<p>I can say a little bit about the most recent admit to the B1G “before” UMD and Rut. My alma m. Nebraska was a logical choice. It’s a land grant institution, and was an AAU member (big research consortium…prestigious) before the AAU got all squirrelly about not allowing ag/nutrition research to count toward AAU research. That’s a whole other b.s. argument to have. But bottom line is the B1G is far and away the best amalgamation of research institutions in the country. Not putting down other athletic conferences…but the B1G stands out, and UMD, and Rut. will reap the benefits. I’m proud that Nebr was asked to join. One of the reasons that I believe ND was not asked, is that ND tends to have a go-it-alone attitude, whereas the Big 10 institutions have absolutely joint decision making. You can see the difference in the Big 12. U of Texas basically destroyed the B12 by makign huge demands based on the power of their population base. The conference gave in and then Texas started the Longhorn network, and the better academic schools bolted (U of Missouri, Colorado, and Nebraska…and finally T A&M.) Rutgers and Md are better off…and it will make a great academic partnership.</p>