Big Ten Conference Divisions

[DaytonBuck]

If we could beat Georgia and lose the SEC every year, I'd take that. [censored] Georgia. Beating Georgia and winning the SEC is sweet. But if I had a choice of losing to them and winning the conference, or beating them and not winning the conference, I'd take beating those assholes every time.

I can't imagine a division realignment that had in it even the remotest possibility of us beating the leg-humpers in TWLOCP - and then losing to them a couple weeks later in a conference championship game. Mind numbing. The. Worst. Thing. Ever.

The thought of that brings instant empathy from me. I am truly and genuinely sorry for all y'all if this "different division than the skunkbears" thing becomes a reality.

would you say that some of the meaning of UGA-UFLA would be lost in different divisions?

Could UGA-UFLA exist in different divisions?

 

[CHU]

He didn't really answer whether this is a necessary change.

Rivals.com College Football - Mailbag: Preserving Ohio State-Michigan rivalry

Do the Big Ten office and league schools actually think it's enhancing the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry by having the schools in separate divisions and having them possibly play twice a season? Do the administrators believe that playing the game at midseason and changing history/tradition is a good PR move? Are those member schools so hard up for money? Do they realize that Ohio State and Michigan fans are united in their disdain for the change?
Stephanie
Lewis Center, Ohio

 

[zincfinger]

Be warned, Big Ten: you move The Game, you will rip the heart and suck the soul out of the single greatest property the conference owns. And for what, a few more advertising dollars every few years when they do happen to stumble into a title showdown?

I'm quoting an old post, so sorry if I'm repeating someone else's comment.

But, if the decision to split OSU and UM is made, I doubt it has anything to do with a desire to generate more ad revenue. I suspect it would be almost entirely due to other conference programs, particularly Penn State, having a problem with the alternatives. Even if the division isn't formally east-west, it will be largely so in any scenario, and if OSU and UM are kept together, Penn State is almost certainly going to the "western" division. I suspect they don't want that, mainly for recruiting reasons.

 

[Piney]

I'm working on an email to President Gee that i'll probably copy over to Gene Smith

Among the arguments that have been made on this forum already, I decided I'd explore the possibility of a tOSU-Michigan Big Ten Championship rematch assuming that they would meet earlier in the regular season and would still have a chance to meet again in the post season.

I went back and looked at all of the conference championship games held by the SEC, Big 12 and ACC

Out of 37 total conference championship games between the 3 leagues, only 14 of those have been rematches of a game held during that regular season. That isn't very good odds for a rematch period if you ask me, let alone between 2 specific teams, I would argue that because your taking a loss to the team in the cross divisional game that it puts you up against it getting back into the championship game.

And for the record, the percentage of rematches by conference goes inverse from strongest to weakest, SEC with the least rematches % wise, Big 12 in the middle, and ACC with the most rematches % wise

If you haven't sent that email yet. I would include BB's info about other rivalries that have been affected by conference changes.

I did listen to an interview with Gene Smith on Cleveland radio where he says he does read the emails, but only really reads the informative emails and people that make their points in a valid calm matter versus an emotional one. He also said 90% of the emails are against this. Who the heck are the 10%???

Another thing, I am just shocked that the Big 10 made this huge point about not making the mistakes of other conferences in expansion. And then go on to ignore the Nebraska v Oklahoma & Florida St v Miami rivalries being downgraded due to them being placed in different divisions. Just sad...

 

[Zurp]

1. I get the feeling that the Big Ten office thinks that they're cooler than they really are. And they're showing their awesomeness by saying, "Screw all you guys - You'll take what we give you." And I can see people like Barry Alvarez sitting in their offices, privately smiling, yet publicly saying, "See? We're getting screwed, too!" But, all the while, they're all glad of the prospect to get out of the Michigan-Ohio State shadow. It's just one of those images that comes to mind.

2. I see this as an ACC thing. I think that the ACC split Miami and Florida State specifically to get them to play in the ACC championship game. Yet, in 5 years of ACC championship games, they have never played each other. In fact, Miami has never made it to the ACC championship game. I'm not an ACC fan, and both of the teams were down, for a while. But when one or both are not in the CCG, I don't care about the game at all. The Big Ten can't expect Ohio State and Michigan to both make it to the CCG every year. That's just stupid.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Another thing, I am just shocked that the Big 10 made this huge point about not making the mistakes of other conferences in expansion. And then go on to ignore the Nebraska v Oklahoma & Florida St v Miami rivalries being downgraded due to them being placed in different divisions. Just sad...

I might be wrong, but I think that the "sell" is that tOSU/tSUN is too big to succumb to the same type of downgrade.

As someone mentioned earlier, imagine if the Red Sox were moved to the AL Central. The Boston/New York rivalry would take a hit, but I honestly don't see it being down for long. I feel like the same thing would happen in this case. For a good number of years, people would bitch and moan about how terrible it is, but because the weight of this game is so heavy, it will eventually settle into its place and become a new staple in the tradition's history. After all, new fans are made every season and some will have known nothing different than watching Ohio State/Michigan on the first Saturday of October.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

2. I see this as an ACC thing. I think that the ACC split Miami and Florida State specifically to get them to play in the ACC championship game. Yet, in 5 years of ACC championship games, they have never played each other. In fact, Miami has never made it to the ACC championship game. I'm not an ACC fan, and both of the teams were down, for a while. But when one or both are not in the CCG, I don't care about the game at all. The Big Ten can't expect Ohio State and Michigan to both make it to the CCG every year. That's just stupid.

