," Smith said. "They're playing Alabama in Dallas, which I think is cool and unique. But if I can get eight home games, the economic impact we have here, I just can't pull it away. Because it's a home game. Now if an away game, like Indiana or somebody says, 'Hey, let's go to Maryland,' and it’s their home game, I'd do that in a minute.

"But taking one of my home games, I just can't do it. The economic impact in this community is just huge."

Michigan State AD Mark Hollis has been very proactive in scheduling top nonconference opponents (Boise State, Oregon, Alabama, Miami). But those games will take place on campus.

Hollis acknowledges scheduling trends elsewhere impact what Big Ten teams do, but his position is firm.

"I'd rather bring big games into Spartan Stadium," Hollis said. "We talked to Boise State about playing in Chicago, but we had no interest in that. We want to play them at home. I want Miami there, I want Alabama there, I want Oregon, so our fans can see them."

CHICAGO -- Two years ago, Big Ten expansion dominated the discussion at league's spring meetings.

This week, the subject barely came up when athletic directors and others got together. The Big Ten presidents and chancellors announced in August that the league "will not be actively engaged in conference expansion at this time, or at any time in the foreseeable future, barring a significant shift in the current intercollegiate athletic landscape."

The shifting elsewhere has continued, and teams are switching leagues practically every day, but the Big Ten seems content to stay out of the realignment chaos. Iowa athletic director Gary Barta told ESPN.com the ADs spent "hardly any time at all" talking about realignment this week.

"We have a great 12," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said. "We have some really like-minded institutions, and I think everybody's more than thrilled about where we're at right now. Do you make sure you understand what's going on in the landscape? Absolutely. That's our responsibility. But right now, are we really, really pleased with where we're at? That's an exclamation point."

Most of the monitoring responsibility falls on Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who stated those in his position are "not doing their job" if they don't track issues like expansion, television deals and compliance issues. Since the Big Ten began realignment fever in December 2009, every other league in the FBS has changed in some way.

The Pac-10 became the Pac-12. The SEC has swelled to 14 teams, and the ACC soon will, too, unless Florida State heads for greener pastures.

"The tectonic plates underneath conference alignment are still hot," Delany said Wednesday. "... Clearly you're reading that some people who thought they were going in one direction, TCU, are now going in another direction. Some out West who thought they were going East are now maybe reconsidering that. You're seeing discussions. So what that tells me is the tectonic plates, there's still fluidity. Our position hasn't changed. We're very pleased with the 12 institutions we have. We're not in an active mode.

"But we're monitoring it."

Minnesota wisely chose to introduce Norwood Teague as its next athletic director Monday in the home locker room of TCF Bank Stadium. It was a reminder that football, more than any other varsity sport, drives an athletic program and must be supported and enhanced by the man leading the athletic department. Teague brings superb basketball credentials to the U, not least of which is his ability to both hire and retain Shaka Smart at VCU, where Teague has served as AD since 2006. He also has shown tremendous clout as a fundraiser. What he hasn't done is lead a department with an FBS football program, although he has worked in three departments that have them: North Carolina, Arizona State and Virginia.

Teague will start his new job July 1 if approved by the school's regents. He takes over for Joel Maturi, the Gophers' AD for the past decade.

"It's great to be back at a football school," Teague said at his introduction.

ESPN.com caught up with Minnesota's new AD on Monday to discuss the football-specific elements of his new job.

You mentioned your desire to be at a school with football. Why was it important for you?

Norwood Teague: I worked around football for 13 years, and I missed it. I love football and enjoyed my time at Virginia and Arizona State and North Carolina, and just wanted to get back into it. I'm excited for the opportunity.

What are some of the challenges that football presents when you're leading a department?

NT: It's just more demands. It's more demands on you financially, it's more demands as far as workload for a department. But that comes with it. Football, in so many ways, is the driver of college athletics. It's can be high-maintenance, but you love it, and you have to support it in the highest level, and that takes a lot of work, both from a funding standpoint and a headcount standpoint.

Minnesota has a big piece in place with the stadium. From your perspective, what's next for football? What needs to be done to further enhance that program?

NT: Well, the stadium certainly is a tremendous step in the right direction. Moving forward, I've got to evaluate the soft spots that we have with the football program. Coach [Jerry] Kill and I have had some dialogue, and I'll find out a whole lot more there. Marketing is always key. We've got a great marketing staff here, but I need to support them as best I can in order to fill seats and build the atmosphere in and around games. So, there's plenty to do. I've got a lot of evaluation in the next six months to get there, but I think the future's very bright.

What did you know about Coach Kill coming in, and what's your opinion of the head coach?

NT: Certainly the opinion with Gophers fans is very positive toward him. He is a relentless guy, and he is building a really solid program. Really I've heard nothing but great things about him here. I knew of him from a variety of different people who had worked with him in the past. I know the current athletic director [Jeff Compher] at Northern Illinois [where Kill worked previously] and I knew the previous one [Jim Phillips, who hired Kill at NIU]. So I've been thoroughly impressed. He's doing a great job, and he'll continue to do so here.

You mentioned in your news conference that [Big Ten commissioner] Jim Delany had a role in you going to VCU. What happened there?

NT: I called him, I think the day before I took the VCU job, because I was a little hesitant about going to a non-football job within college athletics. He was great in that he said, 'Your experience is vast in football over the last 13 years, so don't worry about that. I would go ahead and take that job, enjoy it, get great experience and you'll have the chance to take the next step soon.'

