Not sure if this would belong more to the football or the basketball board, but there is lots of buzz about this story, which has just surfaced this weekend but appears to have legs, and could see significant movement in the next 48 hours.  This Yahoo article takes a rather negative view of the moves, but provides good background information:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--maryland-s--ru tgers--potential-move-to-big-ten-looms-as-risky-ga mble-for-conference-17501209.html;_ylt=AkJpYzjs.Dd wkOC6eGOVO_E5nYcB;_ylu=X3oDMTQ0amEwcnY3BG1pdANGRUF UVVJFRCBNZWdhdHJvbiBTUE9SVFMgRlAEcGtnAzcxN2JiZDdkL TY3ZWEtMzM1YS1hODk3LTBhMjdlZjI4ZTA5OARwb3MDNQRzZWM DbWVnYXRyb24EdmVyAzg0YTE1NWUzLTMxMWItMTFlMi1iNmRmL WQ3YzAxOWE3YmE2Yw--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDd XMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3N lY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

There was plenty of discussion around the ACC and BEast moves this past season involving Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, etc., and talk of four 16-team super conferences ultimately evolving nationally.  It's possible to imagine the BEast and ACC picking the strongest 16 schools that want to participate in all sports and calling it a conference, since there would not be a place for both in that scenario.  

That would mean the B1G would be in the market for yet two more members, likely also A.A.U. members, which Maryland and Rutgers both are.  Personally, I don't see any downside for Indiana in this latest development, and applaud the emphasis on the academic integrity of B1G institutions.  

As for Notre Dame, they might just end up where they've always claimed they are--in a class by themselves.

Meh....

Seliflishly, living in the Philly area, I like the increased opportunities to see IU. Mixed feeling on this overall though. From an on-field standpoint, they don't seem to add too much (a few years ago, Maryland hoops would have been a GREAT get). On the plus side, they're both solid academic fits, you have NJ, which is a ridiculously fertile recruiting area, and you're bringing in some lucarative TV markets for the BTN, which certainly benefits everybody. Still galls me though that Mizzou isn't a B1G team.

can't quite get ahold of a tO$U vs Rutgers FB game...just doesn't have a ring to it.

Well, that didn't take long to get from rumor to fact.  Maryland is a done deal, looks like Rutgers is next:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/86519 34/maryland-terrapins-join-big-ten-rutgers-scarlet -knights-join-well-sources-say