Margin Call will be delayed until Tuesday morning.

Spurred by Texas A&M's flirtation with the SEC, Oklahoma rediscovered its backbone by leading a quartet of Big 12 schools recently to the Big Ten to inquire about joining that conference in one mass transfer. The Big Ten, a source on the front line of the NCAA's changing landscape told me, cited its allegiance to the prestigious American Association of Universities and opted not to pursue an alliance; Oklahoma and OSU aren't AAU members.

Until now, it has been reported that Michigan merely made a third-party inquiry to Fitzgerald.

The reality is that Michigan's interest in Fitzgerald was so sincere, representatives of the school laid out salary parameters, according to sources.

[...]

Fitzgerald, 36 with three kids and a $2.3 million home in Northfield, is not driven by money, those close to him say. He showed that by declining to interview with Michigan officials, who were willing to meet him in Texas or wherever he wished.

Had negotiations ensued, Michigan likely would have offered around $3 million, according to sources.

And I think that the SEC has proved to not only me but everybody else that they have the strongest football-playing conference. But you know what? The ACC has proved that in basketball, and we’re not going to stop playing either of them.

An executive at a Big 12 school relayed to The World-Herald on Tuesday that he expects Nebraska to become a member of the Big Ten as early as Friday.

"He’s pretty fast," Johnson said. "But a lot of people get it mistaken at the conference he played at. Was it the Big Ten? They’re a slow conference. They don’t have fast guys in that conference. It automatically makes him look like he’s a real fast guy."

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) discussed the future of the Big Ten Conference at its winter meetings on Dec. 6 in Park Ridge, Illinois. The following statement is issued by the Big Ten office on behalf of the COP/C.

Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in June of 1990 and its addition has been an unqualified success. In 1993, 1998 and 2003 the COP/C, in coordination with the commissioner’s office, reviewed the issue of conference structure and expansion. The COP/C believes that the timing is right for the conference to once again conduct a thorough evaluation of options for conference structure and expansion. As a result, the commissioner was asked to provide recommendations for consideration by the COP/C over the next 12 to 18 months.

The COP/C understands that speculation about the conference is ongoing. The COP/C has asked the conference office to obtain, to the extent possible, information necessary to construct preliminary options and recommendations without engaging in formal discussions with leadership of other institutions. If and when such discussions become necessary the COP/C has instructed Commissioner James E. Delany to inform the Chair of the COP/C, Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon, and then to notify the commissioner of the affected conference(s). Only after these notices have occurred will the Big Ten engage in formal expansion discussions with other institutions. This process will allow the Big Ten to evaluate options, while respecting peer conferences and their member institutions. No action by the COP/C is expected in the near term. No interim statements will be made by the Big Ten or the COP/C until after the COP/C receives the commissioner’s recommendations and the COP/C determines next steps, if any, in this area.

Making [True Freshman Quarterback Matt] Barkley's first-ever road trip a nationally televised game at Ohio Stadium is like sending a first violinist to Carnegie Hall before he has learned to play the entire concerto.

I think it's the greatest rivalry in sports. [But] [w]e're not only in that rivalry, but we also have a great rivalry with Michigan State and another one with Notre Dame. Probably all the coaches in our league will tell you they have rivalries with everybody else in the Big Ten Conference.

It's kind of unique, and I think that's what's so great with college football, the passion that we have in college football from the rivalry standpoint...is second to none.

One of the things that jumped out at me my first year was every coach talked about the difficulties in preparing and playing against a Wisconsin offense, because there's a fullback in the game, there might be two tight ends. It's very unique, because a lot of schools we play against don't even have a fullback.

Last year we had two guys 240-plus playing fullback, and it's hard to get one guy to do that, let alone two guys. It's also that we feel like we can recruit at Wisconsin.