Did you have a chance to talk to him about this job?

NT: I have not. I looked forward to doing that. He is certainly arguably one of the more powerful guys in college athletics. I look forward to working with him, and he's really a visionary to say the least, someone who is very well respected.

You went up to Minnesota during Easter weekend before things really got going with the job. In talking to people, what was their feeling about the football program and what needs to happen to get it to the next level?

NT: I detected right away a very, very strong interest and passion in the program in wanting to win and wanting to compete at the highest level in the Big Ten and in the nation. I detected also that people believe that we can, and we should be. There's a strong, strong passionate following and a following that wants to succeed.

You did a lot of fundraising at VCU. How much easier was that process after a breakthrough like the Final Four last year? Does that need to happen at Minnesota before you make a lot of progress, or can you do so without a Big Ten title or a big-time bowl appearance?

NT: We had made some real progress before that and had a multimillion dollar expansion to our basketball arena, and 90 percent of the money was already committed before we went to the Final Four. Now when we went to the Final Four and had a shot in the arm like that, if anything, your expectations for yourself go up. I felt like as soon as that happened, we had to capitalize, so my sense of urgency was even greater. With that, there was a lot more work, and we were able to capitalize on it, but we had done so much good work beforehand and had so much in place, and I felt wonderful about that. The Final Four was more a sense of, 'Oh my gosh, we've got to capitalize on this.' We ran even harder and did a good job at capitalizing.

From talking to people there, do you get a sense of why it hasn't happened for Minnesota football? Great tradition going back decades and decades, but recently, they haven't had a breakthrough in football.

NT: There's probably a number of things I could venture to guess, but to be fair to the program, I've got to analyze that a little deeper. I'm sure playing in the Metrodome was not a help in the long run. Having an on-campus facility, that's just brilliant. I'm going to evaluate other areas to really get to that point, so it wouldn't be too fair for me to comment on that too much right now.

How familiar are you with the Big Ten, and what does it take to succeed in a conference where football really is the driving force?

NT: I'm very familiar. I have several good friends who are ADs in the league, and several that I've worked with. I know Mike Thomas very well at Illinois, Jimmy Phillips at Northwestern. I know Gene Smith at Ohio State very well. So I'm well aware of the league. I've never been in the league, but I know what it takes, and I'm excited to get rolling here.

Northwestern and Stanford were already set to play a four-game series beginning in 2019. On Wednesday, the two schools decided to meet a little earlier, too.

The Wildcats and Cardinal now will also play a home-and-home series in 2015 and 2016. The first game will be in Evanston on Sept. 5, 2015 as the season opener. Northwestern will head to Palo Alto on Sept. 24, 2016.

The 2019 game will be at Northwestern on Sept. 14, and the teams will alternate home fields for the next three years.

"This was a great opportunity for Northwestern to expand on our upcoming series with Stanford and allow an exciting matchup to take place even sooner," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said in a statement. "We're thrilled about the quality of our future nonconference opponents, with schools such as Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Syracuse, California and now Stanford. Couple that with our traditional Big Ten schedule and it is safe to say there will be plenty of exciting action in Chicago's backyard for years to come."

Stanford and Northwestern make natural partners because of their academics. The Pac-12 and Big Ten are entering into an agreement for interconference games in 2017, and this matchup could easily count as one of those from 2019 to 2022.

A college football playoff is on the horizon, and even the Big Ten, for years seen as the No. 1 obstructionist conference, has put together a postseason plan.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Sources told the Tribune that a Big Ten plan would remove the top four teams from the BCS bowl pool and have semifinal games played on the college campus of the higher seed. That would do away with the facade of "neutral" sites such as New Orleans, Miami and Pasadena, Calif., and ease travel concern for fans.

The championship game then could be bid out, like the Super Bowl. ...

"We have to listen to the fans; we cannot be tone-deaf," said Northwestern athletics director Jim Phillips, who chairs the Big Ten's Administrators Council. "The Big Ten is open and curious."

While that statement alone -- "open and curious" to a playoff -- will surprise a lot of people, the plan itself is one that should excite Big Ten fans. The possibility of playing games with national championship implications in places like Columbus, Madison, State College, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Lincoln and Iowa City should draw rave reviews from Big Ten fans.

Why? Because the current setup is inherently stacked against the Big Ten, which plays virtual road games in most of its bowls. The Big Ten faces the SEC in Florida, the Pac-12 in California and the Big 12 in Texas. Although Big Ten fans travel well to bowls, especially BCS bowls, the advantage Big Ten teams would have in cold weather in this plan can't be denied.

Think about it: SEC teams would be forced to travel up north. In late December, no less.

Big Ten teams would have to finish in the top 4 of the final BCS standings to make the playoff, which no Big Ten team has done since No. 1 Ohio State in 2007. And Big Ten teams would have to finish No. 1 or No. 2 to land a home game. But the possibility is tantalizing.

If the Big Ten champ finishes No. 3 or No. 4 in the BCS, it would have to travel for a postseason game, most likely to some warm-weather location in the South or West.

Sound familiar? Big Ten teams do it every January.

There is the matter of protecting the Rose Bowl, which is Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany's No. 1 priority. Delany often has stated that the Rose Bowl is the Big Ten's top external relationship, and he doesn't want to have access compromised.

