Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany yesterday said the Univ. of Maryland has "the assets and the capacity to fully compete in the Big Ten, not only with the sports they have but the sports they're going to add some day," according to Alex Prewitt of the WASHINGTON POST. UM in July '12 cut seven sports, but AD Kevin Anderson said an anticipated budget balance by '18 or '19 should allow UM to "look at restoring some of the sports we no longer had." Delany and Anderson last night spoke as part of a panel forum during the annual Shirley Povich Symposium at the Univ. of Maryland Stamp Student Union to discuss the school's conference switch. Also included in the panel were ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, UM Board of Regents Chair Tom McMillen, and Campus Insiders' Bonnie Bernstein, all UM alums. McMillen, Bernstein and Van Pelt discussed "mixed emotions when the move was announced, but how all have since come around." Anderson said of the travel differences between the ACC and Big Ten, "We looked at the travel, and the travel will not be much more than what we were experiencing in the ACC. Instead of buses we'll be on airplanes, and the longest trip will be four hours." Delany said that the Big Ten is "currently looking at New York for new conference offices, anticipating 'some space early in 2014.'" He also "speculated the conference might open a satellite office" in DC, and projected some Big Ten championships "moving to the East Coast" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 11/5). In Baltimore, Childs Walker notes UM's move to the Big Ten has "caused unrest among some students and alumni, who have become accustomed to the university's ACC rivalries after 61 years in the conference." Anderson said, "I think some people are still having difficulty putting their arms around it. Every day, more people see that it was a great opportunity for the institution. It will allow us to be global" (Baltimore SUN, 11/6).
