One former Big Ten football beat writer's list of the conference's top 10 NFL Draft prospects:

1. Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State: The best player on the Big Ten's best team. An immediate starter with Pro Bowl potential.

2. Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan: Showed little improvement as a senior, but should be the third tackle selected behind Auburn's Greg Robinson and Texas A&M's Jake Matthews.

3. Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State: 143 tackles and a 4.38 40-yard dash time. He's rated behind Buffalo's Khalil Mack because...

4.  Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota: Anybody who stands 6-foot-5, weighs 310 pounds and runs the 40 in under 5.0 seconds is a load to block.

5. Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State: Those OVI charges aren't helping his cause. His senior film isn't raising his stock, either.

6. Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State: Could be the first running back selected, which means he's likely to go in the second round.

7. DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State: Next up in an impressive group of defensive linemen coached by new Ohio State assistant Larry Johnson. 




8. Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin: Forget his height, weight and 40 time. This guy can play.

9. Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana: Rising on everybody's draft board and could surpass Penn State's Allen Robinson as the first Big Ten receiver drafted.

10. C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa: Any NFL offense is more imaginative than what Iowa runs, which should maximize Fiedorwicz's underrated talents.

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy

Ohio State is ranked 23rd.

Not in one sport. But in all sports combined.

The updated version of the Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup were released April 17. Ohio State cracked the top 25. Barely.

Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 20 sports -- 10 men's and 10 women's. This makes Ohio State's ranking more troubling. The school sponsors 37 sports, the highest total in Division I.

Funding those sports isn't an issue. Ohio State's athletic department generated $142,043,057 in revenue in 2012, according to USA Today. Only Texas ($163,295,115) eclipsed that total.

The man leading Ohio State's athletic department is generously paid. Athletic Director Gene Smith has a base salary of $940,484. Bonuses could push his yearly earnings past $1.5 million.

Big money isn't yielding big results. So far in 2013-14, Ohio State has failed to qualify for NCAA tournament play in women's basketball, men's soccer, men's and women's ice hockey, and women's volleyball. The school's prominent spring teams aren't faring any better. The baseball and softball teams are 21-17 and 20-20, respectively.

Ohio State's struggles in multiple competitive sports are glaring after analyzing the standings. Four Big Ten schools -- Penn State (No. 2), Wisconsin (No. 3),  Michigan (No. 5) and Minnesota (No. 7) -- are in the top 10. Michigan State (No. 11) and Nebraska (No. 13) are also ahead of Ohio State.

When it comes to on-field results, Ohio State is a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten athletic department.

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy

Rutgers and Maryland officially join the Big Ten this summer.

The Scarlet Knights and Terrapins have one purpose: raise the conference's television profile in lucrative East Coast markets.

Both schools bring middling football programs to a conference already filled with gridiron mediocrity. See, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Iowa.

Rutgers also brings public relations nightmares. The school's athletic director wants News Jersey's largest newspaper to die. Julie Hermann is the same selective-memory administrator who denied any knowledge of warning an assistant volleyball coach from Tennessee about getting pregnant. The head coach at the time? Julie Hermann. Last November, Hermann flubbed a bullying incident at Rutgers involving a football player.

Maryland doesn't bring administrative baggage -- or glamorous football and basketball programs -- to the Big Ten. The school's football team has posted three below-.500 records in the last five years, the basketball program has made just one Sweet 16 appearance since winning a national in 2002.

While Rutgers and Maryland prepare to share Big Ten revenues, Connecticut won its fourth NCAA basketball title since 1999 by defeating Kentucky on April 7. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats two days after upending Florida.The Big Ten can use an SEC slayer, even if it's in the wrong sport.

UConn owns more national men's basketball titles than powers Louisville and Kansas, which have three each, and Eastern stalwarts Georgetown, Syracuse and Villanova combined. The Huskies, who endured a postseason ban because of academic issues, are as good as any basketball program in the last 15 years.

Conference expansion decisions aren't driven by basketball. Football pays bills and pads coffers.

Rutgers and Maryland's football programs are known entities. Neither school consistently fields top-25 teams.

UConn is a Division I football newbie. The school became a full-fledged Division I member in 2002. The Huskies have appeared in five bowl games, including the 2011 Fiesta Bowl. Coach Randy Edsall bolted UConn for, coincidentally, Maryland after the Fiesta Bowl. Edsall owns a 13-24 record in three seasons with the Terrapins.

UConn replaced Edsall with a has-been coach in Paul Pasqualoni, who lasted 2 1/2 seasons. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco now coaches the Huskies. With the proper coaching and recruiting, UConn has top-25 potential.

Connecticut, unlike New Jersey and Maryland, doesn't have any major professional sports franchises. Storrs, Conn., is one of the few spots on the East Coast besides State College, Pa., and Syracuse, N.Y., where college sporting events are major draws. Being in the same state as ESPN's headquarters doesn't hurt the attention-grabbing possibilities, either.

The UConn men's and women's basketball teams play before capacity crowds. Play the right teams -- and win enough -- and the same fervor would extend to football.

Rutgers brings fervor, none of which stems from on-field triumphs, to the Big Ten. Maryland brings UnderArmour money. Snug apparel isn't likely to turn Maryland into a must-watch athletic department.

Everybody who cares about college sports watched UConn on April 7. The saw one of the last desirable pieces in the expansion puzzle capture another major title.

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy