Retiring Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany defended the decision to add Maryland and Rutgers to the conference in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, saying it was more important to evaluate their competitiveness in the long term than in the short term.
“My view is that it’s absolutely the right decision and absolutely the right place for us to be,” Delany said. “I expect that Maryland will continue to be competitive in a lot of sports. Rutgers’ hiring of [former coach Greg] Schiano is a bold stroke.
“I don’t think people should evaluate this in the short term,” he said. “But in a 25-year or 50-year period, I think they’re going to be very competitive. They are added value.”
The Big Ten has drawn criticism for adding Maryland and Rutgers to expand from 12 to 14 because of the apparent gulf in competition between the two newcomers and the blue bloods of the conference. The imbalance appears mostly in football: Since they began playing in the Big Ten in 2014, the Terrapins’ football team is 28-44 and 14-38 against conference opponents. The Scarlet Knights are 21-52 overall and 7-45 in the conference.
In 2019 alone, Maryland beat Rutgers head-to-head but neither team secured a single Big Ten win besides that.
Maryland fares much better than Rutgers in other sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. The Terrapins have also won national championships in men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s soccer since joining the Big Ten.
The schools were added so the Big Ten could expand into the populous New York and Washington television markets.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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