eyekwah
Well-Known Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ten_Conference
Those Ohio State vs Texas games of the recent past were more than just football games.
The University of Texas also approached and entered into discussions with the Big Ten in the 1990s. UT was keen to upgrade it's academic profile and depart the SWC and desperate to seek affiliation with the Pac 10.
"Texas wanted desperately the academic patina that the Pac 10 yielded," recalls UT President Robert Berdahl, who went on to serve as chancellor at Pac-10 member California-Berkeley. "To be associated with UCLA, Stanford and Cal in academics was very desirable."
Still, expansion in the Pac-10 depended on unanimous approval of the member schools. And Stanford, which had long battled UT in athletics as well as academics, objected. For UT, the way west never materialized.
UT next approached the Big Ten. Having added Penn State in 1990, the Big Ten was now made of universities that, in the view of UT officials, matched UT's profile — large state schools with strong academic reputations. Berdahl liked the fact that 10 conference members belonged to the American Association of Universities.
Yet, distance remained a disadvantage. Iowa, the closest Big Ten school to Austin, was 856 miles away — but the appeal of having 10 of 12 schools in the same time zone was seen as a plus.
Those Ohio State vs Texas games of the recent past were more than just football games.
The University of Texas also approached and entered into discussions with the Big Ten in the 1990s. UT was keen to upgrade it's academic profile and depart the SWC and desperate to seek affiliation with the Pac 10.
"Texas wanted desperately the academic patina that the Pac 10 yielded," recalls UT President Robert Berdahl, who went on to serve as chancellor at Pac-10 member California-Berkeley. "To be associated with UCLA, Stanford and Cal in academics was very desirable."
Still, expansion in the Pac-10 depended on unanimous approval of the member schools. And Stanford, which had long battled UT in athletics as well as academics, objected. For UT, the way west never materialized.
UT next approached the Big Ten. Having added Penn State in 1990, the Big Ten was now made of universities that, in the view of UT officials, matched UT's profile — large state schools with strong academic reputations. Berdahl liked the fact that 10 conference members belonged to the American Association of Universities.
Yet, distance remained a disadvantage. Iowa, the closest Big Ten school to Austin, was 856 miles away — but the appeal of having 10 of 12 schools in the same time zone was seen as a plus.
