Big 10 Adds Maryland and Rutgers

The conference-realignment engine has revved up again, with Maryland (from the Atlantic Coast Conference) and Rutgers (from the Big East) joining the Big 10 for the 2014-15 academic year. 

Though outside the Big 10's geographic core of the Midwest, Maryland and Rutgers have commonalities with the conference on non-geographic dimensions. The Big 10 consists predominantly of large, flagship public universities (all except the private Northwestern), and Maryland and Rutgers fit the bill (the latter's full name is "Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey"). Maryland and Rutgers are both members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an elite group of academically prestigious institutions. All of the existing Big 10 schools are AAU members except Nebraska, which formerly was in the AAU.

I have depicted the new geographic layout of the Big 10 (barring further expansion). Various commentators have noted two things about the addition of Maryland and Rutgers. First, these schools give the Big 10 a presence in the metro New York City (Rutgers) and Washington, DC (Maryland) media markets. Rutgers and Maryland don't necessarily have a strong presence in New York and DC, respectively, compared to these cities' professional sports franchises, but the schools give the Big 10 some inroads. Second, Penn State will now have some close travel destinations within the conference. 

Many observers seem to feel that the impact of the Maryland/Rutgers moves will not be limited to the Big 10, as other conferences seek to boost their athletic prestige and viability by adding attractive football schools. I could see the Big East and ACC reverting to being basketball-oriented conferences, as their more football-oriented schools (e.g., the ACC's Florida State) possibly move elsewhere. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach has a detailed overview of what the Maryland/Rutgers moves may mean for other conferences, particularly the ACC.