When word leaked that Penn State might join the Big 10, most people thought Rose Bowl. By the time Penn State officially accepted the Big 10's invitation on Dec. 19, people speculated about benefits for the men's basketball program, especially television revenue.

The effects of the University's decision reach even farther. No longer will alumni hop in their Winnebagos for a jaunt to an away game -- now their drives range from 272 miles (Ohio State) to 826 miles (Minnesota).

The wrestling team will leave the Eastern Wrestling League although it is a founding member and Associate Athletic Director Rich Lucas is its president.

And for the first time, a team other than Penn State will win the Atlantic 10 women's volleyball title.

"Penn State has felt since the early 1980s that it would be beneficial to be part of some sort of an all-sports conference -- even if it would have been one we would have helped form," Athletic Director Jim Tarman said at the Dec. 15 Holiday Bowl media conference. "That's not a specific response to Big 10 because I don't want to respond to that until I see what's going to happen and if it happens.

"There are many advantages to joining any all-sports conference from the lines of conference championships, publicity and recognition," he continued. "(But) I can't stress enough that this is really relatively little an athletic decision. This is a decision that goes far above and beyond athletics."

Officials made clear that the invitation is "in principle" -- details still need to be addressed. Big 10 Commissioner James E. Delaney said the transition process will include "analyzing competitive formats, the application of eligibility rules, (and) the integration of revenue- sharing process."

He added that Penn State and the Big 10 will have to complete existing contracts "with respect to non-conference schedules and television."

"So, there are many things that need to be worked out," Delaney said.

"I think this should be viewed as a progress instead of as a one- time event," said University of Illinois President Stanley O. Ikenberry, chairman of the Council of 10, the Big 10's association of presidents. "We have a good deal of work to do and frankly, I think the process to which I refer will continue over a number of years."

University President Bryce Jordan was out of town when the Big 10 rumors started. He accepted the invitation only four days later, but University officials said they had time to consider all the issues.

Ikenberry, a former Penn State vice president, admitted that the invitation was extended sooner than planned.

"We moved to the announcement stage, frankly, sooner than we expected, but once we had the leak of the information late last week we moved ahead more rapidly than otherwise would have been the case," he said at the Dec. 19 media conference announcing Penn State's acceptance.

Because the announcement was made sooner than planned, parties affected by Penn State's move were not consulted. Big 10 athletic directors did not even know Penn State was under consideration to enter the conference until the early news reports.

"This is not very thought out," Michigan Athletic Director Bo Schembechler said at a pre-Rose Bowl media conference. "They (Big 10 presidents) took (Penn State) in on the lap of the administrators and said, 'Work it out.' Well, maybe it's not workable. I don't see how we can play (Penn State) for 10 years."

Overall, Big 10 athletic directors seemed to believe their power and authority had been usurped.

"I think I understand their disappointment and certainly there's a shock factor involved," Ikenberry said. "A whole number of people will now be involved in the planning process . . . in all, a minimum of at least 40 people.

"I think the first initial step that the presidents have taken was to establish a policy direction and that is what we have done."

Plans for the University to join the Big 10 were discussed as early as 1980, when then-University President John Oswald spoke with Ohio State officials at the Fiesta Bowl. Jordan said negotiations had continued throughout his tenure, which started in 1983.

The Des Moines Register reported that the impetus for the move occurred last spring, when University of Iowa President Hunter Rawlings recommended that Iowa's freshmen athletes be ineligible for competition. Penn State thought about doing the same thing, but instead decided to try joining the conference.

"We believe that Penn State's entrance into the conference will enable the conference universities to exercise even stronger leadership roles in the national (athletic) reform movement," Ikenberry said at the announcement conference.

The freshman ineligibility question started six months of secret negotiations, the Register reported. Jordan said "serious conversations" with Big 10 officials had been taking place since May or June.

Also because of the hasty announcement, Penn State officials were unable to discuss the move with Atlantic 10 officials. Currently, Penn State competes in the A-10 in 13 sports. Penn State is committed to the league through June 1991, but bad feelings about Penn State's move may force the Lions out of the conference sooner.

On Dec. 21, two days after Penn State accepted the Big 10's invitation, A-10 Commissioner Ron Bertovich sent Jordan a letter asking Penn State to leave the conference at the end of the spring sports season.

"Personally, I don't like the lame-duck status," Bertovich said earlier in the week. "We will sit down and do what is in the best interests of the Atlantic 10. But I can't see any benefit of lame-duck status."

If Penn State does not leave the conference voluntarily, it could be forced out. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a source within the A-10 said that Penn State could be expelled from the conference, possibly as soon as this week's NCAA convention in Dallas.

Regardless of when Penn State leaves the A-10, the Eastern sports scene will change. Because Big 10 schools play eight conference games a season, Penn State will have only three non-conference football games on its schedule. It is uncertain which teams Penn State would keep. Pitt and West Virginia are local rivalries; Notre Dame and Alabama have also provided many thrills for fans and many dollars for the University.

Schools such as Temple, Boston College, Maryland and Rutgers will probably lose Penn State, the biggest moneymaker on their schedules.

"I think it's too early to speculate which those opponents might be," Tarman said. "I think we'll have to take a lot of things into consideration when looking at that -- tradition, long-time opponents . . . where we have large groups of alumni. Recruiting is also a big concern."

On Jan. 3, representatives from West Virginia, Syracuse, Temple, Pitt, Boston College and Rutgers met to discuss an all-sports conference. In the early 1980s, Penn State Head Football Coach Joe Paterno, then the athletic director, had pushed for an Eastern all-sports conference, but were foiled when Pitt, Syracuse and Boston College joined the Big East.

"Penn State had been taking part in conversations regarding the possibility of the development of an all-sport Eastern conference," Jordan said. "Those efforts did not lead to anything and during those efforts we said over and over again that we were not interested in a football-only conference. We wanted an all-sports conference.

"As it became apparent that those talks were not going to lead to fruition we speeded up, if you will, the interest that's always been here in becoming part of the Big 10."

But because Penn State has contracts with most current opponents which extend through the mid-1990s, it will not compete in the Big 10 immediately. Officials said that non-revenue sports could be ready to compete as early as next season and that men's and women's basketball could begin in a year or two.

Football, however, cannot begin until the contracts with other teams have expired. Big 10 Commissioner Delaney said round-robin football could start in the mid-1990s.

"Our football schedules go out varying lengths of time through the 1990s, some pretty far," Tarman said. "Not all have contracts -- some verbal agreements, some letters of agreement, some signed contracts -- so it's different with all of our football opponents."