The SEC is taking its Media Days on the road. Should the Big Ten follow?

The SEC opened its four-day media confab Monday in Hoover, Alabama, by announcing it will start bouncing the show around like a Final Four. The event will be in Atlanta, which has hosted before, in 2020 and then Nashville in 2021.

That got us thinking: If the Big Ten did the same and started moving things around, where should it head to?

Before we begin: This exercise is strictly for entertainment. We would be stunned if the Big Ten ever moves its media event out of Chicago, where this year’s edition starts Thursday (NJ Advance Media will be there). SEC Media Days are much more of a circus than Big Ten Media Days, Chicago is the league’s home and we can’t see the media event or the Kickoff Luncheon being re-located.

But if they were, here are the top five places they should head, in ascending order:

5. Milwaukee: They do everything that tastes good and is bad for you very well in Milwaukee. The airport is close to downtown and the city is also very walkable. It’s also similar to Chicago in that it’s pretty accessible to the entire conference footprint. The “Fonzie” statue is also a plus, although it’s kind of tucked away. I learned this the hard way by walking to it during a cold front in January.

4. Cincinnati: This would be a bit of a shot across the SEC’s bow since a quick walk across the Roebling Bridge takes you into Kentucky (and most of the reporters would be staying in Kentucky since that’s where the big Marriott is). Also, Cincinnati is a very nice city - good restaurants, extremely walkable and the breeze off the Ohio River is quite lovely. Since we’re here: I have had Skyline Chili. It was good if you have it once every time you are visiting Cincinnati. I could never eat it regularly.

3. Cleveland: The downtown area by the Arcade is tremendous with some great restaurants and bars. Everything is close enough together, too. The only knock (and this is somewhat anecdotal): Every time I have gone to Cleveland, most of the town closes shop entirely too early. Late-night meals were hard to come by at the 2018 NCAA wrestling tournament.

2. Minneapolis: My favorite Midwestern city by a mile. The light rail has to be America’s best public transportation system, and it takes you right from the airport to downtown for under $2. Once you are in the city, you can walk everywhere. It has all the hotels, bars and restaurants needed to host major events. The Super Bowl is a tough fit because it’s so cold, which is a shame because Minneapolis should be a regular otherwise. Obviously I’m a big fan of the city hosting the NCAA wrestling tournament in 2020.

Buy Rutgers tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek

1. New York: Well, duh. The Big Ten has already had a men’s basketball media day in the city. Why not bring football over? Who cares about the whiners and complainers; Media Days would be huge in the Big Apple. Obviously all the infrastructure is there, and being in New York would likely generate more excitement for the event.

Just missed: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington (only because of the oppressive heat in D.C.)

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.