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<blockquote data-quote="Buckaineer" data-source="post: 129460267" data-attributes="member: 1428007">The Big Ten doesn't accept non AAU members.&nbsp; Therefore to claim academics has nothing to do with college conference affiliation is more than a bit naive.&nbsp; The ACC has pretended that academics were important and the new SEC commissioner also recently referenced academic credentials being important to future expansion desires.Fans don't want there to be a connection, but for the most part (see Louisville-an act of desperation on the ACCs part) there is.I've followed the ins and outs of expansion for quite awhile and all the information I pass along is publicly available.&nbsp; Many leaders in the conference have spoken out about the desires for expansion directly, or informed media spokesmen about it.Southern Miss is not a good candidate because of many things.&nbsp; They have relatively 0 national brand.&nbsp; They are in a very small market which doesn't appeal to tv executives.&nbsp; They aren't particularly good in any sport-although they at times have had success at the lower levels of college football.&nbsp; Academically the school doesn't rate well.&nbsp; They don't have a particularly large fan following.&nbsp; Nearby air transportation may be an issue. There are lots of criteria the BIG 12 is interested in for expansion and I can't think of many if any points Southern Miss hits.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Buckaineer, post: 129460267, member: 1428007"] The Big Ten doesn't accept non AAU members. Therefore to claim academics has nothing to do with college conference affiliation is more than a bit naive. The ACC has pretended that academics were important and the new SEC commissioner also recently referenced academic credentials being important to future expansion desires. Fans don't want there to be a connection, but for the most part (see Louisville-an act of desperation on the ACCs part) there is. I've followed the ins and outs of expansion for quite awhile and all the information I pass along is publicly available. Many leaders in the conference have spoken out about the desires for expansion directly, or informed media spokesmen about it. Southern Miss is not a good candidate because of many things. They have relatively 0 national brand. They are in a very small market which doesn't appeal to tv executives. They aren't particularly good in any sport-although they at times have had success at the lower levels of college football. Academically the school doesn't rate well. They don't have a particularly large fan following. Nearby air transportation may be an issue. There are lots of criteria the BIG 12 is interested in for expansion and I can't think of many if any points Southern Miss hits. [/QUOTE]

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