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Big Ten Conference Divisions

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MililaniBuckeye

MililaniBuckeye

The satanic soulless freight train that is Ohio St
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Tech Admin
    • Since Nebraska, as of this minute, is likely to join the Big Ten, I think it might be cool to see how we'd split teams up into the two six-team divisions (if the conference indeed creates divisions). The usual way is by geography, so I've made two set-ups, one East-West and the other North-South:

    EAST
    Indiana
    Michigan
    Michigan State
    Ohio State
    Penn State
    Purdue

    WEST
    Illinois
    Iowa
    Minnesota
    Nebraska
    Northwestern
    Wisconsin

    ================

    NORTH
    Iowa
    Minnesota
    Northwestern
    Wisconsin
    Michigan
    Michigan State

    SOUTH
    Indiana
    Illinois
    Ohio State
    Penn State
    Purdue
    Nebraska


    If the North-South divisions were used, we could still play our five divisional foes each year while playing Michigan as one of the three non-divisional opponents annually. Of course, that problem is avoided totally by the East-West structure.

    Any other ideas?
     
    The NCAA requires 12 teams to have a CCG, but from what I've read it is not explicitly written anywhere that those teams must be divided into divisions. If the Big Ten adds Nebraska, I think it's entirely possible to just go along business as usual and play a rotating schedule as the conference does now, with a CCG at the end between the Top 2 teams.

    For example, Nebraska comes in and gets Iowa and somebody else as their two protected rivals. Their other six conference games can now rotate to ensure that they're playing at least two of OSU, U-M, and PSU every year, and vice-versa, to maximize the TV deal. A common complaint about the Big Ten is that it is irrelevant and out of the public eye after Thanksgiving. Nebraska will now play Iowa every year in Nebraska's annual day-after Thanksgiving game (Friday), and Michigan/Ohio State will be the day after that (Saturday). The CCG is two weeks later in early December. Problems solved.

    As for the CCG ... if Michigan/Ohio State wind up going 1-2 to finish the year and have to play again the very next week, so be it. Traditionalists will hate it, but everybody will be laughing all the way to the bank because those two replaying in the CCG two week after playing The Game is tens of millions in the coffers of every single Big Ten school. Think about how the 2006 season ended and what it would've been like to have two weeks between a rematch, with Michigan seething for revenge. It's a tough draw to ask a team to win twice, but it'd be must-see TV and a cash cow. The possibility that Ohio State could play Michigan twice has to be entertained, because it's the ideal scenario for the conference to maximize dollars.

    One lesson to take from the Big XII is that divisional play is not all it's cracked up to be if the powers in one side of the conference fall off a cliff. The Big XII North sounded like a good idea at the time, until Colorado landed in hot water, Bill Snyder retired from Kansas St, and the Bill Callahan regime began at Nebraska. As Rich Rod has so deftly proven, it only takes one bad hire to knee-cap a Top 5 All-Time program, even in the tradition-rich Big Ten.

    I think the anti-division sentiment will only be stronger if Notre Dame steps in. They will not allow themselves to be "regionalized" and locked into playing Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota every year. In fact, they'll probably insist on having Michigan and Michigan St as their two protected rivals, so right there they have to be in the same division (which means in the same division as Ohio State). I don't think it's workable.
     
    Upvote 0
    I like the no-divisions plan, but I thought I read somewhere on here that in order to have a conference championship game, it needs to come from the winners of 2 divisions. I hope that's wrong, because I would much rather have the 1 vs 2 game - preferably at the home stadium of the #1 team, instead of at the neutral site.

    Divisional winners in a CCG can create some nice matchups. Two 8-0 teams playing for the championship. But they can also create some crap matchups. An 8-0 team playing a 5-3 team, that already lost to the 8-0 team by 40 points. That CCG is supposed to mean more than the first time the two teams played? Meh. That's the way the game is trending.
     
    Upvote 0
    Dryden;1715182; said:
    The NCAA requires 12 teams to have a CCG, but from what I've read it is not explicitly written anywhere that those teams must be divided into divisions. If the Big Ten adds Nebraska, I think it's entirely possible to just go along business as usual and play a rotating schedule as the conference does now, with a CCG at the end between the Top 2 teams.

    For example, Nebraska comes in and gets Iowa and somebody else as their two protected rivals. Their other six conference games can now rotate to ensure that they're playing at least two of OSU, U-M, and PSU every year, and vice-versa, to maximize the TV deal. A common complaint about the Big Ten is that it is irrelevant and out of the public eye after Thanksgiving. Nebraska will now play Iowa every year in Nebraska's annual day-after Thanksgiving game (Friday), and Michigan/Ohio State will be the day after that (Saturday). The CCG is two weeks later in early December. Problems solved.

