For some Pitt sports, a move to the Big Ten would be worth it

The Big East might be good enough for Pitt’s basketball teams, but it’s not good… The Big East might be good enough for Pitt’s basketball teams, but it’s not good enough for Rande Stottlemyer.

The longtime coach of Pitt’s wrestling team competes with his athletes in the Eastern Wrestling League because he says Big East wrestling just isn’t that good.

But if Pitt sports switched to the Big Ten Conference — which, according to ESPN, is a real possibility — then wrestling would be happy to move there. But despite the additional revenue a switch could bring, some coaches still aren’t fans of the option.

“If [Pitt] went to the Big Ten, obviously wrestling would go to the Big Ten,” Stottlemyer said. “We would not stay in the EWL.”

Stottlemyer isn’t the only Pitt coach who believes his team could benefit from a shift from the Big East to the Big Ten. Toby Rens, the women’s volleyball head coach, sees the move as an upgrade in competition for his program as well.

But men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon told the media in December that he is against a move, because he views the Big East as the best college basketball league there is, both now and historically.

Such comments were prompted by recent rumors that Pitt is on the Big Ten’s shortlist of possible additions in the eye of expansion talks. Dixon, who denied two requests to be interviewed for this story, opposes the move, but his program is just one of 15 at Pitt, and others around the University would favor a Big Ten crossover.

On Dec. 15, the Big Ten Conference announced that the league’s commissioner was asked to “provide recommendations for [expansion] by the [the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors] over the next 12 to 18 months.”

Essentially, the Big Ten Conference — which includes schools like Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Northwestern — will consider the possibility of expansion over the next year.

Despite Dixon’s views, a switch to the Big Ten could yield significant monetary gains for Pitt. According to the NCAA’s 2008 statistics, the Big East was last among the six major conferences in television revenue, banking $40 million. The Big Ten, which was first among all conferences nationally, made $214 million. And in total revenue, the Big East was last yet again, bringing in $93.1 million. The Big Ten was first and earned a whopping $280.6 million. Big East schools include West Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova, UConn and Rutgers.

In order for Stottlemyer’s wrestling program to compete outside of the Big East, Pitt’s main league affiliate, the athletic department had to endorse it. The Big East doesn’t have enough wrestling programs for the league to host a conference championship, so Pitt allowed wrestling to compete in the Eastern Wrestling League for decades. Other Big East schools, like West Virginia, do the same.

Because of the lack of competition, Pitt wrestling participated in three invitational tournaments this season that featured various Big Ten teams. They also took on Penn State in its non-conference schedule and tied the Nittany Lions. In November, at the Sprawl and Brawl Tournament, the Panthers defeated then-No. 17 Illinois of the Big Ten.

If Pitt joined the Big Ten permanently, ranked wrestling teams like Penn State (No. 11 in the country) and Illinois would be its weekly competition. It’s a similar situation to that of Penn State, who before 1990 was an independent university in athletics. Prior to joining the Big Ten, Penn State also competed in the Eastern Wrestling League. In the Big Ten, which is considered the premiere wrestling league in the country, Pitt would have no shortage of viable opponents.

“I think it would be a good thing,” Tyler Nauman, a sophomore wrestler, said. “That would be the best thing we could do because it’s the best for wrestling. We want the toughest competition we can get on the schedule.”

This season, Pitt is undefeated, in first place in the Eastern Wrestling League and ranked 17th nationally. The team also won its first league championship in 34 years. No other Eastern Wrestling League program is ranked, but seven teams from the Big Ten are among the top-25, featuring three top-5 teams, including Iowa, which is No. 1 in the country. Though Pitt wrestling would abandon its perch as top dog in the Eastern Wrestling League, the heightened competition in the Big Ten would help the program as a whole.

“You’re getting better recognition,” Nauman said. “Even if you lose a close match, you’ll get recognition. It’s better than if I go out and pin a guy from Cleveland State in 15 seconds. I would love to wrestle those guys [Big Ten competition] all year round.”

In volleyball, it’s a similar situation. Rens’ team competes in the Big East, which he considers an upper level conference, but it still pales in comparison to the Big Ten in women’s volleyball. At last season’s end, the Big Ten had four teams in the top-10, including No. 2 Penn State. The Big East’s only top-25 representative was Notre Dame, which finished No. 22. Pitt closed the year ranked 50th nationally.

The Big Ten also accounts for the last three national champions in women’s volleyball, all Penn State. The Big East has never had a national champion in the sport. And though Rens stands by the Big East, he would relish the chance to play in what he calls the “most competitive conference in volleyball.”

“Selfishly, I would love that competition,” Rens said. “It would only bring out the best in my program.”

But many, including Dixon, view the Big Ten as an inferior men’s basketball league. Still, the Big Ten is more than competitive in the sport, accounting for two current top-10 programs in Purdue (No. 7) and Ohio State (No. 6). Michigan State (No. 11) and Wisconsin (No. 15) are also top-25 teams. By contrast, the Big East has five top-25 teams, three of which are in the top-10, including top-ranked Syracuse. Pitt is currently ranked No. 17.

“I can’t see how any team would improve where they’re at by movement,” Dixon told the Chicago Tribune in December, referring to Pitt. “Every situation, you have to look at why you’re doing it to improve yourselves. And I can’t see how moving from the best conference in college basketball history would be a good thing for anybody.”

Other schools that might receive the potential Big Ten invite, according to ESPN, include Texas, Notre Dame or West Virginia.

Nauman, who finished the regular season 18-0, agrees with the money and his coach.

“I think moving out of the Big East could help a lot of our teams,” he said.