Quote Originally Posted by LSU Tiger View Post
Are truly serious. You would even consider an invitation to join the Rust Belt Conference? If so then I hope you get it. Enjoy those balmy Saturday afternoons in Ann Arbor, Chicago and Madison.

My advice is to apply to the SEC as soon and often as possible because there is about to be an earthquake in college football and as hard as it is for me to say it if UVa were to beat you to the punch then your prospects would not be very bright. This is football not the GE College Bowl and if the pinheads in their ivory towers want some sort of academic consortium then tell them to get off their lazy tenured butts and form one.

Do I have to draw you guys a road map?
From a football standpoint, you might be right, but academics do play a role here. The Big Ten is vastly more influential than the SEC. The SEC has two schools with an enrollment of 40k; the Big Ten has nine. The average research spending for the B10 is half a billion per year, the SEC is half that. It's exactly the reason the SEC reached out to Texas A&M - a massive research giant.

If the B10 reaches out to a Carolina or Virginia school, it's because they recognize the importance of the South in the future. However, the B10 is already there; they've arrived. VT would be insane - INSANE - to turn down a B10 invitation right now. They are the biggest of big dogs right now. A few MNCs in football don't compare to that.

I think VT would also be nuts to turn down an invitation to the SEC. The SEC is intent, in my opinion, on becoming the next B10. The B10 of the South. VT might profit by getting in on that action now. Anything is better than the ACC - they don't even fit our business model as a large public research institution.