While a playoff would prevent the Big Ten champion and the Pac-12 champion from meeting in Pasadena every year, we'd still see a lot of entertaining Big Ten-Pac-12 matchups at the Rose Bowl. And while a playoff system would take attention away from the bowl games, the Rose Bowl is the only contest that has prestige even when it doesn't factor in the national title race. If any bowl can maintain its shine in a playoff environment, it's the Rose.

A playoff is coming to college football. It's just a matter of when.

The Big Ten can either continue to be an obstructionist or accept the inevitable and plan for it.

This proposal keeps the league's interest in mind, which is exactly what Big Ten fans should want.

On the field, Illinois and Northwestern compete directly for tangible prizes: the Land of Lincoln trophy, bragging rights for the next year and, in the big picture, the Big Ten championship.

Off the field, the schools compete indirectly for a potentially more important but harder-to-define prize.

Chicago.

The Big Ten's two Illinois-based programs want a bigger piece of the league's biggest market. Although they'll employ different strategies, their goal is the same: a larger presence in the Windy City.

"This isn’t about Northwestern vs. Illinois," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips told ESPN.com. "It's about institutions and programs trying to carve out a piece of the Chicagoland area."

Northwestern made the first move in the summer of 2010, launching its first-ever major marketing campaign, spurred by the tag line "Chicago's Big Ten team." The school targeted the Chicago market, putting up billboards, increasing advertising with media outlets and getting its football program in the spotlight.

The early returns have "extremely successful," Phillips said. Northwestern had the nation's second-highest increase in average football attendance from 2009 to 2010 (average increase of 12,259 fans). The school's corporate sponsorships have tripled in the past 18 months, according to Phillips.

"The benchmarks are all headed in positive direction," Phillips said, "but it's about long-term sustainability."

At his introductory news conference as Illinois' athletic director last month, Mike Thomas declared, "We want to be the king of Chicago." Thomas is putting together a plan on how to approach the Chicago market in new ways.

"Even prior to my taking the job, it was clear from my homework that there was more work to do up there," Thomas told ESPN.com. "We need to do a better job of marketing our brand and having a presence. You can define presence in a lot of different ways. Is it all the different media pieces? Is it billboards? Is it playing more contests up there?

"It can be a lot of different things, but how do we cater to those people, knowing that they're very important to the growth of all of our programs."

Not surprisingly, Illinois will target the large number of its alumni in Chicago, as well as those who grew up rooting for the Illini as the state's flagship college team.

"You would think we would have a leg up on people like that," Thomas said. "The percentages would tell you the opportunity for success is greater with them than those that didn't go to school here."

Northwestern has taken a different approach to marketing, largely out of necessity. With the second-smallest alumni base of any Big Ten school in Chicago, Northwestern has reached out to general sports fans and even those who root for other Big Ten teams.

"I don't think you have the spike or the ascension of numbers and attendance figures without garnering some of those individuals who don't have specific allegiances to teams," Phillips said.

Northwestern has relied on opposing fans to help fill Ryan Field, a trend that will continue to some degree. Illinois, meanwhile, will focus primarily on those with some ties to the school or its teams.

"It's going to be awfully difficult to get alumni of other Big Ten schools or people that have been die-hard, passionate fans of other Big Ten institutions for years to flip their allegiances and become Fighting Illini fans overnight or at all," Thomas said. "The focus should be those people who are already engaged in us, and then those who may be out there in the gray area, who hopefully we can get to gravitate toward our fan base."

Northwestern has the advantage of being located just north of Chicago's city limits. Illinois, meanwhile, is 130 miles away.

Thomas wants to play more Illini home games in the city. Illinois' basketball team has played at the United Center for years, but the football team could soon play contests at venues like Soldier Field or even Wrigley Field, where Illinois and Northwestern played last November in a Northwestern home game.

"There is a formula that probably works up in Chicago," Thomas said. "Does it mean more games? I think it does. What does that look like at the end of the day? I probably couldn't tell you right now. But hopefully we'll get it figured out sooner rather than later."

Both Thomas and Phillips understand the difficulty of boosting a brand in a pro-sports city saturated with teams. Thomas faced a similar challenge at his previous stop, the University of Cincinnati, as well as in his hometown of Denver, where he served as an assistant AD at the University of Denver. Phillips is a Chicago native and an Illinois alum who made stops at Notre Dame and Northern Illinois before coming to Northwestern.

The two ADs are friends and praised one another for ramping up efforts in Chicago. They both agreed that the biggest step toward increased attention is winning on the field.

Phillips downplayed the direct competition off of it.

"What works for us may not work for them and vice-versa," he said. "Truthfully, I don’t think we're competing for the same people."

The competition on the field, which resumes Saturday in Champaign, is more clear cut.

The Illinois-Northwestern rivalry seems to be spicing up. After Illinois thrashed Northwestern last year at Wrigley Field, Illini linebacker Martez Wilson, a Chicago native, said, "Our game plan showed who was Chicago's Big Ten team." At Big Ten preseason media days this summer, Illinois coach Ron Zook took a shot at Northwestern's nonconference schedule.

Illini coaches and players have been salty leading up to this week's game.

"We heard them say some things, like 'We recruit different kind of guys. They don’t recruit our kind of guys,'" Illini linebacker Ian Thomas said. "We want to show them our kind of guys are better football players and a better team."

