Big Ten Conference Divisions

[Muck]

The 'other' six...

Poly...

Linear...

 

[Muck]

Edit:

Moved the potential future members to the expansion thread.

 

[CHU]

Will just throw it in before the decision is announced. No geography involved.

East
1) Ohio State
2) Penn State
3) Wisconsin
4) Michigan State
5) Northwestern
6) Indiana

West
1) Nebraska
2) Michigan
3) Iowa
4) Purdue
5) Illinois
6) Minnesota

 

[BuckeyeSoldier]

Will just throw it in before the decision is announced. No geography involved.

East
1) Ohio State
2) Penn State
3) Wisconsin
4) Michigan State
5) Northwestern
6) Indiana

West
1) Nebraska
2) Michigan
3) Iowa
4) Purdue
5) Illinois
6) Minnesota

You should probally have at least MSU in scUM's division so they dont have to have two protected games. I also dont see any good reason to seperate indiana and purdue since they dont really effect division strength either way.
Do minnesota and wisconsin care about their rivalry?


Alpha
1) Ohio State
2) Penn State
3) Wisconsin
4) Minnesota
5) Northwestern
6) Illinois

Beta
1) Nebraska
2) Michigan
3) Iowa
4) Purdue
5) Indiana
6) MSU


something like this maybe?

 

[ScriptOhio]

To divide Big Ten, start with Ohio State, Michigan, MSU, then ...

Before the end of September, the Big Ten is expected to announce its new two-division format. I am the perfect person to speculate on this, because I don't know what will happen, and if I did know, then it wouldn't be speculation. Wait, what?
Never mind. My point is that the Big Ten is nearing a decision. And I really believe that if we pay close attention, we can make a pretty good guess on how the Big Ten will look.
Commissioner Jim Delany says his top priorities are in order:
? 1. Competitive balance. He does not want a Haves Division and a Have-Nots Division.
? 2. Preserving traditional rivalries.
? 3. Geography.
Delany has strongly implied that a straight geographical split is unlikely. So what can we conclude?
.
.
continued
.
.
To wrap up ...
? THIS DIVISION: U-M, MSU, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern.
? THAT DIVISION: Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois.
It's not perfect, but no set-up is perfect. This achieves most of what Delany wants. I just hope I get a consulting fee.

Entire Article: Michael Rosenberg: To divide Big Ten, start with Ohio State, Michigan, MSU, then ... | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

 

[Zurp]

It's not perfect, but no set-up is perfect.

Many, many people will be very unhappy with whatever is decided.

 

[BB73]

You should probally have at least MSU in scUM's division so they dont have to have two protected games. I also dont see any good reason to seperate indiana and purdue since they dont really effect division strength either way.
Do minnesota and wisconsin care about their rivalry?

Paul Bunyan's Axe is a big deal up there.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJxjG9y0ZAI]YouTube - Badgers take Axe from Gophers[/ame]

 

[Bleed S & G]

[censored] Wisconsin right in the ass. I don't care what division they are in, I hope it hurts the program and they hate it.

 

[Muck]

To wrap up ...
? THIS DIVISION: U-M, MSU, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern.
? THAT DIVISION: Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois.
It's not perfect, but no set-up is perfect. This achieves most of what Delany wants. I just hope I get a consulting fee.

I don't think you can place PSU, Nebraska, Iowa & Wisconsin all together either. That (placing 4 of the top six teams in a single division) gives you an even greater theoretical imbalance than Ohio State, TSUN & Penn State in a division.

If PSU goes to the 'west' then one of the 'up & comers' (Iowa & Wisconsin) needs to move back to the 'east' to take the 'Nits place. Wiscy is probably the more realistic choice out of the two.

 

[jlb1705]

Both Iowa & Wisconsin want to be in Nebraska's division, or at least have a strong interest with establishing a rivalry with Nebraska.

I think it's erroneous to think of it in terms of a Top 6. The reality is that there are only four programs in the new Big Ten that "control their destiny". Ohio State, M*ch*g*n, Nebraska & Penn State are the only programs that have the infrastructure in place where if they hire, recruit and play football to the best of their capacity, they compete at the highest levels and win. To lump Iowa and Wisconsin in with that group is to not look at the bigger picture. Programs like theirs (and I'd include Northwestern, Purdue & MSU in their level) have to hit all of their marks AND hope for one or more of the top teams to slip up at something in order to compete at the highest level of the conference.

Some people have gone very far in-depth on this subject, but I don't think it's necessary. It doesn't take too much thinking or research. Evenly divide those top four teams, protect as many rivalries as possible, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Muck]

Both Iowa & Wisconsin want to be in Nebraska's division, or at least have a strong interest with establishing a rivalry with Nebraska.

And Penn State desperately doesn't want to be in the West. Such is life.

I think it's erroneous to think of it in terms of a Top 6. The reality is that there are only four programs in the new Big Ten that "control their destiny". Ohio State, M*ch*g*n, Nebraska & Penn State are the only programs that have the infrastructure in place where if they hire, recruit and play football to the best of their capacity, they compete at the highest levels and win. To lump Iowa and Wisconsin in with that group is to not look at the bigger picture. Programs like theirs (and I'd include Northwestern, Purdue & MSU in their level) have to hit all of their marks AND hope for one or more of the top teams to slip up at something in order to compete at the highest level of the conference.

Iowa & Wisconsin are the only two teams (outside of Ohio State) that have trended upwards over the past 70 years. Every other team has either fallen off or stayed flat (NW's radical improvement since the 90's still places them consistently below these two programs).

No I don't think Iowa & Wisconsin are in the same position as Ohio State, Nebraska, TSUN & Penn State (which is why I used the term Big 4 + 2 earlier) however I also believe they've separated themselves from the Purdue, MSU, Illinois & Northwesterns of the league.

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Rittenberg blog:

Momentum builds for Michigan-OSU split - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

If you're paying attention to the words coming out of both Columbus and Ann Arbor, you shouldn't be surprised if Michigan and Ohio State are placed in opposite divisions.

Athletic directors Gene Smith (Ohio State) and Dave Brandon (Michigan) both are preparing their respective fan bases for the Buckeyes and Wolverines to possibly move their rivalry game earlier in the season. The only reason this would happen is if the teams went in opposite divisions, creating the potential for a rematch in the Big Ten championship game. They would meet every year in a protected crossover game.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Rittenberg blog:

Momentum builds for Michigan-OSU split - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

Jim Tressel's opening statement (actually the Q&A portion of that) at the conference kick-off meeting hinted at this too. JT said something to the effect of "...it's not important when they play, it's just important that they play." I see no reason for him to have said that if this trial balloon had not already been floated past the WHAC at some point.

If they go this route, count me among those that would prefer to see the Buckeyes paired with Nebraska, rather than Penn State. I'd prefer a brand new rivalry with the 'huskers to the nascent rivalry with the nits.

 

[Dryden]

Said it back in June, the Big Ten has to entertain every option that makes the most money. Michigan and Ohio State playing each other twice a year makes the most money, so if you're going to do divisions, you have to split them up.

Michigan & Nebraska are the 800 lb gorillas in one, Ohio State & Penn State are in the other.

This is also the best scenario with minimal upheaval if you later add Notre Dame to the UM/NU bloc, and <insert East Coast team here> to the OSU/PSU side when going to 14.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Fuck that shit. There is no good enough reason to screw with the rivalry. The Big-10 would be the MAC if not for tOSU and scUM(historically, not if they left right now). I never thought anything would diminish my love for college football but this conference realignment and nike/unis crap has. Give it another couple of decades and this will just be minor league football.