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Report: Maryland, Rutgers Could Join Big Ten Conference

The current shuffle of big-time college programs moving to different conferences could continue as early as Monday.

ESPN.com reports that the University of Maryland could leave the ACC and join the Big Ten Conference in the near future. If Maryland does indeed officially announce a move to the Big Ten, Rutgers University would most likely follow suit.

With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the Big Ten would balloon to a 14-team conference.

The one snag in the situation comes on the financial side. In order for Maryland to withdraw from the ACC, the school must pay a $50 million exit fee. This could pose a problem, because the university has had to drop some athletic programs recently to combat budget issues. The fee for Rutgers to separate from the Big East is only $10 million, as long as the school notifies the conference 27 months in advance.

The loss of Maryland’s presence in the ACC would not hurt the conference’s pedigree much, as Pittsburgh, Syracuse and possibly Notre Dame will join the conference as early as 2013.

Photo via Facebook/MarylandFootball