I wouldnt be surprised if we learn that Nebraska already has a verbal invite in tow.
For heaven's sake, Jon, don't you read the little actual information given by the Big Ten about expansion.
The BT presidents met Saurday. They heard from Big Ten Commissioner Delaney, they got staff reports, they didn't take any formal actions because while they had enough presidents present for a quorum the rules require all members to be represented by its top administrator (an interim occupant if the presidency is vacant).
Afterwards, the current chairman of the presidents (it rotates), President Simon of Michigan State, held a press conference in which you made these points (among others):
1. The presidents conceivably MAY accelerate the process of putting expansion on the agenda for 2010, could compress the time for considering potential candidates, shorten the period of time before they extend any possible invitation(s) to less than several years.
2. However, at this point she emphasized that the BT has yet to receive ANY request from ANY univrsity to be considered by the Big Ten.
3. She made specific reference to the fact that the basic priority of the Big Ten is that any prospective member be a strong research university that can contribute significantly to the research mission of the BT universities.
4. She specified four essential criteria the Big Ten presidents would use and stressed that the criteria were listed in the order of their importance:
(1) academic excellence, strength of academic programs, faculties, facilities, programs, national status, peer evaluation etc.
(2) potential to be a significant contributor to and participant in the shared research function, programs, facilities of the CIC (the academic and R&D consortium that is the base of the BT).
(3) athletic competiveness
(4) fiscal responsibility (a euphemism for the financial stability of member schools' athletic departments, scope of facilities, alumni & other support, etc...AND the broader, more important matters of the financial strength of the schools, their endowment, the stability of the support of those (all but NW & Chicago) that are public universities by the state legislatures and governments--a key factor when the BT schools need state authorization for expenditures on BT shared programs & facilities.Also what certainly will be factored in here is any potential member's history in gaining large amounts of federal, corporate & foundation funding, grants, contracts, etc.
(5) President Simon then reitereated the emphasis upon the order in which these priorities matter, saying that everyone should understand that academics was the first criterion because the presidents feel passionately that the purpose of expansion is above all else to help the Big Ten to become even stronger teaching & research institutions.
How anyone could hear this statement on behalf of the Big Ten presidents and believe that an offer to Nebraska would be in the mail over the weekend is truly mind-boggling.
Who doesn't grasp that the lady said Nebraska, no way, no how, nada? Who doesn't understand that she was also kissing off Mizzou?
