Big 8? 12? 10? Who's Counting?

I moved to Nebraska in 1994.  The Cornhuskers football team proceeded to win the next two National Championships as a member of the Big Eight Conference.  Two years later they joined the Big Twelve Conference.  And now 14 years later they are becoming the twelfth team in the Big Ten Conference.  I think I just set a record for most even numbers in a paragraph.  Here is my two cents on the Huskers' big move.

My thoughts begin, strangely enough, with the Stanley Cup.  The Chicago Blackhawks hoisted the trophy for the first time in 49 years this week.  As I watched each player hold the cup, kiss the cup, take pictures with their kids and the cup, I was struck by their singular sense of purpose.  Every player there had dreamed about this moment.  This silver cup represented everything they had ever worked for.  College football lacks this singular sense of purpose, it always has, and it always will.

The Husker moved to the Big Ten for reasons of money, athletics, and academics, probably in that order.  However the three are strangely interwoven.  What is the purpose of a college football team?  To support the university financially?  To create school spirit?  To prepare the majority of athletes who will "go pro in something other than sports" for their careers? To win a national championship?  To win the BCS?  To win the coaches poll?  To beat the Buckeyes?  To uphold academic standards?  To prepare their exceptional student-athletes for professional sports?  To secure television contracts?  To give the marching band a venue?  To give me something to do on Saturday afternoons?  To give sports writers endless material?  Yes, the correct answer is all of the above.

This is why I resist any moralizing when it comes to discussing college sports.  Money, athletics, and academics sometimes work symbiotically, but for the most part are at odds.  I am not suggesting that schools should operate outside the rules, but I am not surprised that they do given the multiple purposes of Division I college athletics.  So without getting into the nitty gritty things that I know little about, I love this move for the Cornhuskers for the following reasons.

1.  It seems like a good fit.  The Huskers fit in geograpically (somewhere in middle America).  They fit in academically (a team that takes pride in their academic all-Americans).  They fit in stylistically (smash mouth, run the football, play good defense).

2.  They need a change of scenery.  Texas and Oklahoma quickly made the old option Huskers obsolete.  Then Bill Callahan systematically destroyed the Huskers.  Bo Pellini has done a fantastic job of restoring the program, but in general the Big Twelve has not been full of great memories for the Huskers.  As Tom Osborne guides this move they will keep the tradition, but continue their fresh start.

3.  The Big Ten will be home to four of the finest uniforms in all of sports.  Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Nebraska.  Sometimes less is more.  A yearly Penn State vs. Nebraska matchup may be the most aesthetically pleasing game in sports.

4.  Selfishly, I will see them a lot more.  I have lived in Big Ten country for 10 years now.  It has been hard to be a Husker fan when I only see them once a year.  The Gophers opened a brand new stadium last year.  Though I was interested as a sports fan, I didn't make it to a game.  I can almost guarantee I'll be there the first time the Huskers come to town.  Of the teams I am loyal to, my love for the Huskers, and thus college football, has waned the most.  I am excited to embrace college football again.

5.  I have already received an outpouring of welcome and smack talk from friends who root for Big Ten teams.  Having lived in Big Ten country for 10 years, the majority of my friends root for these teams.  I love that they are already rooting against the Huskers.  I love the idea of watching games with them.  They will make me raise my game as a fan.

Now, I am not informed enough to know how the move will affect all of college football, but from some of the rumors I hear, this is what I hope does or doesn't happen.

1.  I hope these super conferences don't form.  It sound like these super conferences would be a step toward a playoff system which I support, but I think rivalries are too important to have conferences made up of teams that won't play each other all that often.

2.  I hope the Big 12 doesn't disappear.  Texas and Oklahoma seem like strong enough schools to anchor a conference.  I would love to see teams like TCU or Utah join.  It would be great if the shuffle allowed more teams to join power conferences.

3.  I don't care about Notre Dame.  Take 'em.  Leave 'em.  They haven't been relevant since Rocket Ismail.


Sixteen years ago, I went to my first Husker game at Memorial Stadium.  I remember the sea of red.  I remember getting goosebumps as the team ran out of the tunnel.  I joined a group of fans that I consider to be the best in the country.  For the last several years my passion for the Huskers has waned.  Honestly, this may have been the only way to get me back.  Look for me in Husker red on game days next year.  It's been too long.