Big 10 Divisions

With Rutgers and Maryland set to join the Big 10 in 2014, the conference is reconsidering their divisional alignment and looking for fan feedback on the topic. Most Big 10 fans hate the current set up, especially the names of the division ("Legends" and "Leaders"), so the conference is looking to rectify those mistakes the second time around post expansion. The league has given fans three options to rank in order of preference: the current format with Rutgers and Maryland each added to a different division in the current set up, an East- West alignment, or what they are calling the inner-outer option. Each choice has its pluses and minuses, but I think there is one option that is head and shoulders above the others when it comes to geography, competitiveness and preserving rivalries.

  

This is the divisional alignment as it stands right now, with Rutgers and Maryland each being thrown into a different division. The divisions are pretty balanced competitively, but it is a mess geographically and a number of the conference's rivalries are devalued or neglected. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is maybe the most storied rivalry in college football, and they are in separate divisions. Although their yearly game is protected as "cross over rivals", the regular season game could be rendered meaningless if they meet the following week in the Big 10 Championship game. That would not be a good scenario for anybody; they belong in the same division.

The team that gets screwed the most in the rivalry department right now is Wisconsin. Their traditional rivals, Minnesota and Iowa, are both in the other division, as is Michigan State, with whom they have a budding rivalry with after a recent run of exciting and competitive games.

For Rutgers or Maryland, there wouldn't be any close road trips for the team that ends up in the "Legends" division (the one with Michigan), and it would make the most sense to keep those two and Penn State in the same division.

 

In an East-West format, geography is not a problem and the traditional rivalries are kept intact, but the divisions are not very balanced. In the original division lay out a couple years ago, the Big 10 split the 4 traditional powers (Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska) and the two emerging powers (Wisconsin and Michigan State) up evenly, and it has resulted in balanced and competitive divisions. With this proposed set up, three of the traditional powers and one of the emerging powers would be in the eastern division, making it seemingly a whole lot stronger than the west. Even when you consider Penn State is likely to take a few steps back as they deal with their NCAA sanctions, it still seems like the much, much stronger division.

 

Option 3 is the format I prefer. This divisional alignment is competitively balanced, preserves traditional rivalries, and the geography of it isn't as bad as you would think. The four traditional powers and the two emerging powers are split up evenly, and none of the traditional rivalries are lost. The Buckeyes and Wolverines would preserve their rivalry with in the same division, and Michigan's other main rival, Michigan State, is also aligned with them. Wisconsin would now be joined by their two main rivals, Minnesota and Iowa, and the intra-state rivals (Purdue/Indiana, Illinois/Northwester) would be tied together.

Geographically, all the "inner" schools are fairly close to one another, but the "outer" division seems messy. The three eastern schools are lumped together, which is ideal, but they would also be in the same division as teams more than half way across the country. That's not a big deal for travel though, as Maryland and Penn State are the only schools within driving distance from Rutgers, and a flight to Lincoln, Nebraska is only about an hour longer than a flight to Detroit is.

Whatever option is chosen, the Leaders and Legends names will have to go. For the new division names, there have been a lot of suggestions, including the Plains/Lakes, Black/Blue, and Woody/Bo divisions. Obviously if option two is picked, it will probably just be East/West, but I have my own suggestion for options 1 and 3. My somewhat serious idea is calling one division (division A) the "Corn Division"and the other (division B) the "Wheat" division. Nebraska and Iowa are obviously known for their corn production, and corn is grown in New Jersey as well (people across the country seem to forget that we are the Garden State) and wheat is one of the top crops grown in the mid-west.

From Rutgers' perspective, I think the most important thing will be for them to be in the same division as Penn State and Maryland, in order to have some close road trips and hopefully start regional rivalries. That throws option 1 out the window. The East-West set up is too unbalanced competitively and Rutgers could get buried in it, so that leave option 3 as the preferred choice for the Knights. The divisions are balanced and they get to be in the same division as the other two north eastern teams.