newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MIKE VORKUNOV

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

If Rutgers fans didn't know how to feel about Joe Paterno before, it's all settled now. That's because the Penn State head coach said publicly what many fans have been thinking themselves for a while and hoping somebody important in the Rutgers athletic department would vocalize as well: Rutgers should move to the Big Ten.

Now, to be frank, those weren‘t his exact words. It was more of a connect the dots type of deal. Well somebody should join the Big Ten, so why not an Eastern school, and with a big market for exposure.

Rutgers fits all three.

Not in that order."

It's not hard to discern he meant Rutgers at the front of that list.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh may both be in the East but they have the 113th and 26th biggest television markets in the country. Rutgers plays in the number one market.

The move would definitely help the Big Ten, but should Rutgers do it?

The answer here is no.

The biggest reason to move is to help the football program. Currently, the Big East is the Rodney Dangerfield of the college football world, it get's no respect. But unlike the late comedian, the conference doesn't deserve any. It was definitively the worst of the BCS conferences last season, Cincinnati's loss to Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl proved as much.

But the beauty of being in a bad conference is that it's easier to get to the top. Rutgers finished second last year despite fielding its worst team of the last three years and a 1-5 start. Yet, with no experienced quarterback and a one man receiving corps, they still have a good shot at finally finishing first in 2009.

Winning the Big Ten, that's not as easy. 2001 was the last year Michigan or Ohio State didn't get a piece of the championship. In that time every current Big East team, except Rutgers and South Florida, has won the conference. And Miami before they bolted. What makes Rutgers think they can break Ohio State's monopoly.

The financial benefits of moving aren't as big either. According to the NCAA, the Big Ten pulled in just more than $23.8 million in bowl revenue this year and the Big East made $15.5 million. But split amongst the conference members, it's an average of $2.16 million for each Big Ten squad and $1.95 million per Big East school.

And don't forget the basketball programs. Rutgers is definitely a Football school now. But you can't just make decisions unilaterally.

It certainly is more profitable for both programs to stay in the Big East. Certainly the piece the men's program gets of the conference's TV deal with ESPN is more than whatever they would get out of the Big Ten's deal. On the court they would have won a few more games playing in that weak conference. And how can you quantify getting Connecticut and Louisville off the schedule. But mediocrity is mediocrity no matter what league they're in.

As for the women's team, well C. Vivian Stringer already bolted from the Big Ten once when she left Iowa for the Banks. How happy would she be in going back? And how happy would the powers that be in charge of women's basketball be if Rutgers v. Connecticut didn't happen twice a year?

So, no you can't blame Paterno for talking and hoping. Or for Big Ten commissioner James Delaney to place a call to RU athletic director Tim Pernetti. But it doesn't mean Pernetti and Rutgers should listen.