I grew up in New York, attended the University of Michigan and covered Big Ten sports in parts of four decades, all of which makes me semi-qualified to comment on the Big Ten adding Rutgers and Maryland to the league.

Actually, I can sum it up in one word.

Yuck.

The Big Ten had a good thing going for a long time. Then they added Penn State, which seemed to make sense, and then Nebraska, another good fit.

The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers have two of the most tradition-rich football programs in the country, blessed with national titles and instant name recognition.

But Rutgers? And Maryland?

Officials at Rutgers and Maryland claim their schools are a perfect fit for the Big Ten, but what else are they going to say? They don't like their current homes in the Big East and ACC, so they went shopping for dollars somewhere else.

That's exactly what it is: A money grab by those schools and the Big Ten. Rutgers and Maryland want a bigger piece of the TV pie, and the Big Ten thinks having two East Coast schools will give the league more bargaining chips in the next round of TV negotiations.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is a smart guy. If he thinks adding Rutgers and Maryland will bring in millions of more dollars, he's probably right. He lives in that world and knows the right people.

But there's something you should know about East Coast sports fans, and especially sports fans who live in the greater New York City area. They care deeply about their pro teams, but give only passing interest (if any) to college sports.

It's not universally true, but New York fans care about the Mets and Yankees, Jets and Giants, Nets and Knicks, Rangers and Islanders. Those teams battle for headlines on the back pages of the New York Daily News and New York Post, a pair of sports-heavy tabloids that relish in the latest scandals, gossip and finger-pointing.

Rutgers is located in New Jersey, about a million miles away (figuratively speaking) from New York City. If you think New York sports fans care about Rutgers, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I can let you have for a real bargain.

Saying New York fans care about Rutgers is akin to saying Iowa fans care about Missouri, just because we're neighboring states. It's simply not so.

Delany described the Big Ten presidents as being "giddy" over league expansion. Really? Giddy? Are they that desperate to make a few more dollars from all those cable and TV companies?

Maybe they are, if Sally Mason is typical of the lot. Mason is the University of Iowa president who gladly accepts advertising money from Budweiser while simultaneously warning UI students about the evils of binge drinking.

Which is it, Sally? Does money trump all?

Iowa fans should think twice about welcoming Rutgers and Maryland into the fraternity. In the old days (pre-Penn State), the Hawks had a 1-in-10 chance of winning the Big Ten football title and going to the Rose Bowl.

It became 1-in-11 when Penn State joined the league, then dipped to 1-in-12 when Nebraska climbed aboard.

Now Iowa's odds of winning the Big Ten title have dropped to 1-in-14. It's not enough anymore to sneak ahead of Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin from time to time. Now the Hawkeyes have to sneak ahead of Penn State, Nebraska and a host of others. Rutgers, by the way, has spent much of the 2012 campaign in the Top 25.

Iowa fans enjoy the old rivalries with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, but those days are dying as games get dropped left and right. Old rivalries don't mean much anymore, and it might take 50 years or so to get excited about seeing the Hawks play the Scarlet Knights or Terrapins.

Money rules. How else can a school afford to pay its football coach $3,850,000 a year? How else can a school afford to build palatial training facilities in an effort (possibly futile) to keep pace with the SEC and Big 12?

Rutgers and Maryland?

I'm absolutely (not) giddy.