Can - and would - the B1G kick out Nebraska for scheduling football games after the conference canceled its season? THREAD.

Yesterday, @bigten Commissioner Kevin Warren suggested if Nebraska plays football this season, it could "not and be a member of the Big Ten Conference."

Some have interpreted this to suggest the @Huskers would be forced out of the B1G if they opted to play football.

But the Big Ten Conference Handbook, Rule 4.1.3, vests "matters concerning admission to or expulsion from the Conference" to "the Council."

The Council, in turn, is defined in Handbook Rule 4.1.1 as the designated "chancellor or president of each member university." Since the B1G has fourteen members university, the Council is comprised of fourteen members.

Because kicking out a B1G member school is such a big deal, it requires "a vote of not less than seventy percent (70%) of the Council." In other words, at least 10 of the B1G's 14 Council representatives would have to support the measure. (10/14 = 71.4%)

Coaches and administrators from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa have publicly said their respective schools want to play. If they hold the line, they - with Nebraska - could pool their five votes to ensure no school faced any formal B1G repercussion.

A separate issue is money, which is governed by contracts to which I'm not privy. It's my understanding B1G member schools pool all media proceeds and share them equally. In my view, nothing about the B1G's decision to cancel football would negate NU's obligation to share TV $.

So NU's would-be media paychecks for 2020 games would be split 14 ways. (But we'd also share TV money generated from OSU and any other B1G school that plays.)

But the alternative is zero media money.

NU would keep 100% of non-media proceeds generated (merchandise, etc.).

I was and remain a huge supporter of Nebraska's move to the B1G. It's the nation's best all-around conference, it raises NU's academic profile (and the professors, research grants, and students it can land), it's stable, and it's a huge revenue-producer - dwarfing the Big Twelve.

That said, I'm very skeptical of any suggestion that the B1G would try to expel Nebraska for playing football in 2020 - especially after the B1G has declined to take such strict actions against member schools in the wake of serious national scandals (Sandusky, Nassar, etc.).

Hat tip to Indiana University @IUHoosiers for publishing the Big Ten Conference Handbook online. (Link below.) END THREAD. https://iuhoosiers.com/documents/2018/4/5//2017_18_Big_Ten_Conference_Handbook.pdf?id=27323

Whoops, two other key considerations:
(1) If a charter-member school like Ohio State plays football, this analysis is unnecessary: the B1G isn't going to do anything to anyone.

(2) As a full-fledged partner, NU would need to be "bought out" of the B1G - just as it paid to join.