Zook said Tuesday that the schools don't recruit against each other much, adding, "we take some kids that they wouldn't take and they probably take some kids that we wouldn't take." But both staffs spend much of their time recruiting the Chicago area.

The Chicago element adds to what's at stake between the lines.

"The game's important to both of us for a lot of reasons," Zook said. "It's important because it is a Big Ten game. It's important because it's a rivalry and it's important because it's Chicago."

The 2017 season is a long way off and the Big Ten could look dramatically different by then, but the league decided earlier this month to move forward with a decision on future conference scheduling.

Beginning in 2017, each Big Ten team will play nine conference games per season, up from eight. The move has both pros and cons for the league, and while most coaches opposed the move, the athletic directors approved it by a "strong majority," according to Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez.

I recently checked in with three ADs -- Alvarez, Purdue's Morgan Burke and Northwestern's Jim Philips -- to get their thoughts on the scheduling switch. All three supported the increase to nine league games but weighed in on the pluses and minuses.

Why did you like about the move to a nine-game Big Ten schedule?

Burke: I want to make sure every kid on our roster has an opportunity to play at every campus in the Big Ten. When you only play eight [league games] and you go to 12 [teams], you really make it harder for them. Our fans speak by whether they're in the stands or not. Even though you may have stadiums that are sold out, I'll bet there's a lot of empty seats in September. I don't particularly care for that. And then thirdly, the Big Ten brand that does better when you play the Big Ten more. At the end of the day, it's good for the student-athletes, it's something our fans will resonate with, and it's better for the brand.

Phillips: It's going to create some greater races. It's going to improve everybody’s 12-game schedule. From a fan standpoint, from a ticket sales standpoint, television, corporate sponsorship and more, it's going to be very well received. Everyone will benefit from the gate and from the interest and from the fan base, excitement and attendance.

Alvarez: It’s better to play more conference games than less. It'll be good for our fans. Our fans want to see those games. In our case, we weren't able to protect Iowa [as a crossover]. Now we'll play them six out of 10 years. Same thing with Nebraska. The guarantees some of the [teams] were commanding from us are way out of line, but we’re backed into a corner and we have to pay ‘em. All those things were important considerations.

Most coaches opposed the move and it hasn't exactly worked out great for the Pac-12. How do you respond to the arguments against the nine-game schedule? What about the likelihood of having fewer teams become bowl-eligible?


Phillips: You have to ask the head coaches what they want. But this is a decision that's made at the directors' level; it's not made at the coaches' level. There are times when decisions are made at the presidential level that the athletic directors weigh in on and might feel a little differently. But in the end, I think all the coaches will support it and embrace it.

Burke: I’m sure if you’re in the coaching fraternity, it makes it more challenging. If your preseason schedule were fairly easy, you're thinking, 'Hey, I can be 4-0 and if I go 2-6 in the league, I’m going to be bowl-eligible.' A lot depends on the nature of the 6-6 team. Is it a 6-6 team that's rising? Last year, if we hadn't gotten so banged up and won some games down the stretch we were leading, we might have been a 6-6 team people might have been excited about, just because of the adversity we faced. But if you look at a team that got off to a 4-0 start because you played people who really aren’t on the same competitive platform and then you get shellacked in the Big Ten, it backs you into a bowl game. If you play nine conference games and you go 6-6, that makes a little bit more of a statement than if you go 6-6 with eight conference games.

The new schedule leaves you one fewer nonconference game. What type of non-league game will be removed from the schedule beginning in 2017?

Alvarez: A lot of the schools have a protected game. Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue play Notre Dame every year. I would think everyone probably would play at least one other BCS [team]. This locks you in with one more solid game.

Phillips: We'll have to wait and see, but relative to those three nonconference games, people are going to continue to be aggressive. We're going to have Notre Dame on the schedule in '18. We're certainly not going to change that or look to downgrade the nonconference schedule. With Stanford coming up, Boston College, Cal, I don't know if it's necessarily true that you're going to see the nonconference take a hit. Overall, the schedule is going to get a bump in strength because of us playing other members within the conference.

Burke: You’re going to lose some of the lower-level games. If we go to nine conference games, I’m not sure you’ll be able to schedule I-AA opponents like you did in the past. During my tenure, we did a home-and-away with Oregon, a home-and-away with Arizona. I've always tried about every four years to spice it up, so your class that comes in knows they’re going to play a major BCS team besides Notre Dame once or twice in that four-year stretch. That may change a little bit. We're going to work hard with the schedule so we’ve got Notre Dame and two other games, and those two other games, if we're playing reasonably well, they would be home and you’d like to think you can win 'em.

A lot of Big Ten teams say they need a minimum of seven home games per year. How much of a burden will the nine-game schedule place on this requirement?

Alvarez: You don’t like to have five away games in the conference, but it’ll alternate. You’ll have five away and then you’ll have five at home. Everybody wants to have seven home games, you have to do that for your budget. So you really have to be on top of your scheduling and get that taken care of.

Phillips: Football coaches and ADs are going to have to work even closer together to get the schedule in a place where everybody’s comfortable. It's going to take more effort and more foresight as we look into the future.

Was there any discussion of protecting a second cross-over game?

Alvarez: We didn't discuss it at all. I don't mind playing all the other schools. We'll play [Iowa] six out of 10 years. I don't know if everybody needs to protect another one.

What about future Big Ten expansion before 2017? How could it impact the conference schedule?

