Email Response from Bruce Madej Regarding Michigan-OSU Rivalry

...but you can't spoil their season in July.

But the issue isn't whether or not you will watch it, but whether neutral observers will.  And that could have recruting implications.  The Michigan game is such a big deal in Ohio that it makes us the de facto alternative school to OSU.  If we get split up and the rivalry moved to the middle of the season, don't be surprised if PSU (which will become OSU's end-of-the-year rival) replaces us in importance to them.  Meanwhile, we could be left trying to sell out-of-state recruits on the allure of playing MSU the last week of November.

And anyone else who would sit idly by and watch the best rivalry in college sports turned into a meaningless midseason game at worst or a corporate, neutral site shibboleth at best.  Seriously, this kind of apathy is why the suits think they can get away with this crap.

But man, how form-y can a form letter get, you know? Say he knows all about tradition, but don't know what change will come.  If you know about it, and don't do something to stop it, does that mean you don't care?

Edit: And who exactly is it "clear" to that we want to play OSU for the Championship, if it means sacrificing everything else?

Blah, blah, blah, we understand the rivalry, that's why we're cheapening it and moving it for the illusion of slightly more money, blah, blah, blah.

Screw MSU. If it isn't Ohio State, I'd rather play Penn State or Nebraska (whichever is in our division) the last week before the champiosnhip.

If you look at which games get on ABC or ESPN (UM vs Penn State) versus which games are relegated to the Big Ten Network (UM vs MSU) ... well that's a pretty good proxy for which is the more marquis game for that last week.

Michigan vs. MSU buried on the BTN the last game of the regular season, while OSU and PSU play on National TV in a prime slot.

There's nothing actually preventing them from being in separate divisions, and still playing the last week of the year. It would just mean potentially playing back to back, in rare happenstance. And OH GO NO, THEY CAN'T PLAY TWICE IN ROW is really no worse than NO THEY CAN'T NOT PLAY THE LAST WEEK or NO THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PLAY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. 

So, actually, it can.

And what you're saying is, that it's going to stay more important, playing for the championship once every ten years, than staying at the end of the year. I don't buy that. It will be diminished some either way.  Expansion took care of that. But being a big end date as the last game of the season will annual make it be a bigger deal, other than it being just another rivalry game deciding nothing earlier in the year, and then ever so often being for the Championship. It's far more likely to come down to that game for the Division if they're in the same division, and thus have more meaning, as you say, than if they're separated. Because throw in Nebraska with PSU, and the other teams getting better, the two matching up on a neutral site might not be that frequent.

So, if you want to come to the conclusion that it will no longer be a big rivalry, because they're never going to play for a championship, or at least, not frequently enough to matter, you can.  But switching divisions and play date isn't going to fix that either...and it's going to harm far more.

you do speak some truth. i would still rather stay in the same division and play the last week. however, i understand that the new format is going to diminish the rivalry. the rivalry can be preserved as long as both teams stay competitive. will it be for a big ten title anymore? no, but it will be for a chance to play a beatable team in the big ten championship. as long as it comes down to The Game for this opportunity, i think it will be fine. 

Do any of us care that Alabama beat Auburn for the SEC West crown?  If we keep The Game where it is, that is exactly what will happen.

I don't think anyone cares whether Alabama beats Auburn for the SEC West crown, or the SEC crown, or any crown.  They care that, after a full season of build up, Alabama beat Auburn.

I don't think it's an EITHER OR choice in terms of what's made the rivalry special. To a large degree, it's BOTH. Traditionally this game is at the end...and BECAUSE it's at the end it plays a very large role in determining the Big Ten's outcome.

In most year's this game AT THE END will be a huge decider of the BT Championship. It's a great rivalry because 9 times out of 10, one or other or both teams absolutley MUST win this game to close out their regular season. Even in recent years when OSU had the upper hand, UM had a chance to ruin their season.

We definitly cannot keep all aspects of this rivalry the same with the new divisional aparatus.  However, in my opinion, the best opportunities arise in a split-division format with a traditional cross rivalry at the end.  In a few cases that will mean playing twice in a row...so be it. In those weird years you'll still have the opportunity to end the season AND determine the BT Champion. In all the other years, you still get a season ender (of sorts) that is still a requisite win to take the championship (albeit with a game to follow). 

If "The Game" is mid season, there is still way too much that can happen down the road. By definition, the game will only determine someone's fate AFTER THE FACT in hindsight.

and they should play the last game of the regular season.

In a six team division, the odds are good that most years they will play for something special - a Division championship and a slot in the B10 championship game.

As long as we are playing OSU the last game of the season for some kind of championship, I'm happy.  Next up:  B10 championship game, Rose Bowl.  It's good.

Yes, things will change no matter what.  But if we want to keep things as close as possible to what they are now, we should want to be in the same division and play on the last week.  Then the Game will most likely decide the division winner most years.  It will be meaningful on a yearly basis.  That is as close to the status quo as it gets.

You cannot count on us meeting up with OSU on a regular basis in the conference title game.  It will not happen as often as you think.  Conference title games are weird, and frequently involve arcane tiebreak scenarios.  Even if UM returns to prominence and OSU remains strong, it's unlikely that we'll both make it to the title game more than a couple times a decade.  Are you willing to water down the rivalry just to bank on that scenario?  (Do not forget, too, that even on those fluke years that we'd meet in the final, it would be a rematch, rendering the earlier game meaningless.)  

Look no further than the SEC - which unquestionably has the most successful title game in terms of fan interest - for the roadmap here.  The SEC didn't split up any rivalries.  It put all rivals in the same divisions (UF-UGa, Ala-Aub, Ole Miss-Miss St, LSU-Ark, etc.).  By contrast, the least successful title game belongs to the ACC - which thought it'd be a good idea to split rivals up.  I don't want us going down that road. 

Just ask the Sooners and the Longhorns about how the only way to have the biggest rivalry in sports is to be in opposite divisions.  The whole premise that their game decides who represents the Big 12 South (at least used to) actually INCREASED the passion in the game.  If you're in opposite divisions then, wow, great, you might actually get to play again thus making the first game kinda pointless.  If you're in the same division there is no "we'll get you back in the championship game" - you have to let it sit for an entire year and watching your bitter rival go to the championship game.  Hate, as much as anything, fuels a rivalry and having to watch your bitter rival represent your division makes you even more upset and motivated to kick their ass the next year.  We can say all we want but the proof is in the pudding - UT and OU has quickly become, arguably, the top rivalry in CFB and it's quite clear that one of the biggest reasons is because they are in the same division.

"The Game" has become The Championship Game. Like it or not, that's the way it's happening. I've been saying this all along and I'm not afraid of you asshole negbangers. I'm going to speak what I feel is the truth whether you like it or not.

I was at the '69 The Game. Change was good then, because we won, and it will be good now, when we start winning again and go to The Big Ten Championship Game. Revenue sharing, is that socialistic and does it mean everyone gets the same or do the two teams vying for the championship earn more? That's the way it should be and what I would like to know.

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