Three days ago, the University of Colorado announced its intention to leave the Big 12 Conference for an opportunity to join the Pac-10. Now, on Saturday, a second Big 12 school has announced its plans to leave in search of greener pastures.

The University of Nebraska, a longtime Big 12 mainstay, announced its plans to depart the conference and join a more fitting group. The Big Ten Conference is Nebraska’s suitor, and the conference has officially accepted the school’s bid to become a new member.

Colorado is the first of many teams that are expected to apply for membership in the Pac-10, a West Coast conference that is seeking to expand its horizons and accept some Midwest powerhouses. The Big Ten, though, is a more successful and historic conference that most Big 12 schools would be dying to enter. Nebraska’s departure from the Big 12 to the Big Ten is a major story; a huge upgrade for Nebraska, a crushing loss for the Big 12, and a welcome addition to the Big Ten.

The Big Ten recently announced its plans to consider expansion, and Nebraska jumped at the opportunity to get involved in the discussion. In the end, they were the best fit for the conference to add.

Nebraska’s entry into the Big Ten is actually a much better fit than some of the other recent conference changes. For example, Louisville, a school located in the Southern/Midwest United States, became a member of the Big East Conference in 2004. The state of Kentucky has no affiliation with the Northeast traditions of the Big East, yet the move was unquestioned by the college football hierarchy. The move also helped establish the Big East as a powerhouse in college basketball.

Nebraska, at least, fits the culture and location of a typical Big Ten school. It will be strange to see the Cornhuskers facing all the Big Ten schools every year instead of the Big 12, but the pairing of the school to its new conference is a good fit. Nebraska is a large, public state school in the Midwest that recruits similar players to schools like Wisconsin and Iowa. The fit will not be questioned.

The motive of the move, however, will certainly be questioned. Actually, it doesn’t even need to be questioned. It can be firmly stated: Nebraska sees better business opportunities in the Big Ten than in the Big 12. Essentially, it’s all about money. NCAA Football and all of its rules and bowl games and scheduling is 100% about money. Tradition has been thrown so far in the backseat that it’s not even worth complaining about. Fans can do nothing to change the outcome of a move like this one.

“The Big Ten offers stability that the Big 12 simply cannot offer," said Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman.

By “stability”, I think we all know what the chancellor is implying. M-O-N-E-Y is the real word that Perlman identifies with. The Big Ten attracts more fans, viewers, ticket holders, merchandise, and advertising than the Big 12. When tradition is thrown out the window and money is the motive, then moving from the Big 12 to the Big Ten is a no-brainer.

“We've had a couple disappointing days with the departure of two valued members," Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said. Yeah, it’s disappointing for sure. You’ve got to feel for Beebe and the Big 12; a conference that has never had the biggest names or collected the greatest revenue has been an unquestioned BCS powerhouse conference for years. The conference has sent more teams to the BCS National Championship game in the last 10 years than any other conference. But the Big 12 is just not the sexy name that the Big Ten is, and as a result it might end up disintegrating into a minor conference.

Talks will heat up next week with the possibility that several more Big 12 teams will make their way to a new conference. Texas is the big name that everyone is waiting on. The PAC-10 is expected to make a serious bid at claiming the Longhorns. Oklahoma State, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas A&M are all also rumored to be going elsewhere. The PAC-10 and SEC are the expected suitors of these schools.

Stay tuned for more information about the breakup of the Big 12. For now, Nebraska is the only school to move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten, and might be the only one to do so this offseason.