I don't think that's a very fair comparison. Outside of FSU and Miami, there aren't ANY other "historic" programs with dedicated fanbases within the ACC. If you split Michigan and Ohio State but also split Nebraska and Penn State then Wisconsin and Iowa you have enough "players" to carry the weight of the conference when it's their turn.

 

[JBaney45]

If you haven't sent that email yet. I would include BB's info about other rivalries that have been affected by conference changes.

I did listen to an interview with Gene Smith on Cleveland radio where he says he does read the emails, but only really reads the informative emails and people that make their points in a valid calm matter versus an emotional one. He also said 90% of the emails are against this. Who the heck are the 10%???

Another thing, I am just shocked that the Big 10 made this huge point about not making the mistakes of other conferences in expansion. And then go on to ignore the Nebraska v Oklahoma & Florida St v Miami rivalries being downgraded due to them being placed in different divisions. Just sad...

I cited Nebraska-Oklahoma, FSU-Miami and all those in comparison to other rivalries which were preserved in the division, Florida-Georgia, Alabama-Auburn, Texas-OU etc

However I have been unable to find Gene Smith's email for some reason was going to send a copy to him so if anyone has that and could send it my way it would be much appreciated.

 

[Taosman]

The whole thing is being driven by money. Why? Because of the enormous cost of a big time athletic department. We are seeing a college football version of the Cold War where conferences have to compete for tv money. . The whole college football landscape is changing and you either change or lose out on tv revenue and prestige. Big rivalry games may suffer in the process. Sad to say but The Game may have just become a dinosaur. Not possible to survive the changes coming.

 

[JBaney45]

The whole thing is being driven by money. Why? Because of the enormous cost of a big time athletic department. We are seeing a college football version of the Cold War where conferences have to compete for tv money. . The whole college football landscape is changing and you either change or lose out on tv revenue and prestige. Big rivalry games may suffer in the process. Sad to say but The Game may have just become a dinosaur. Not possible to survive the changes coming.

Ohio State doesn't currently have any problems funding our athletic department, the largest in the country.

Iisn't the Big Ten network giving us that tv revenue advantage even without a conference title game? The game becoming diminished is not going to be good for revenue imo anyway

 

[Cincinnatibuck]

And then go on to ignore the Nebraska v Oklahoma & Florida St v Miami rivalries being downgraded due to them being placed in different divisions. Just sad...

Downgraded by fans, maybe. But I don't think for a second that OSU players and coaches will not be up for the Michigan game whenever it's played. I wish the game will continue to be the last game of the season. If it's not, this fan will still take a win over Michigan even it was our only win of the season. Moving the game will not downgrade my hate for everything dealing with the University of Michigan.

 

[zincfinger]

The whole thing is being driven by money. Why? Because of the enormous cost of a big time athletic department. We are seeing a college football version of the Cold War where conferences have to compete for tv money. . The whole college football landscape is changing and you either change or lose out on tv revenue and prestige. Big rivalry games may suffer in the process. Sad to say but The Game may have just become a dinosaur. Not possible to survive the changes coming.

How is a potential OSU-UM split driven by money? Who stands to make more money by splitting them?

 

[Woody1968]

I might be wrong, but I think that the "sell" is that tOSU/tSUN is too big to succumb to the same type of downgrade.

As someone mentioned earlier, imagine if the Red Sox were moved to the AL Central. The Boston/New York rivalry would take a hit, but I honestly don't see it being down for long. I feel like the same thing would happen in this case. For a good number of years, people would bitch and moan about how terrible it is, but because the weight of this game is so heavy, it will eventually settle into its place and become a new staple in the tradition's history. After all, new fans are made every season and some will have known nothing different than watching Ohio State/Michigan on the first Saturday of October.

That's crazy. The only reason that the Red Sox and The Yankees are rivals is because they play in the same division and they compete for a playoff spot. Especially before the wild card came into existence. They also have the ability to ruin each other's season in head to head play. You might make a case for the Yankees and Mets being rivals, but NYC is so crazy about baseball, that it is really an outlier. I can't for the life of me think of any rivalries in baseball between teams in the same league, national or american, but different divisions. Or in pro football. Or even in Basketball.

 

[Woody1968]

Downgraded by fans, maybe. But I don't think for a second that OSU players and coaches will not be up for the Michigan game whenever it's played. I wish the game will continue to be the last game of the season. If it's not, this fan will still take a win over Michigan even it was our only win of the season. Moving the game will not downgrade my hate for everything dealing with the University of Michigan.

Until they come to associate the end of the season game with PSU as the battle for the right to appear in the CCG in about 10 years.

 

[BB73]

I cited Nebraska-Oklahoma, FSU-Miami and all those in comparison to other rivalries which were preserved in the division, Florida-Georgia, Alabama-Auburn, Texas-OU etc

However I have been unable to find Gene Smith's email for some reason was going to send a copy to him so if anyone has that and could send it my way it would be much appreciated.

Post 223 of this thread has the email addresses for Delany, Gee, and Smith.