Phillips: We didn't really even address that. We could look exactly the same in '17, and we could look different, but you can’t wait to make these kinds of decisions. We had a lot of schools, us included, that need to get busy again on nonconference scheduling. We've been on hold because we weren't sure where this was going to go. We all have to get back at it.

A lot of good responses on the Big Ten's move to nine league games. Let's start there.

Remember, I always welcome your questions, comments and, yes, criticisms.

Brad from Buffalo, N.Y., writes: I'm not so sure the negative argument holds with the 9 game conference schedule. Yes, there are 6 guaranteed losses but it is likely that there will be only a couple of extra losses overall. The game replaced by the 9th conference game will likely be a tougher non-conference game where the B1G would project to be 7-5 or 8-4 at best. Instead, now we will be 6-6. In some years, we might even benefit from the guranteed 6 wins (see Minnesota v. North Dakota). The PAC-12 is hurt by parity, not a scheduling problem. Outside Oregon and USC, there is not another consistent program (Stanford=Luck-y).

Adam Rittenberg: Brad, some interesting points. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told me the ninth league game replaces a week of games where Big Ten teams typically win at least nine of the 12 contests. So you're looking at three more guaranteed losses with the switch. As for the parity argument, you can make the same case about the Big Ten. Other than Ohio State, which Big Ten team has been consistently dominant in the the past decade? If the Big Ten had a ninth league game last season, teams like Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern and Penn State could have had a tough time making bowl games.

---

John from Gilbert, Ariz., writes: Adam, does the nine game conference schedule re-open the door to the B1G expanding to sixteen teams prior to 2017? After all, with sixteen teams and a nine game conference slate each team could play the seven other teams in their division with two cross over games, one being a protected rivalry. Your thoughts?

Adam Rittenberg: John, I'll have more on this next week, but the possibility of further expansion definitely was a popular topic after the Big Ten announced the move to nine league games. Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips told me that while it's a valid question, as the college football landscape could be very different in 2017, expansion didn't come up when the ADs discussed moving to nine games. Phillips said they can't worry about what might or might not happen in expansion when making a decision like this. My sense is that the Big Ten would maintain a nine-game league slate even if it goes to 16 teams. The general belief is the more league games, the better.

---

Eric from Chicago writes: While I'm not surprised by Delany's positive spin on the 9 game schedule lets make one thing clear. This will not reduce the number of games vs. FCS teams or serve as a replacement for the 12th best game on a team's schedule. It will replace the teams best non-conference game every year. So those interesting early season intersectional games vs. national powers - OSU/Miami, Purdue/Oregon, Iowa/Arizona, PSU/Bama - will be a thing of the past. I think that's a shame.

Adam Rittenberg: Eric, while I understand your concern, I think each team will approach things differently. Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue want to keep playing Notre Dame. Iowa wants to keep playing Iowa State. Things can be arranged so you can still see Big Ten teams play one premier nonconference opponent per season. The thing you won't see is two marquee non-league games per year, which is unfortunate but understandable with nine league games. Let's see how things go, but I still think you'll see teams like Ohio State testing itself out of conference once a year.

---

Brian from Atlanta writes: Adam, As a response to Ted Miller's explanation of the downsides of adding a ninth game, I'd like to point out a couple of things. First, having 9 games plus a CCG could help the winner get into the NCG with 1 loss. That would balance a few weak teams missing out on bowls. Second, he ignored the financial benefits for the schools that struggle with attendance. Third, the B10's extra game coincides with starting a new TV deal and could lead to a big bump in cash. Fourth, the quality of the inventory for the TV partner should improve, leading to a cash increase. Fifth, it will allow WI/IA to play more often. If the B10 is smart, they will lock that rivalry, too. WI and IA would still play the other teams 50% of the time which is better than the next few years. I think a blog post highlighting some of these and other advantages would be nice.

Adam Rittenberg: Brian, a few things. Keep in mind schedule strength doesn't really matter in college football, so I'm not sure a 1-loss Big Ten team gets into the championship game ahead of undefeated teams from other conferences or a 1-loss SEC champion. Every year is different so we'll have to see, but I wouldn't bet on it. Ted did point out the benefits for both athletic directors and fans. His general point is that nine games hurts a league's perception because people often judge leagues on bowl-eligible teams even though many of those teams are mediocre with inflated records. Now you're correct about nine games coinciding with the Big Ten's new TV deal. More league games definitely pleases TV and will bring in more money. The Big Ten also likely will move more league games to early and mid-September, which will please the TV folks. While a second protected crossover rivalry is unlikely, you will see games like Iowa-Wisconsin more often.

---

Michael from Los Angeles writes: I think the one aspect being overlooked here is the effect this has on conference perception. With the Pac-Ten, Big 12, and Big 10 all going to a 9 game conference slate, and with the SEC still largely unwilling to play anybody with a pulse OOC, it is going to be much easier for the Big media entities (looking at you ESPN) to influence conference perception. I fear this means the conferences with the strongest financial ties to ESPN will be pumped up to an even greater extent in comparison to our beloved, and perpetually underrated Big 10. Without quality OOC games against other BCS teams it will be much more difficult to prove our strength relative to the rest of the CFB world.

