I wouldn't spend much time contemplating Notre Dame joining the Big 10.  They'd lose
more money on football than they could possibly hope to make up anywhere else;
they'd have to split the proceeds of owning a TV network (the Notredame Broadcasting
Corporation) twelve ways.  Not likely, I think.
 
However, there does seem to me to be a possibility of current Big 10 schools
upgrading to varsity.  I'm not sure what any of their Title IX numbers are like
specifically, but some of them may be close enough that adding women's hockey might
give them enough wiggle room to fudge and and men's hockey as well.  It's allowed
Michigan to add men's soccer, for instance.  I have speculated that the move of the
College Hockey Showcase to campus sites was done in part as a move to pressure other
Big 10 schools to go varsity.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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