The Pac-10 is looking into a supposed 2-team expansion. Do I like this idea? Yes. Do we NEED this? Sorta. Will it show the entire country what we are made of? OH YES. With expansion, most likely, comes a new TV-deal. So just how bad is our TV-deal? Take a look at this link to see how the WCC(West Coast Conference) compares to the Pac-10 for televised basketball games. Although this year, the WCC might have just as many tournament teams as the Pac-10... the viewing audience for the Pac-10 has got to be many times larger than that of the WCC. The previous Pac-10 commish failed to realize the potential of the greatest league in college sports (arguably). With this epic fail comes a lack of respect on a national level for what perhaps was the best b-ballin league in college last year. Enough is enough, bring on the expansion.
But who? What two schools will be lucky enough to join the coolest conference out there? Will it be Utah and BYU? Afterall, they are a fitting rivalry that much like the rest of the conference sit just double digits in miles apart. Dealing with BYU however, proves to be troublesome due to their religious affiliation and inability to play on Sundays. I don't remember ASU ever playing football or basketball on Sundays, but I am not sure about the rest of the athletic department teams. I feel that we (we = Pac-10) can get over this hindrance and be very accepting of BYU. They have a very competitive athletics program and combining them with perennial left-out-of-the-BCS powerhouse University of Utah, or the U as they like to call themselves. For the BYU-Utah combo, I vote yes.
Colorado and TCU? Colorado and Boise St.? Sure. These additions bring one Big Twelve school and perhaps a great football school in Boise or TCU. What does this do for our basketball schedule? Chalk up a couple more wins for the Devils! Colorado is a great fit. With it comes the Denver market and a much needed expansion East of the Rockies (although just barely). TCU might partially bring in the Dallas market and Boise St. brings with it the majority of Idahoans. My vote? Colorado - sure, but do they really want to leave the Big-12? TCU - Pass. I don't think they provide enough of a boost in nationwide market, nor do they provide much outside of Football. Boise St.? Yes, but i don't see it happening. Boise strives on playing one big market game per year, and beating up on the rest of the WAC. All it takes is one big win and they get to a BCS game. Along with that BCS game comes a good payday. Can they keep up what they've been doing with a schedule that includes punch-filled Oregon, USC, and the rest of the crew? I bet they don't see a BCS game for another 10 years.
Then there are the Aztecs of SDSU. Their basketball team is competitive, just ask U of A. Football? Do we really need another southern california team in the Pac-10. Although I won't argue about visiting Qualcomm and the SD area for a game in September, SDSU would continually be a bottom feeder in football. Adding SDSU makes little sense as it does nothing but add a team that keeps with the Pacific theme of the conference. My vote? No thank you.
There are a lot of things to take into consideration when choosing how to expand. Hopefully we do it right by adding an already established rivalry, rule-abiding universities, and good competition. If we don't expand...can we atleast get away from FSN?