Adam Rittenberg: Michael, while I agree some SEC teams should start challenging themselves more in the offseason, the Big Ten's issue isn't so much winning quality nonconference games as it is winning more BCS bowl games and specifically the national championship game. No one will care about the Big Ten's regular-season nonconference record if it wins the national title. No one will care about the Big Ten's overall bowl record if it wins the national title. The SEC gets credit because it wins the only game that leagues are truly judged upon. While playing nine league games certainly could hurt the Big Ten's perception, as colleague Ted Miller explains, it still comes down to winning national titles.

---

Eli from New York writes: Please explain to me how Newsome's departure actually has any tangible effect on our QB situation. The way I see it, he's a guy that was not going to see the field unless Bolden, McGloin, AND Jones (yes, Jones) got injured. You're also forgetting that we just added another QB to the class of 2012.

Adam Rittenberg: Kevin Newsome was a nice insurance policy, Eli. Paul Jones is academically ineligible, so his health status doesn't matter right now. Unless Jones' academic situation changes, he's out of the mix for 2011. You also have a player in Rob Bolden who, despite pledging his commitment to Penn State last month, has expressed interest in leaving the program before. What if Matt McGloin wins the starting job and Bolden becomes dissatisfied again? What if one of the top two players gets hurt? I agree with you that Penn State's QB situation should look a lot better in 2012, but depth has to be a concern right now.

---

Jojo from Johnstown, Pa., writes: Adam, Sorry for the loaded question, but here goes: What kind of message does it send to the NCAA and society, in general, when OSU players are openly paying homage to Jim Tressel with wristbands? Don't you think that it's almost a condonation of the wrongdoing that went on in Columbus?... Almost like OSU is trying to make Tressel into a martyr? I understand those kids are loyal to Tressel, but isn't that kind of open support somewhat of a middle-finger to the NCAA? OSU got away with pretty much a slap on the wrist and now players are wearing wristbands? What's your opinion of that kind of open support, given the circumstances?

Adam Rittenberg: Jojo, while I find it interesting that the wristbands reportedly came from the coaching staff, I don't have a major problem with the players wearing them. Yes, Jim Tressel left Ohio State in disgrace, but his overall accomplishments and what he meant to these players shouldn't be totally dismissed. It's not for you or I to decide whether he had a positive influence on the players. They know whether he did or did not, and they're deciding to pay tribute in this way. I am interested to see how Luke Fickell distances himself from Tressel, whether he can truly be himself after learning from The Vest for the past nine years. How many Tressel traditions will Fickell keep?

Illinois and Penn State hit the practice field today. RIP, Bubba Smith.

• Michigan State great Bubba Smith was a trailblazer in football, Drew Sharp writes in the Detroit Free Press. Smith gave State some swagger, Lynn Henning writes in The Detroit News. More thoughts on Smith here and here.
• A Penn State preseason primer from The (Allentown) Morning Call's Mark Wogenrich. Tight end and defensive end are among Penn State's camp questions, Jeff Rice writes in the Centre Daily Times. Offensive lineman Tom Ricketts transfers to Pitt.
• Illinois coach Ron Zook will keep his players fresh in camp, Mark Tupper writes in the (Decatur) Herald & Review. Illini tackle Jeff Allen is a big man with big dreams, Herb Gould writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. Some burning questions for Illinois.
• Jim Tressel's final class of Ohio State players will work hard to honor The Vest, Tim May writes in The Columbus Dispatch. An ambitious freshman class is what Ohio State needs this year, Michael Arace writes in The Dispatch.
• Nebraska coach Bo Pelini sounds confident about his team's Big Ten title chances in Year 1. The Huskers are recruiting more in Big Ten country -- and other notes from the Omaha World Herald's Sam McKewon.
• Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald went to bat for his boss to get a long-term contract, Tina Akouris writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. The Daily Herald's Lindsey Willhite on why Jim Phillips is staying at Northwestern.
• The division names still stink, but the Big Ten took the right approach with division alignment, SI.com's Stewart Mandel writes.
• Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins is bracing for the Blackshirts.
• A heavy dose of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz from Big Ten media days.
• Brady Hoke's message to his assistants: Don't assume anything. Las Vegas seems to be downgrading its outlook for Michigan this fall.
• Wisconsin has made a few changes to the plan for its new athletic performance center, Jeff Potrykus writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Badgers safety Aaron Henry has grown on and off the field, Tom Mulhern writes in the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Minnesota picks up a running back for the 2012 class.
• Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio State rank among the nation's best offensive lines, according to Rivals.com.
• Indiana wants to be more decisive and aggressive on defense, Pete DiPrimio writes in The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel.

The new 10-year contract Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips received Wednesday won't generate as much attention as the similar deal given to football coach Pat Fitzgerald in May.

But it's just as important, and perhaps even more so.

While Fitzgerald's value to the football program and the fan base is undeniable, Phillips provides the type of department leadership Northwestern needs both now and in the future. The fact that both men are signed through 2020 -- among the longest contracts in major college athletics -- is no coincidence, but Phillips' presence in Evanston could be more vital, especially if Fitzgerald decides to coach elsewhere (unlikely, despite what you hear from some media members).

"Jim Phillips is one of the most talented, energetic and hard-working persons I have ever met," Northwestern president Morton Schapiro said in a prepared statement. "I predict that, under his leadership, we will achieve even greater athletic success while always remaining true to the academic values that define Northwestern."

