Asmussen | Bielema on board for expansion
Aug. 8—CHAMPAIGN — Though he is knee-deep into the football cocoon that is training camp, Bret Bielema has clearly been paying attention to the news.
At least the variety covered by ESPN.
The third-year Illinois coach opened his Monday afternoon press conference, unprompted, by sharing his take on the hottest topic: Big Ten expansion.
On Friday, soon-to-be former Pac-12 schools Oregon and Washington were added to the conference. Bielema is all for it.
"Obviously a little conference expansion news, Bielema said after the team's workout at Memorial Stadium. "I'd like to welcome Oregon and Washington to the conference. Anything that continues to build our brand across the country is a positive thing."
Except for the folks who put together the clever 16-team schedule that was set to debut in 2024. That noise you heard was papers being shredded and bitter words from the mouths of the schedulers.
"It's going to change the schedule a little bit," Bielema said. "I have no idea what that means or anything about it. I'm just concentrating on our guys."
Bielema isn't going to waste time worrying about what's ahead.
"Those are conversations beyond me," Bielema said. "We'll get the schedule, figure it out and play."
Bielema has already talked with his chief of staff Mark Taurisani about the changes.
"We're traveling to unknown cities, so there's some logistics," Bielema said. "Most of those places house other teams, so that's probably less of an issue now than it's ever been. I have tremendous faith in (athletic director) Josh (Whitman). Obviously, Chancellor (Robert) Jones was a big part the decision. They're excited, and I'm excited. When it gets to 2024, I'll be excited as well."
Growing like a weedWhen Bielema played at Iowa in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were 10 schools in the Big Ten. Easy for the scheduler, with eight conference games each season. Teams only missed one league opponent.
In the three decades-plus since Bielema moved into coaching, the Big Ten has now added eight schools. That's 80 percent bigger. Where is it going?
"I don't know," Bielema said. "I remember being a young buck, getting in this profession and they added Penn State in the league. They were at the top of the top at that point and how much that did for our league in retrospect.
"I think about when they added Rutgers and Maryland ... and what it's been able to do on the East Coast. I've noticed it in recruiting. When they announced USC, UCLA, (player personnel director) Pat Embleton and I have had conversations about how that affects us in recruiting. We have such a large, living alumni base in L.A. that that has to factor into it."
Now the Big Ten is in the Pacific Northwest.
One of the Illinois staff members, director of football branding Pat Pierson, came here from Oregon. He got married in the state over the past weekend and Bielema was at the wedding. An early scouting trip.
"I loved being out there, seeing it, now we're gong to be right up the road in Eugene," Bielema said. "A lot of really cool things about it."
The expansion doesn't seem to bother the players.
"I think it's part of the world we're in," Bielema said. "Because of those little things you are recording me with and because of technology, it doesn't faze kids any more. I know our kids are excited. Anything that brings a new opportunity to be somewhere they've never been, it gets those kids excited."
The hard partIllinois has five road games in 2023. The farthest trip is the Oct. 14 game at Maryland, which is 699 miles away.
The distance from Champaign to Eugene, Ore., is 2,144 miles. It is 2,094 to Seattle. Los Angeles, home to Southern California and UCLA, is 2,000 miles from Champaign.
Bielema coached at Oregon as an assistant. His only experience with Washington so far has been in bowl games.
Either way, he looks forward to coaching against the new schools.
"It's going to be awesome," he said.
