So, how should the conference be re-aligned?
[Edit - Posted before I saw the new front page post by Brian... Mods, delete if necessary]
This is just for people to share their opinions as to which teams should be divided into each division (and what those divisions should be called). Maybe we could figure it out for Delany...
At first glance, what is up with all the red?! We could, hypothetically, divide the conference into red (Ohio, Wisc, Neb, Ind, Mary, Rut, Minn--maroon, I know) and not-red (Mich, State, PSU, Iowa, Pur, Ill, NW). (We could call them "The Red" and "Panic Prone", for any Chevelle fans out there.)
But SERIOUSLY, I think we could realistically do what could have been done after the Nebraska expansion and just divided them (and named them) "East" and "West".
East - Mich, OSU, PSU, MSU, Maryland, Rutgers, (Ind or Pur)
West - Neb, Wisc, Iowa, Minn, NW, Ill, (Ind or Purd)
^Obv, there is some power imbalance, but I think many of us agree that you can't do the split solely based on power and prestige because, in the end, you're always going to get the ebbs and flows of success in each program--some more than others.
Unfortunately, I don't have the time to take this any further at the moment ... let the opinions and the speculation, begin...
November 19th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
Ebbs and flows sure, but you have to make some competitive assumptions long term. You have to keep Mich+OSU+MSU, Nebraska+PSU+Wisc, In my opinion, of course.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
Put Rutgers and Maryland in the leaders and move Minnesota to the Legends. I don't think they will completely blow up the divisions until they add number 15 and 16.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
Minnesota is already in the Legends
November 19th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
No idea why I thought Minnesota was in the other side. Probably becuase of how irrelevant every team on that side is.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
Michigan and Ohio in the same division
I could not care less about anything else.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
This.
This is the only thing that matters for Michigan fans.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:30 PM ^
about basketball. I also want to play MSU every year and think that Maryland needs to be a conference with a few decent basketball programs (Indy and/or Purdue) to keep them in check.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:45 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 12:43 PM ^
In fact, that's a pretty good way to break them up. Sh*t, why not?
November 19th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
Then we can speculate which red and non-red teams we can add to make it 16.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
We must keep Northwestern in Michigan's division. I want my semi-annual combination road game-Chicago trip. Otherwise, how far is Rutgers from NYC?
November 19th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^
Semi-annual? I didn't know we played Northwestern in Evanston every 6 months.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^
That would make it "bi-annual," would it not?
November 19th, 2012 at 1:58 PM ^
I've had this argument with my boss as I write quite a bit of documentation. The answer is English is dumb and those two (biannual and semiannual) mean the same thing - twice per year - even though biweekly typically means every two weeks.
Biennial is the correct term for every two years (or biennially). Semiannual is more commonly used now to avoid confusion between biennial and biannual.
November 19th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^
A-ha. Well, I stand corrected. Thanks Hardware Sushi.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:03 PM ^
Where is Rutgers? New Jersey right? But where? I mean it's a small state... but has anyone ever been there? Does it have a campus or a college town? Is it someplace you would want to roadtrip to? Is it near NYC (oh wait, it has to be since all 10 million New Yorkers watch every Rutgers game).
November 19th, 2012 at 1:18 PM ^
The main campus is in New Brunswick and it is a decent college town. Not Ann Arbor by any means, but it is fun to visit. The stadium is technically in Piscataway, but it is all one school similar to UM's Central and North Campuses.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Central: Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana
Northwest/East: Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers
- almost every major rivalry game is protected within division (except Little Brown Jug) and creates East Coast partner schools for PSU
- Eliminates need for the protected crossover thus enabling 2 rotating interdivisional games per year (one of the biggest problems with the SEC setup)
-maintains competitive balance between divisions
November 19th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
The Northwest/East division doesnt make sense. The inequality in traveling expenses as well as the geographic separation within the division is unfair to those teams and imposes difficulty on establishing intra-divisional rivalry down the road.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:05 PM ^
but that is negated by the fact by keeping the 2 pods together the other travel is shorter. Any other breakdown would split these teams up in some fashion (like Wisconsin and PSU are right now).
For example, Wisconsin currently would play Iowa and Nebraska every 6 years while maintaining yearly games against OSU, PSU, and MD or Rutgers. PSU has a protected crossover with Nebraska in the current setup. The change would maybe add one extra longer road trip (Wisconsin to Maryland or Rutgers), but you would also gain one nearby rival schools (Iowa and Minnesota).
November 19th, 2012 at 1:46 PM ^
This is ridiculous, both geographically and in terms of competitive balance. You're seeing it with blue-tinted glasses.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:45 PM ^
Put Michigan and Ohio in the same division like it should have been in the first place
November 19th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Pods:
Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Purdue (Historical Rivalries)
MSU, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois (Chicago Center)
Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Team X (Corn)
PSU, Maryland, Rutgers, New Team Y (N00BS)
9 Conference Games: 3 in your Pod every year, Play 1 new pod every year (4 games), 2 "random" games that can preserve rivalries (us vs. state in years Historic doesn't play Chicago) and finish out the schedule with balance.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^
Big Two: Michigan & Ohio
However Many Other Teams There Currently Are: Everyone else.
