Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

+ The Big Ten’s statement on possible expansion. (BigTen.org)

+ Brian Cook presents the ‘Grid of Judgment’ for Big Ten Expansion. (MGoBlog.com)

+ Hugh Kellenberger breaks down seven possibilities for the 12th Big Ten school. (The Hoosier Scoop)

+ Stewart Mandel writes that the Big Ten is serious about expansion, but the risks could outweigh the benefits. (SI.com)

+ Adam Rittenburg writes that the Big Ten may expand, or it might not. But the conference will explore its options. (ESPN.com)

+ Dennis Dodd thinks that an expansion to a ‘large dozen’ makes perfect sense. (CBSSports.com)

+ Would the Big Ten look to the Big 12 to snatch a 12th member? (ESPN.com)

+ Big Ten considers desperate plea for attention. (Deadspin)

+ The Detroit Free Press looks at who might fit if the Big Ten expands. (Freep.com)

+ Will Rutgers be in the mix with the Big Ten seeking to add a 12th school? (NJ.com)

After surfing the Web, I’ve scrounged up a few links of interest for Hoosier fans. I promise these will be somewhat entertaining, so go ahead and give ‘em a click.

- IU plans to honor Coach Hoeppner. {Indy Star}
- IU target and Lawrence North junior-to-be Stephan Van Treese selected for the Adidas basketball experience. {Indy Star}
- Now that we’re all talking about it, Big Ten commish Jim Delaney says expansion is unlikely. {Indy Star}
- IU tight end and former QB Blake Powers arrested. {IDS}
- Doug Gottlieb of the World Wide Leader (Free Insider, yipee!) reveals that it’s no secret USA Basketball stinks right now. {ESPN}

So long for now, happy Wednesday and my apologies for the Gottlieb picture.

Barring those teams entering the conference, though, I think adding Rutgers or Syracuse would be a mistake. Not only does Rutgers football have all the territorial markings of “flash-in-the-pan,” Rutgers basketball has never been good, and they don’t really bring secondary or Olympic sports to the table, either. Syracuse’s basketball program is tempting, but their football program is bad enough to warrant serious caution. Not to mention aesthetics: do we really need another horrible blue-and-orange clad team in this conference?

No, I think the ultimate solution lies just south of IU, in Louisville. The Cardinals have big-money programs set up in both football and basketball, they’d let the conference spread its recruiting wings even further south, and it would add the Cardinal-crazy haven of Louisville, which just so happens to be of the 20 biggest cities in the country, believe it or not. (I know: I didn’t believe it either. It’s true.) With the exception of the Kentucky Derby, a once-a-year fixation, and a AAA baseball team, the Cardinals are Louisville’s professional sports teams. Plenty of money and attention — and a nice big market for that new network — lies just down I-65, if the Big Ten is willing to make the trip through Southern Indiana.

Sound too perfect to be true? It might be: the one problem Brian cites is academics. Louisville’s medical research wing is up-and-coming, and, according to Wikipedia, the median ACT score for enrollment is up from 20.2 in 1995 to just around 24; not bad, but certainly nothing to write home about.

So I open it up to you, noted ITH readers: are Louisville’s academics poor enough to warrant their exclusion from the Big Ten? Are the academics even bad? If so, does the market and the geography outweigh those concerns? Who do you prefer for expansion? What did you get on your ACT? Thoughts in the comments.