Delaney Throws Ice Water on Expansion Woody - er, Excitement

I know, this is a family read and there are kids out there that might ask their Dad, "Hey, what's a woody?" To which Dad can reply, "It's what used to happen before you were here and when your Mom gave Dad a funny look and we would, well, I'll explain it to you when you're 18..." Of course, Dad could just point them to the nearest Cialis commercial and let them figure it out on their own...But I digress..

So, what exactly did Delaney say today, if anything? I think he said, "We are moving forward with our original plan of 12-18 months before we do anything. The accelerated time table rumor is false." Which, when you allow the MMQ to read between the lines, means:

The Big 10 University Presidents all called Delaney and said, "COOL IT, YOU IDIOT! We have people calling us 24-7 giving us their opinion as to who we should bring in and if we're going to let 5 teams join than this should be one of them! I haven't even looked at the earlier proposal and you have everything in the press going absolutely apeshit! KNOCK IT OFF!"

Of course, again, I'm speculating here. But my guess is there were one or two conversations that went exactly like that. And I'm sure there are several universities in the Big 10 that are wondering if expansion makes sense - in other words, we don't need any more money than what we're currently getting. (I won't speculate on which, but I'm sure there are dissenters).

Suffice it to say, this will be a huge decision, because once you're in the Big 10, you're in. And it's not going anywhere, not unlike the Big 12 and BEast brethren that are wondering if they will survive the calendar year. And the president's simply aren't going to rush into this herky-jerky and start handing out Big 10 passes to whoever has their hand up. I think, based on all the data that's available now, that even the Grand Ole' Dame will need to "lobby" its way in, if in fact it wants in given the alternative of trying to make the BEast work without several key institutions.

I stated this earlier and I'll state it again: The Big 10 holds all the cards, money, chips and goodies in this show and you can bet that they won't rush into anything until they've explored every facet of the issue in excruciating detail. And, for what it's worth, I thing that's just the way it should be.