The second division could be called "HMOTTCA" for short.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
9 conferences games, 2 cross division One fixed x div rival
North
Ohio State
Penn State
Rutgers
Indiana
Maryland
Purdue
Illinois
Northest
Michigan
Nebraska
Michigan State
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
November 19th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
Sweet, you've just given Michigan a competitive disadvantage against every other team in its division.
Michigan and OSU in the same division. Nothing else matters.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^
Big 10:
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Fake Big 10:
Iowa (sacrifical)
Maryland
Michigan State
Nebraska
Penn State
Rutgers
New Team #1
New Team #2
November 19th, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
In order to make this determination you need to come up with some logical way of putting the teams into divisions- prestige, talent, geography, etc. However, therein lies the problem. There is no logic that defines how and why the Big Ten makes decisions except in what can glean an extra dollar.
If they find out that Maryland playing in the Legends will increase viewership by 14 people in Western Maryland over putting them in the Leaders, it will happen. There is no other rationale.
We don't need logic, we need MBAs.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
For the love of all that is holy, if they don't put Maryland in the same division as Michigan so the very large alumni base in DC gets a game every other year, I will be rather pissed about this whole deal.
And yes, I'm aware we have a lot of alumni in NYC. And no, I don't care about them more than myself.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
My twin brother went to Maryland so while I would love to go to Michigan games in College Park we are both cringing at the thought of having to root against each others teams (we both grew up Michigan fans). I live in DC (he lives in Baltimore) so it would be nice, but terribly awkward. So personally I have to lean on the side of not being in the same division for selfish reasons.
Oh, and New Yorkers won't go to Rugters for a game the way DC folks would show up in College Park anyway.
November 19th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
Can we just put all the new teams in a separate divsion that plays for a slot in the "Give me all your money Bowl" ?
November 19th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
East:
Michigan
Ohio State
Penn State
Indiana
Purdue
Rutgers
Maryland
West:
Nebraska
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois
Minnesota
Iowa
9 conference games. 3 cross overs. Sad faces.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:15 PM ^
I could go for that since MSU is techincally west of Michigan. They'd probably bitch though.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:48 PM ^
This looks as close to right as you can get. M's fan-base leans toward the East. M-MSU is protected. Done. I bet this is the way it goes.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^
Legends Divison
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Minnesota
- Iowa
Leaders Division
- Ohio
- Penn State
- Wisconsin
- Indiana
- Purdue
- Illinois
Big East
- Rutgers
ACC Atlantic
- Maryland
November 19th, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 1:13 PM ^
East- Michigan, Ohio, MSU, PennSt, Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana
West- Wisc, Neb, Iowa, Minn, Purdue, Ilinois, NWST
If they go to 16
East- Michigan, Ohio, PennSt, Rutgers, Maryland,, GT, #16
West- Wisc, Neb, Iowa, Minn, Purdue, Ilinois, NWST, Indiana, MSU
November 19th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
The new conference should be broken into the Dollars and Cents divisions:
Dollars:
Michigan
Nebraska
Ohio
PSU
Wisconsin
Maryland
Rutgers
Cents:
MSU
Indiana
Minnesota
Purdue
Northwestern
Illinois
Iowa
November 19th, 2012 at 1:22 PM ^
- Michigan
- MSU
- OSU
- PSU
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Maryland
- Rutgers
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Purdue
- Illinois
- Iowa
The worst team in the first division and the best team in the second division swap after each season.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:23 PM ^
How does having to add in one of these games affect the schedules? Does UM just back out of one of the OOC games? Do we get to reshuffle the odd/even year split between good home slates and the bad ones?
Waiting to hear WAY-TOO-SOON speculation on that...
November 19th, 2012 at 1:33 PM ^
Best quote I've found on the news, from a Maryland board:
"Now I'm just waiting for the bulletin that Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana are joining the SEC."
Hahaha
November 19th, 2012 at 1:41 PM ^
via /r/cfb:
November 19th, 2012 at 1:46 PM ^
November 19th, 2012 at 3:27 PM ^
We could always base the divisions on something completely random, such as straight line distance from Park Ridge, Illinois (or indeed, Leaders and Legends, whichever you prefer):
"Reasonably Local"
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin
Illinois
Michigan State
Indiana
Iowa
"Not As Local"
Michigan
Ohio State
Minnesota
Penn State
Nebraska
Maryland
Rutgers
November 19th, 2012 at 1:55 PM ^
I really hope this means we drop an out of conference creampuff and play another B1G school every year. When the divisions were first announced everybody said they were lopsided with Ohio, PSU, and Wisconsin towering over the conference, that year Michigan, State, and Nebraska ended up having their way with the B1G. Now PSU, Ohio, and Wisconsin are back. I think they're pretty evenly balanced. Maybe I'd like to play Illinois every year, well, certainly more than I'd want to play either new school every year, but i say play more B1G opponents, and fewer Western Michigan, Eastern Michigans, and fuck Notre Dame.
November 19th, 2012 at 1:55 PM ^
If the Leaders and Legends teach us one thing, it's that the B1G cared about competitive balance when it formed the divisions. An East division with OSU, Mich, PSU, MSU would be heavily lopsided. It'll never happen that way. Swap OSU for NW, and your East/West proposal might work.
As for names, I'm thinking we're going to dump Leaders and Legends for Masters and Comanders.