Texas to Big 10?

According to some new "buzz" making the rounds, the University of Texas would not go independent or to an expanded Pac 12. Instead, the Longhorns would join Notre Dame in bringing the Big 10 up to 14 teams.

Notre Dame, located in South Bend, Indiana, near Chicago, would be a good geographic fit with the Big 10. Texas, though geographically distant from the other Big 10 schools, would mesh well with the Big 10 prototype of large, state-university campuses. The UT-Austin campus hosts in excess of 50,000 students, similar to Ohio State's 50,000-plus, Michigan State's 47,000, Indiana's 42,000, and Wisconsin's 40,000-plus, as some examples. Austin, Texas and Madison, Wisconsin also mirror each other in being state capitals as well as college towns.

Academically, Texas is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). Until Nebraska's recent demotion, the Big 10 held the honor of all of its schools belonging to the AAU. Notre Dame, though not an AAU member, is nevertheless considered a strong academic school.

Despite the apparent cultural similarities between UT-Austin and several Big 10 schools, there still is that issue of travel distance. Thus, just as I did recently for Texas Tech and the expanded Pac 12, I've conducted a travel-miles distance analysis for Texas and an expanded Big 10, using the website Travel Math.

Big 12 Opponent	Distance	Big 10 Opponent	Distance
Texas A&M*	88	Penn State	1,330
Texas Tech	332	Ohio State	1,067
Baylor	95	Michigan	1,136
Oklahoma	342	Michigan State	1,130
Oklahoma State	405	Indiana	884
Kansas	617	Purdue	929
Kansas State	618	Illinois	865
Missouri	673	Northwestern	986
Iowa State	843	Wisconsin	996
---	---	Minnesota	1,044
---	---	Iowa	859
---	---	Nebraska	729
---	---	Notre Dame**	1,015
AVERAGE	446	AVERAGE	998

HTML Tables

*Move to SEC pending. **Hypothetical scenario.

As can be seen, a Texas move to the Big 10 would increase its average in-conference travel distance by roughly 550 miles. Texas's shortest distance within the Big 10 would be to Nebraska (729 miles), which used to be in the Big 12 with the Longhorns.

Whether the rumor of Texas and Notre Dame to the Big 10 proves to have any more credence than other scenarios remains to be seen, of course. Still, examining the factors of geography/distance, academics, and culture provides an interesting lens on the possible ways institutions may group themselves.