    As for the CCG ... if Michigan/Ohio State wind up going 1-2 to finish the year and have to play again the very next week, so be it. Traditionalists will hate it, but everybody will be laughing all the way to the bank because those two replaying in the CCG two week after playing The Game is tens of millions in the coffers of every single Big Ten school. Think about how the 2006 season ended and what it would've been like to have two weeks between a rematch, with Michigan seething for revenge. It's a tough draw to ask a team to win twice, but it'd be must-see TV and a cash cow. The possibility that Ohio State could play Michigan twice has to be entertained, because it's the ideal scenario for the conference to maximize dollars.

    One lesson to take from the Big XII is that divisional play is not all it's cracked up to be if the powers in one side of the conference fall off a cliff. The Big XII North sounded like a good idea at the time, until Colorado landed in hot water, Bill Snyder retired from Kansas St, and the Bill Callahan regime began at Nebraska. As Rich Rod has so deftly proven, it only takes one bad hire to knee-cap a Top 5 All-Time program, even in the tradition-rich Big Ten.

    I think the anti-division sentiment will only be stronger if Notre Dame steps in. They will not allow themselves to be "regionalized" and locked into playing Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota every year. In fact, they'll probably insist on having Michigan and Michigan St as their two protected rivals, so right there they have to be in the same division (which means in the same division as Ohio State). I don't think it's workable.
    Click to expand...

    At first thought, i was against the idea of playing scUM in back to back games. After thinking it over, if beating Michigan twice in a year is wrong.......
     
    Upvote 0
    HonuBuck;1715114; said:
    ... one East-West and the other North-South:

    Any other ideas?
    Click to expand...

    Wetted States:
    OSU
    UM
    MSU
    Wisconsin
    Minnesota
    Northwestern*

    (Nearly) Landlocked States:
    Nebraska
    Iowa
    PSU
    Illinois
    IU
    Purdue

    *granted wetted state status because of close proximity to Lake Michigan

    This admittedly stupid way of breaking up the conference has one benefit: near equal football strength.
     
    Upvote 0
    There is no solid alternative to E-W.


    1) Split East-West. It protects virtually all rivalries and loses very few desired matchups (OSU-UW is one of the few), including if Tex/ATM are added to the west & ND/BigEast/ACC teams to the east in upcoming moves.

    2) Make unofficial divisions for scheduling purposes. OSU, UM, PSU, MSU should all play annually, same with Tex, ATM, Neb, Iowa, Mizzou, Minn.

    3a) Take the top two teams who haven't played each other and play in Indy.

    or

    3b) Declare a winner unless a tiebreaker game is needed, which would circumvent the CCG rule, if it even sticks.
     
    Upvote 0
    Best Buckeye;1715607; said:
    We all know that tOSU is a division unto itself so,
    Div one.
    Ohio State

    Div two.
    Iowa
    Nebraska
    Penn State
    Michigan State
    Wisconsin
    Indiana
    Michigan
    Purdue
    Northwestern
    Illinois
    Minnesota
    Click to expand...

    I can live with that provided we don't have to play a conference championship game.
     
    Upvote 0
    HonuBuck;1715537; said:
    I&M Division
    Illinois
    Indiana
    Iowa
    Michigan
    Michigan State
    Minnesota

    All Others Division
    Nebraska
    Northwestern
    Ohio State
    Penn State
    Purdue
    Wisconsin
    Click to expand...

    Best Buckeye;1715607; said:
    We all know that tOSU is a division unto itself so,
    Div one.
    Ohio State

    Div two.
    Iowa
    Nebraska
    Penn State
    Michigan State
    Wisconsin
    Indiana
    Michigan
    Purdue
    Northwestern
    Illinois
    Minnesota
    Click to expand...

    Let's combine these two ideas and make 3 divisions:

    The King Division
    • The Ohio State University
    I&M Division
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Michigan
    • Michigan State
    • Minnesota
    The PWN Division
    • Penn State
    • Purdue
    • Wisconsin
    • Nebraska
    • Northwestern
     
    Upvote 0
    On the BTN's expansion show today, Gerry DiNardo proposed two divisions based on traditional strength, and allowed 1 cross-rivalry to be scheduled every year, so things like tOSU-TSUN would happen every year. The SEC did something similar to keep things like Tenn-Bama every year.

    Woody Division
    tOSU
    PSU
    4 other teams (I don't remember how he split them)

    Bo Division
    TSUN
    Nebraska
    MSU
    3 other teams
     
    Upvote 0
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