Big Ten teams ranked by value and most on-brand by FiveThirtyEight

In case you haven’t heard, the Big Ten is in the expansion business. Nobody will confuse the efforts with McDonald’s or Starbucks, but the conference has already announced the additions of USC and UCLA, and commissioner Kevin Warren is on record saying that he’s not opposed to adding more teams.

But what about the current teams already in the Big Ten? Which programs are the most “Big Ten” branded when looking at things like fit, market, and academics including future members USC and UCLA? It’s all opinion based of course, but Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight set out to rank the conference teams based on how “Big Ten” they are using those same metrics that only FiveThirtyEight can do.

Said another way, it’s a good exercise that has some interesting intrigue as a baseline for expansion and how valuable each program is to the Big Ten currently.

Here’s how it all breaks down from No. 14 down to what team is the most valuable as far as the most “Big Ten” branded school currently.

16
Rutgers

Mar 6, 2022; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; The Rutgers Scarlet Knights mascot performs during the second half of the game between the Scarlet Knights and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

What the FiveThirtyEight Data Says

15
Northwestern

Mar 1, 2018; New York, NY, USA; The Northwestern Wildcats mascot dances during a time-out against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the second half of a second-round game of the 2018 Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports

What the FiveThirtyEight Data Says

14
Purdue

The…