Big 10 will realign/rename divisions in 2014

#26
#26
vote Ok'd

Big Ten schools OK realignment, 9-game schedule - ESPN

The Big Ten on Sunday approved new East and West divisions for the 2014 season as well as a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2016.

The league's presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to approve the recommendations from the athletic directors Sunday morning during a conference call.

The division realignment coincides with the arrival of new conference members Maryland and Rutgers.

Gone are Legends and Leaders, the controversial division names the Big Ten adopted in 2011, as the league went with a clear geographical model and geographic names for its new alignment.

The Big Ten East will include: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers. The Big Ten West will include: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin.

Every East division team is located in the Eastern time zone, while every West division team except Purdue is located in the Central time zone.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN.com that geography was the first priority in aligning divisions, followed by preserving rivalries and then competitive balance. The Big Ten used competitive balance as its top priority in aligning the Legends and Leaders divisions in 2011.

"It's pure geography," Delany said. "Last time, we were a combination of competitive balance and geography being last. So those names weren't available to us last time. We didn't have a lot of discussion on it."

League athletic directors met six times to discuss the divisions after Maryland and Rutgers joined in November. The presidents and chancellors spent 15-20 minutes discussing the moves Sunday before voting.

The league considered the results of a Big Ten Network survey in December, asking fans about the new division alignment.

"We thought the geography was a good way to bind the conference together," Delany said. "We also wanted to preserve as much tradition as we could, and we do that through the protection of the rivalries. Everybody will play everybody at least once in a four-year cycle, even though it's a bigger conference.

"It's good for the fans, it's good for the players. It strengthens our schedule from the perspective of the postseason and binds the conference together in a powerful way."

Delany also said there have been no discussions about divisions in other sports but that basketball scheduling is next on their agenda.

The Big Ten will have a 31 percent increase in league games (from 48 to 63) despite adding just two new members.

Rivals Purdue and Indiana will play the league's only annual division crossover game. In the previous alignment, every Big Ten squad played one protected crossover each year. Although Purdue-Indiana is the only protected crossover, the league will have cross-division rotations.


"In the first 18 years, you're going to see a lot of competition between teams at the top of either division," Delany said. "We call that a bit of parity-based scheduling, so you'll see Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa playing a lot of competition against Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan. But it will rotate. Early on, we feel this gives the fans what they want."

The Big Ten will join the Pac-12 and Big 12 with a nine-game league schedule for 2016. The East division teams will have five conference home games in even-numbered years, and West division teams will have five conference home games in odd-numbered years. Big Ten teams will play all of the other conference squads at least once every four years.

Big Ten athletic directors discussed moving to a 10-game conference schedule, but it ultimately proved too difficult because many league teams need to play at least seven home games a year to meet their budgets.

"It was fully explored," Delany said of a 10-game league schedule. "It would have been nice, but we were having difficulty seeing 28 nonconference games and getting accomplished what we want in terms of major matchups. We felt we'd have a much harder time getting to seven home games.

"We just thought it was a reach. Who's to say in the future where we may go, but right now, we felt nine was the right place to be."

The Big Ten last played nine league games in a season in 1983-84.

The league's athletic directors and presidents also approved a scheduling model that includes at least one team from a major FBS conference per year and no FCS teams. Delany hopes the model will be in place league-wide by 2016.

The league approved a nine-game schedule in August 2011 but went back to eight after forming a scheduling partnership with the Pac-12. When the partnership fell apart last summer, the Big Ten decided to keep an eight-game league schedule, which will remain for the next three seasons.

The Big Ten's initial division alignment for the 2011 season was based primarily on competitive balance rather than geography. Teams such as Wisconsin and Illinois were moved in the opposite division from some of their rivals, and several top rivalries, such as Michigan-Ohio State, were protected with crossover games.
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#27
#27
Winners and losers in Big Ten realignment - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

Big Ten BlogBlogs HomeCollege FB NationACCBig 12Big EastBig TenPac-12SECNotre DameStanford
Winners and losers in Big Ten realignment
April, 28, 2013
APR 28
4:30
PM ET
By Brian Bennett | ESPN.com
RECOMMEND72TWEET92COMMENTS498EMAILPRINT
As expected, Big Ten officials on Sunday approved new East-West divisions for 2014 and a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2016.

As with any big decision, some benefit more than others. With that in mind, we take a look at the winners and losers of the Big Ten's new plan going forward:

Winner: Wisconsin

The Badgers have won three straight Big Ten titles, so they hardly need much of a break. But there's no denying that life almost certainly will be easier for Wisconsin in the West than it would have been in the East. It won't have to compete with Michigan, Penn State or Ohio State for division titles and will have only one traditional power (Nebraska) on its side. Plus, the Badgers will be grouped with traditional rivals Iowa and Minnesota.

Loser: Michigan State

Many, including me, thought that putting the Spartans in the West made sense to balance out the divisions. But competitive balance wasn't the priority this time around for the Big Ten. So now Michigan State will have to knock heads with Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year just in its own division. And the Spartans already have Alabama and Notre Dame on the 2016 schedule, which is shaping up to be a murderer's row.

Neutral: Nebraska

On the one hand, the Huskers will play in what sure looks like the easier division. On the other hand, Nebraska fans didn't think they'd be leaving the Big 12 only to not play Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State every year. Some Big Red supporters are worried the Big Ten West will turn into another version of the Big 12 North. The good news is that the Big Ten is sure to schedule crossover games between the Huskers and the Eastern powers as much as possible.

