A Thought On Pitt football and the Big East.

Here is one of my random musings.
I was thinking the other day of how the Big East Conference has basically dissolved. Now I know that there are some new teams coming into the conference, but with the departure of Miami and Virginia Tech at the end of last season, and with Boston College leaving at the end of this season, the conference has really gone to hell in the proverbial handbasket.
With this in mind, perhaps it is time for the University of Pittsburgh to consider departing from the conference as well. Leaving the Big East now would save them from being relegated to a conference filled with schools known as "mid-majors." I was thinking that if Pitt could convince West Virginia and Syracuse to come along with them, they could make a good case for joining the Big Ten. The Big Ten already has eleven teams and these three would bring it to fourteen.
I think the case for Pitt and West Virginia joining the Big Ten could be made on the basis of geographical proximity. Both Pitt and WVU lie roughly halfway between Penn State and Ohio State, which should make them natural candidates if the Big Ten should look to expand at some point. The case for Syracuse might be a little harder to make, but I think the overall quality of the sports programs at Syracuse should make a convincing arguement.
The addition of these three teams would make thing a bit easier on the Big Ten insofar as scheduling is concerned. The conference could be divided into two divisions (an East and a West) with due care given to preserve the bigger rivalries. A seven team division would allow for 6 intra-divisional games, 1 at large (or random) inter-divisional game, 1 inter-divisional rivalry game, and 3 out of conference games. The two divisions would be:
Eastern Division:
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
West Virginia

:and:
Western Division:
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin

This type of alignment would keep together important rivalries that already exist within the conference (i.e. OSU/Mich., Purdue/Ind.) and those rivalries that are coming into the conference with the new teams (i.e. Pitt/WVU). With an inter division rivalry game, the conference could preserve important traditional games such as the Minnesota/Michigan "Little Brown Jug" game (and others). The winner of each division would meet the other in a conference championship game similar to that of a few other conferences (SEC, Big 12, etc). The winner of the championship game gaining the right to represent the conference at its top affliated bowl game. The overall structure of the schedule, championship and bowl game would limit the member schools to 12 to 13 games in a given year (8 conf. games [6 div., 2 inter-div.], 3 non-conf. games, 1 championship [if a div. winner], and 1 bowl game [if qualified].)
I think that Pitt, WVU, and Syracuse should seriously consider a move like this, and I think that the Big Ten should give serious consideration to accepting these school when, and if, they should ever apply. A move such as this will save Pitt, WVU, and Syracuse from being relegated to the "also ran" class know as the "mid-majors" and the addition of these schools can only raise the caliber of Big Ten athletics in all sports. In addition to football, just think of what it would do to recruiting at, say, Ohio State to say to a basketball recruit, "Yeah, this year we play Pitt, Syracuse, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, ...and we do it twice!" I mean right there are 5 (usually) Top 25 teams. That is a pretty powerful recruiting tool in the hands of any coach. And once Pitt and Syracuse are back on track in football, the same will be applicable in football recruiting. A move such as the combination of these three Big East schools and the rest of the Big Ten can only be a win-win situation for all parties concerned.
But then, these are only my musings, you can make up your own mind.
This isn't a rant (I couldn't come up with a rant), it is, alas, only a musing.