NEW YORK (AP) - Rutgers is announcing that it will join the Big Ten at an afternoon news conference Tuesday on its campus in Piscataway, N.J.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany will be joined by Rutgers University President Robert Barchi and athletic director Tim Perenetti.

Rutgers will be leaving the Big East, where it has been competing since 1991. The move follows Maryland's announcement on Monday that it was departing the Atlantic Coast Conference to join the Big Ten in 2014. Rutgers will be the Big Ten's 14th member.

Rutgers also plans to join its new conference in 2014, though the Big East requires 27 months' notification for departing members. The Scarlet Knights will have to negotiate a deal with the Big East to leave early.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said the move was about demographics and claiming new territory, to keep the conference vibrant and competitive for decades to come.

Simply put: The Midwest is not growing fast enough to sustain the Big Ten long term, so it needs to go where the people are.

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