Rutgers, Maryland to Big 10? 'Dream scenario' for Scarlet Knights

When news broke Saturday that Rutgers and Maryland could be joining the Big 10 the folks at SB Nation's Rutgers website, On The Banks, jumped for joy, saying "our moment of deliverance may be at hand."

Here is a little more reaction from On The Banks:

Everyone involved with Rutgers athletics knows that Tim Pernetti is an elite athletic director, and there have been pretty strong hints that he's been working the Big Ten and ACC hard for the past few years. Just because he was not publicly groveling like UConn officials does not mean that Tim was not doing all he could for us. He was, and patience was in order. The Big East's television contract was about to expire, and with NBC ready to pay Big East teams a rumored 15 million dollars a year, it reasons that the powers that be in college football were never going to allow that to happen. They knew that Tim would win over NBC, that time was ticking to make a decision, and all of the other advantages that Rutgers brings to the table with football, television markets, and academics were also working in our favor. This is the dream he fought for, that Greg Schiano, Bob Mulcahy, and Richard McCormick all fought for, and if this happens it is a vindication of their overwhelming foresight and determination in the midst of endless naysayers. It would have been so easy to give up, but we persevered and survived, stronger for it even.

The move seems to depend more at this point in time on Maryland than it does on Rutgers. Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger explains:

Rutgers has been down this road before. Multiple sources within the university community were cautiously optimistic late today, but any potential move is contingent on Maryland figuring out a way to pay (or avoid) a $50 million exit fee from the ACC to become the 13th member.

The sources insist the massive sum won’t be an obstacle. Still, Maryland is a charter member of the ACC and is a basketball school at heart. There will be a faction within its leadership that will be against any move away from its roots, even for a much bigger financial payout.

For Rutgers, there will be no such hesitation. This move not only makes sense on every level, it’s a dream scenario for an athletic program that has feared, after dedicating so many resources to its resurgence, it would end up on the outside looking in as the college landscape continues to shift.

"The Big Ten is the dream scenario," [former Rutgers athletic director Bob] Mulcahy said. "That’s what I always felt. I felt the combination of land grant universities and research universities, plus athletics, Rutgers would fit right in."

Your thoughts, Rutgers fans?

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