Big Ten expansion critics argue that new additions of Maryland and Rutgers do little to further the conference’s academic and athletic prestige, providing little more than an outlet to expand the Big Ten Network to new television markets.

While neither the Terrapins nor the Scarlet Knights have especially prestigious men’s basketball or football programs, the new schools greatly increase the conference’s reputation when it comes to women’s basketball.

“I think it’s great for the Big Ten,” Illinois head coach Matt Bollant said. “The conference is becoming the nation’s premier conference. It’s great, especially for women’s basketball, because the two teams we’re adding, Maryland and Rutgers, have been two top-20 teams in recent years.”

Since 2000, the programs have combined for 21 NCAA tournament appearances and both have had success in the tournament. Maryland won the national championship in 2006 and has advanced to three Elite Eights in the last five years. Rutgers reached the Final Four in 2000 and the national championship game in 2007, falling to Tennessee both times. Only three current Big Ten members — Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue — have ever made the Final Four. The Spartans appeared most recently in 2005.

Maryland is ranked No. 11, coming off an Elite Eight appearance. The Lady Terrapins are led by Brenda Frese, who has won an average of 27 games per season in her 10 years as head coach. Bollant said he admires the recruiting acumen of Frese, who brought in the No. 9 class last season.

Illinois has played Maryland three times throughout the programs’ histories, losing all three. In their most recent meeting, the Terrapins defeated the Illini 79-52 at the Cancun Caribbean Challenge in 2008.

Rutgers is receiving votes in both the AP poll and the USA Today coaches’ poll. The Scarlet Knights are led by Hall-of-Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer, who is the third-winningest coach in women’s basketball history. Rutgers has made nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and reeled in a top-five recruiting class in three of the past five years. Bollant described the Scarlet Knights as “physically gifted.”

Although the Illini have never played the Scarlet Knights, the two schools have a history between each other. Before Bollant, the last two Illinois women’s basketball coaches came from the Rutgers.

Hall-of-Fame coach Theresa Grentz led Rutgers from 1976-95 before departing to lead Illinois from 1995-2007. At Rutgers, Grentz amassed 434 wins, while winning the 1982 AIAW national championship and reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament two other times. After Grentz retired in 2007, the Illini again looked to the Scarlet Knights for a head coach.

This time, Illinois hired Jolette Law, who was an assistant on Stringers’ two Final Four teams. Law had initial success in recruiting, bringing in the No. 3 class in 2009, but she was unable to sustain success at Illinois and was fired in March after posting a 69-93 record in five seasons.

Eastward expansion means more travel costs for an Illinois women’s basketball team that is the athletic department’s biggest team expense. The program lost $1.67 million in the 2010-11 season, and trips to College Park, Md., and Piscataway, N.J.,  mean additional costs to a team that spent $483,828 on travel in 2010-11. Maryland and Rutgers will become the farthest Big Ten schools from Illinois at 712 and 808 miles, respectively. Penn State is currently the farthest school at 613 miles.

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.