Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema is good with the latest expansion in the
Bret Bielema
Big Ten Conference. Bielema welcomed the news that Maryland announced it will join the Big Ten Conference in 2014 and that Rutgers will follow with an announcement coming today.
The Badgers have already landed players like Ron Dayne and Anthony Davis from New Jersey and P.J. Hill from New York.
AUDIO: Bret Bielema says he’s fine with Maryland and Rutgers :18
The addition of Maryland yesterday and Rutgers today doesn’t come with the same flair as Nebraska a short time ago. But Bielema thinks Maryland is a quality addition. Wisconsin actually had added Maryland to their schedule in 2020 and 2021.
AUDIO: Bret Bielema on Maryland :16
It’s expected that the Big Ten will do some divisional re-alignment. Maryland and Rutgers would reportedly join Wisconsin in the leaders division. Illinois would move from the Leaders to the Legends division.
It’s a financial win for the two new schools, including Maryland, which was forced to cut seven sports after last season because of budget issues.
Maryland must pay a $50-million exit fee to leave the ACC, but school officials involved stand to make twice that by 2020 for moving into the Big Ten Conference.