Phillips has spearheaded Northwestern's enhanced marketing and branding efforts. He convinced the administration to invest in a full marketing and sales force, crucial for a school that has a small alumni base and is located in the saturated Chicago sports market. Living in Chicago both before and after the sales and marketing push launched, I've noticed a significant difference in the visibility of Northwestern sports. Will it translate to better attendance? Time will tell, but the effort and creativity are there.

The next phase for Phillips is facilities. He launched Northwestern's first facilities master plan in November, and the result could be significant for a football program falling behind its Big Ten brethren in this area. The unfinished business with facilities likely played a role in Phillips' long-term commitment, as his alma mater, Illinois, coveted him for its athletic director vacancy.

He also has made upgrades in Northwestern's future football schedules and was aggressive in trying to lock up Fitzgerald to a long-term contract.

Phillips' deal has been in the works for some time, and it seemed unlikely he would leave a comfortable work and family situation, especially with a major facilities project on the table. But Phillips, like Fitzgerald, has been coveted by bigger schools, and Northwestern chose to be proactive in both cases.

Northwestern has rarely showed this type of commitment to athletics, and having both Phillips and Fitzgerald in place for the long haul should pay off.

Heading off to Chicago to join forces with Rittenberg and the ESPN.com crew for media days. First, linkage:

• Jim Phillips remains a wild card in the Illinois athletic director search. If only he didn't love Northwestern.
• Iowa got two commitments, bringing its 2012 recruiting class to eight members so far.
• Brady Hoke is keeping one RichRod tradition: the BBQ at the Big House. Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier landed at San Jose State.
• Some questions facing Michigan State this year, with the schedule being a big one. Spartans AD Mark Hollis earned praise for his ingenuity.
• Former Nebraska star Scott Frost says he was born to coach. Tom Shatel ponders the new Iowa-Nebraska trophy.
• A bowl game in Chicago? Pat Fitzgerald thinks it's a good idea. New York has one, after all.
• Ohio State cleared a path to the NFL for Terrelle Pryor. E. Gordon Gee will take part in a summit on NCAA athletics.
• A cornerback and a linebacker were the latest to commit to Penn State. JoePa will have to answer the Sandusky question soon.
• Bret Bielema talked about the media poll that named him the Big Ten's top coach and Wisconsin the league favorite.
• The nine-game Big Ten conference schedule will keep Purdue closer to home.

A wave of NCAA violations (proven or alleged) has swept through major college sports in recent months, and Big Ten programs aren't being spared.

Last year, Michigan admitted to committing major NCAA rules violations in football for the first time in its storied history. Ohio State has a Aug. 12 hearing before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions amid allegations of major rule violations in football. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel resigned May 30 after months of intense scrutiny.

As college football fans familiarize themselves with terms like "lack of institutional control" and the roster of the Committee on Infractions, some are left to wonder: Are any programs playing by the rules?

We'll never fully know the answer, as programs have sidestepped the NCAA rulebook for years and will continue to find loopholes. The Wall Street Journal recently explored the topic and reports that 17 athletic programs with FBS teams have never been tagged with major violations for any sport since 1953.

Of those 17, four teams play football in major conferences and two compete in the Big Ten. They are: Penn State, Northwestern, Boston College and Stanford. Northwestern and Boston College both had point-shaving incidents involving players, and Penn State endured a stretch of off-field problems involving players, but all three programs have escaped the NCAA's wrath.

Some interesting nuggets from the Wall Street Journal piece:

• Three of the four innocents from major conferences (Boston College, Northwestern and Stanford) have a built-in advantage: As private schools, they're not required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act -- a tool reporters have used to uncover wrongdoing at some public institutions.
• Experts say it's also telling that those same three schools come from big cities with major pro-sports teams. "We just don't have the intense pressure that other places have," Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said.
• Jim Phillips, the athletic director, said that when he was called about the job he was told that only two things matter at Northwestern: academics and NCAA compliance. "It's not about winning championships," he said.
• Given that football is the most-common culprit in major-violations cases, it's somewhat surprising that football power Penn State made the list. If there's any one obvious difference at the school, it's that the head coach, Joe Paterno, is the longest-tenured coach at any one school in FBS history (he took over in 1966). One of the common pitfalls for schools is a new coaching staff that comes in feeling a load of pressure to win quickly -- something Paterno is essentially immune to.

Is there a secret to steering clear of NCAA violations in football? Does a school need an iconic coach like Paterno, a less pressurized situation, an urban setting or an athletic mission that isn't national championship or bust?

I'm sure those factors help, and both Penn State and Northwestern should be proud to be on the list. But plenty of coaches and athletic departments try to do it right. These 17 programs aren't the only ones that stress the importance of NCAA compliance.

Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to get a team or a program in hot water, and the culture surrounding major college sports makes it tempting to get around the rules. It could take several big-time programs being hit with big-time penalties for things to change, and even that seems like wishful thinking.

There's no magic formula.

Phillips sums it up best.

"We're proud of what we've been able to do," he told the Journal, "but with 500 18- to 22-year-olds, anything could happen at any time."

Glad my vacation to Vancouver doesn't start for a few more weeks. I hope I don't see this guy. I know I won't be seeing the Stanley Cup (Go Hawks).

• Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany continues to defend Legends and Leaders, while Yahoo! Sports' Matt Hinton continues to stump for East and West.
• Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley talks about the renewed Penn State-Pitt rivalry, Jerry DiPaola writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News' Jared Shanker is new to the Penn State-Pitt series. Despite Rob Bolden's return to campus, Penn State's QB situation is far from settled, Donnie Collins writes.
• Wisconsin recruit Vince Biegel remains committed to the Badgers, but he's still talking to BYU and says a Wisconsin-BYU series will be coming, Tom Mulhern writes in the Wisconsin State Journal.
• The Mid-American Conference announces its football kickoff times, which include several matchups with the Big Ten.
• Nebraska coach Bo Pelini heads to Columbus -- Columbus, Neb., that is, Josh Kaufman writes in the Columbus Telegram.
• The Lincoln Journal Star's Brian Christopherson takes a look at Minnesota.
• Ohio State's Board of Trustees soon will comment on the football turmoil. Ohio State loses out on a top wide receiver prospect, Michael Carvell writes in The Atlanta Journal Constitution. CBSsports.com's Dennis Dodd likes Luke Fickell for the permanent Ohio State coaching gig.
• Michigan State is ready to prove its doubters wrong, SI.com's Ben Glicksman writes. Michigan State's season tickets for football are now on sale.
• Illinois goes back to the Sunshine State for its latest recruit, Dan Deluca writes in The News-Press.
• Michigan coach Brady Hoke goes camping, Angelique Chengelis writes in The Detroit News. Several Michigan players will serve as waiters at an upcoming fundraiser.
• Northwestern's strong recent recruiting run continues, ESPNChicago.com's Scott Powers writes. Athletic director Jim Phillips provides an update on the school's facilities plan, Powers writes.
• Purdue cornerback Ricardo Allen wants to show he's not a one-year wonder, Rivals.com's Kyle Charters writes. The Boilers come in at No. 76 in Pre-Snap Read's countdown of FBS teams.
• Kevin Wilson's debut as Indiana's coach will take place at night.

Winding toward the weekend.

• Former Ohio State player Ray Small adds another layer to the program's problems. Here's the full story from The Lantern's Zack Meisel and James Oldham, as well as my take.
• The Big Ten's plan to restructure scholarships has the athletes in mind, colleague Gene Wojciechowski writes. More on the debate the Big Ten's proposal has sparked from The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Doug Lesmerises.
• The Wisconsin State Journal's Tom Oates rules on where the Big Ten should host its football championship.
• Ohio State's investigation into the used-car transactions will wait until the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles conducts its own probe of the dealers, Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner write in The Columbus Dispatch.
• Two Nebraska incoming freshmen still have some academic issues to iron out, Steven M. Sipple writes in the Lincoln Journal Star. The Huskers remain very much in the market for quarterbacks, Samuel McKewon writes in the Omaha World-Herald.
• Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talks recruiting, Andy Hamilton writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Ferentz looks at the ups and downs of 2010 as just another season, Travis Hines writes in the Times-Republican.
• Several Big Ten recruits are mentioned in this piece about the difficulty of translating track speed to football stardom, Ted Schultz writes in The Indianapolis Star.
• Penn State plans to make upgrades to Beaver Stadium, John Beauge writes in The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News. A look at Penn State's October schedule from The Patriot-News' Jared Shanker.
• Northwestern needs to make sure it keeps AD Jim Phillips, who is being pursued by Illinois, Colin Becht writes in The Daily Northwestern.
• Indiana hasn't quite secured its first commitment for 2012 after all, Dustin Dopirak writes in The (Bloomington) Herald-Times.
• The Lansing State Journal's Joe Rexrode gets feedback on the Michigan-Michigan State recruiting race.
• Apparently Michigan's throwback unis for the Notre Dame game won't resemble those published last week. Annarbor.com's Michael Rothstein catches up with former Michigan TE Jerame Tuman.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

• Not surprisingly, Jim Delany's comments about potentially allocating more money to student-athletes have generated a ton of attention. Check out some links on the issue here and here and here.
• Big Ten coaches and ADs remain divided over a nine-game league schedule, Tom Mulhern writes in the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Illinois is pursuing Northwestern's Jim Phillips for its athletic director vacancy, so Northwestern should open its wallet, Teddy Greenstein writes in the Chicago Tribune.
• The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette's Marc Morehouse weighs in on the Big Ten Network's prime-time schedule.
• Penn State's only night game will come on the road this year, Ron Musselman writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Penn State outlines a points system for student tickets, Onward State reports.
• Michigan State is hoping to land some prospects from Texas, Matt Dorsey writes in the Detroit Free Press. The Spartans, meanwhile, are trailing Michigan in local recruiting, Tom Markowski writes in The Detroit News.
• Michigan's uniforms for the Notre Dame game will be modeled after this. Wolverines wideout Darryl Stonum will return to court next month for an evidentiary hearing, annarbor.com's Lee Higgins writes.
• Minnesota coach Jerry Kill hits the road to fire up Gophers fans, Phil Miller writes in the Star Tribune. More on Kill's appearances here.
• Kevin Wilson's home debut at Indiana will kick off in prime time.
• Missed this from the other day, but Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel makes a good case why the Big Ten should play its championship game outdoors.
• Illinois coaches don't expect AD Ron Guenther to disappear after he retires, Justin Albers writes in the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Golfer Jerry Kelly, a Wisconsin native, has to pay the price for the Badgers' Rose Bowl loss to TCU, Dave Curtis writes in the Sporting News.
• The Big Ten's newest member doesn't make the Big Ten Network's prime-time lineup.