Illinois Lawmakers Do Not Understand College Conferences

While we're likely done with any major conference realignment happening in the Big Ten any time soon, that doesn't mean our elected officials in Springfield wouldn't like to chime in on it. Well, they're only really your officials if you live in Lisle or Palatine. And if you happen to live in either of those towns, maybe think of voting for someone else next election.

Now that might seem a bit extreme, but allow me to explain. They might be two fantastic state senators with long records of good decisions. But I'm kind of doubting that. Why? Because they're willing to throw away a lot of money on a study that anyone who pays any attention to college sports can answer for free.

Illinois State and Southern Illinois will never be in the Big Ten. They just won't.

That's not me crapping on the two schools. It's just a fact. They aren't big enough universities. They don't play football at the BCS level. They don't have consistently amazing basketball teams. They don't bring in large media markets. There is no money to be made for the conference by bringing them in, so it simply will not happen.

But hey, go ahead and fund a study that looks into how much their academics and athletics would have to advance to be considered. It's not like our state could use the money on anything more useful. And while you're at it, show me these mystery students scoring 32s and 33s on their ACT and getting rejected from Illinois. Because they either lucked into that score while doing nothing in high school or just don't exist. Please don't waste everyone's time and money. Shelf the proposal.

Follow The Champaign Room on Twitter at @Champaign_Room and Like us on Facebook. You can follow Mark Primiano on Twitter at @SBN_UGod.