If expansion brings in Rutgers,Pitt,and any other Big East schools, that should help Fran,a philly guy, recruit those areas even more. He could go to 2011 recruit Coleman,out of Philly, and sell him that by his junior year, Iowa will be playing games in the area,and with the BTN his family can watch virtually every game.
For 2012 recruits and beyond, he can really sell it,as the BTN becomes standard in various cable systems.
I suspect that Barta considered Fran's eastern background as a big plus on his resume coming to Iowa...and suspected that is could pay off as the Big Ten becomes a force on the East Coast. Lets face it, this expansion is going to kill the Big East as a football conference, leaving as a bb only conference. That in turn hurts those athletic depts, big time...weakening their hold on east coast recruits. Ripe for the Franster to come calling...I like it.