ISU has a few things going for them for the Big 10.
1. Strong connection with Univ. of Iowa
2. Strong wrestling program (Big 10 has quite a few prestigious wrestling programs)
3. They do have AAU status for now (may end up like Nebraska)
4. Would give them more leverage to possibly convince Notre Dame to join them with having 13 teams.
Again, this is just speculation, but when the cards fall, I bet that is the most likely scenario for ISU.