helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">The Big Ten Conference presidents and chancellors voted unanimously Friday afternoon to accept the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as the twelfth member of the conference. The announcement followed a Board of Regents meeting where officials at UN-L gave the school permission to accept an invitation from the Big Ten to apply for conference membership.
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The decision comes one day after Colorado University accepted an invitatio
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">n to join the Pac-10 Conference. This was not an overnight decision on the part of the Big Ten, as commissioner Jim Delany was authorized to start exploring the possibility of expansion in December 2009.
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It is difficult to imagine Nebraska severing ties with the Big 12 without a strong indication that
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span""> it would be accepted, and the unanimous vote from the current members shows why officials had the confidence to go ahead with the announcement.
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">At the Regents' meeting in Lincoln, which was streamed live online via 1620 KZON, an Omaha-based radio station, UN-L Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the school would seek ""full athletic and academic integration"" with the
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span""> current Big Ten members. As for the time frame of the integration,
sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">Perlman said he hoped to begin competitive integration in 2011 and academic integration immediately.
Delany, speaking at a press conference in Lincoln broadcast by the Big Ten Network, said the plan is for Nebraska to begin active membership July 1, 2011.
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">For college athletics, t
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">he ramifications of this move could be wide-ranging. It has been widely rumored that the Pac-10 will continue its expansion by convincing several other teams to leave the Big 12 and form a super-conference of up to 16 teams. The Big Ten could also look to expand beyond 12 teams, with Notre Dame and Missouri, among others, as possible targets.
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If the conference decides to stay at 12 teams, it would still
sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">have enough schools to hold a coveted conference championship football game. Most likely, the conference would employ a system similar to the one currently seen in the SEC and Big 12, where the teams are split into two divisions and at the end of the year, the winners of each division play for the league's automatic BCS bid.
When asked about the possibility of adding more teams at the press conference,
sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">Delany said the time frame for the expansion study continues for another several months, but did not elaborate on specific plans.
Whether or not the addition of Nebraska starts a domino effect throughout college football may not be immediately apparent. A twelfth team has huge effects, both immediate and long term, considering the conference has been trying to increase its visibility on a national scale for quite some time.
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">Nebraska brings five football national championships, a campus of 23,000 students and a rabid, football fan base to the conference, though the basketball team finished 15-18 last season and has not been a contender in recent years.
UW-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez issued a statement through the
sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span"">UW
helvetica, sans-serif"" class=""Apple-style-span""> Athletic Communications office saying, ""The University of Nebraska is a great fit for the Big Ten Conference. I was fortunate enough to have been a student-athlete in Nebraska's storied football program and I realize the magnitude and brand identity of their athletic program. Nebraska's fan base is as enthusiastic and passionate as any in the country and is similar to that of many Big Ten schools. Nebraska is a tremendous university, an AAU institution that brings quality academics and athletics to the Big Ten. On behalf of our athletic department, we want to welcome Nebraska to the Big Ten.""