Winner: The Big Ten's coffers

The nine-game schedule begins in the fall of 2016. Not coincidentally, the Big Ten's current TV contract expires after the 2015-16 academic year. The league will have 63 conference games to offer to network executives for the next contract instead of the current 48. That's what those in the business call "inventory," and now the Big Ten has more to sell, as well as the additional large markets that Rutgers and Maryland bring.

Losers: The Little Brown Jug and Illibuck rivalries

No division alignment could have saved every one of the Big Ten's trophy series. The two most notable victims in the East-West split are the annual Little Brown Jug game between Michigan and Minnesota, and the Illibuck series between Ohio State and Illinois. The Michigan-Minnesota rivalry has some cool history to it, but with only three Gophers victories since 1968, it hasn't exactly been competitive. Few will miss the Illibuck game, either.

Winner: The Game

The Michigan-Ohio State game will naturally be continued on the last weekend of the regular season, and now it could often be a critical matchup for the East Division title. Maybe more importantly, this new alignment prevents the Big Ten's top rivalry from being restaged a week later in the conference championship game. Although some would love to see the two teams play a rematch in Indianapolis, the rivalry will be stronger if it remains a once-a-year affair. This is the last year that the Buckeyes and Wolverines could potentially meet in back-to-back weeks.

Losers: The Big Ten's bottom tier

Bad news for teams like Indiana, Maryland and others that will hope to sneak into a bowl at 6-6: Life is about to get rougher. The Big Ten's scheduling model now leaves only three nonconference games, and FCS opponents will be taboo beginning in 2016. For a team like Purdue, which wants to play Notre Dame every year, there's not much margin for error. Even if you schedule three non-league patsies, you have to win at least three Big Ten games, which won't be easy in years when your team has five road conference contests. Indiana, for example, will also have to contend with Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State every year.


Winner: Our memories

No more need for mnemonic devices to remember which teams are in which division (M's and N's, plus Iowa ...). Now, anyone with a basic understanding of geography can instantly figure out who's where. If nothing else, the new alignment is simple and blessedly easy to comprehend.

Losers: Big Ten haters

Get your Legends and Leaders jokes in this year. Those oft-ridiculed names are going away after the 2013 season, and thankfully so. They made for easy punch lines by Twitter comedians and other critics of the league. Big Ten haters will have to work a little harder when East and West come aboard.

Winner: The SEC

The Big Ten joins the Pac-12 and Big 12 as major conferences playing nine conference games, and the ACC will have five of its teams playing eight conference games plus Notre Dame every year. The SEC remains at eight games. Playing more conference games is great for fans and TV, but it also means more losses throughout the league and makes it harder for teams to go unbeaten -- the Big Ten champ will have to run a gantlet of 10 conference games, including the title game. The SEC will continue to benefit from the perception that its teams beat one another up during league play while also playing fewer conference games. That could have big ramifications on the selection process for the upcoming College Football Playoff.
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#28
#28
bamawriter said:
On the flip side, with Maryland, Rutgers, and Indiana you may have three teams that, collectively, see 2 or 3 bowl games every decade.
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or...ya know, 15. Since they have been to a combined 15 bowls this decade. Maryland and Rutgers 7 times a piece, and Rutgers has been to a bowl 5 or the past 6 years, something UT hasnt done...
 
#29
#29
RockyTop22 said:
or...ya know, 15. Since they have been to a combined 15 bowls this decade. Maryland and Rutgers 7 times a piece, and Rutgers has been to a bowl 5 or the past 6 years, something UT hasnt done...
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So you think playing a nine game schedule in that division should yield the same results as playing in the Big East? Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.
 
#31
#31
Could someone explain to me why Maryland wants to leave the ACC for the B1G.

Smh
 
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#34
#34
BODACIOUS said:
Could someone explain to me why Maryland wants to leave the ACC for the B1G.

Smh
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The Big Ten still has the potential to be the biggest cash cow in college football. Most prominent in-house network and most purchasing power out of its combined viewership.
 
#35
#35
BODACIOUS said:
Could someone explain to me why Maryland wants to leave the ACC for the B1G.

Smh
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Money and their athletic department was more or less broke (or really just seriously in debt and having to cut athletic programs as a result)
 
#36
#36
milohimself said:
The Big Ten still has the potential to be the biggest cash cow in college football. Most prominent in-house network and most purchasing power out of its combined viewership.
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Makes sense, forgive my ignorance. I'm just looking at the competition.
 
#37
#37
So the Wisconsin/Nebraska game will decide that division each year? Worked out for those 2
 
#39
#39
These divisions are hilariously uneven. Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State in the same division? Wisconsin and Nebraska are the only teams worth a damn in the other division. I wonder, too, where Nebraska will recruit from now that they're firmly in the Little 10. They're in the middle of nowhere geographically. They pulled good kids out of Texas in the Big 12, but no Texan with a brain will want to head up to a frozen tundra to play inferior competition. Plus, they're far removed from Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, some of the most fertile Little 10 recruiting grounds. That conference is trying so hard to keep up, but it's a failure. Check out the 1997 Michigan team. They had several great players out of Florida. Now, those kids tend to stay in the SEC or sometimes ACC. Little 10 = has been.
 
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