Recommended B1G 10 Conference Realignment

[BigEastPhil]

- 1 Division for Football.

- Each team has 3 set opponents they play each year for rivalry / stature purposes etc. For example, the 3 opponents for RU would be Penn State; Maryland and a TBD Team. All other schools' rivalries are kept in tact such as Ohio State vs Michigan / Penn State vs Ohio State / Wisconsin vs Minnesota / Illinois vs Northwestern / Purdue vs Indiana etc

- Balance of 6 conference games rotate against remaining 10 schools. In this manner, you play every school in your conference once every 2 years.

- Benefits: Top 2 schools in standings play in B1G 10 Title game and thus could be Ohio State vs Penn State /Ohio State vs Michigan etc.

- Selfish Advantage for Rutgers: We don't have to play Ohio State and Michigan every damn year. It would be every other year.

Benefit: Perceived weakness of West Conference is neutralized and thus schedule of all schools in conference are better balanced.

Benefit: You see every school every other year as opposed to every 3-4 years as it is now.

Thoughts?

 

[ScarletDave]

Makes too much sense will never work

 

[miket007]

Good **** OP, something has to be done this is a unfair advantage for the West division that will NEVER work itself out....

 

[HeavenUniv.]

Read somewhere that the days of Power Five schools playing Division 1-AA are numbered . Networks want changes in the next TV contracts for all the conferences. They want more conference games and more Power Five vs Power Five Games. Also, more games may be on the main networks-Fox, ABC, CBS

 

[rubigtimenow]

I think it's great. Drop back down to 8 conference games (like the SEC is taking advantage of doing), then you definitely play each team only once every other year.

 

[rubigtimenow]

They want more conference games and more Power Five vs Power Five Games.

I hope it's true! SEC gets overhyped and part is because they feast on super easy OOC games.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

How about a special needs division in Piscataway and College Park?

 

[Plum Street]

They made it clear they won’t blow up the Michigan Ohio state game. Why doesn’t anyone realize this when doing hypothetical alignments?

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

Conference is fine as is...leave it alone

 

[KevH]

They made it clear they won’t blow up the Michigan Ohio state game. Why doesn’t anyone realize this when doing hypothetical alignments?

Damn, did you even read the OP?

 

[yesrutgers01]

Damn, did you even read the OP?

hahaha beat me to it...

 

[Plum Street]

Damn, did you even read the OP?

Yeah and his hypothetical does not persevere the Michigan-Ohio state rivalry as the league wants to . Man some people are just clueless

 

[krup]

The B1G isn’t going to worry about division imbalance right now.

Let’s see what happens as the B12 TV deal and GOR ends in 2024. There is a decent chance the B1G makes two additions from that conference that strengthen the West and Purdue is moved to the East.

 

[Plum Street]

hahaha beat me to it...

Another clueless post . The OPs hypothetical does not persevere the game as the league wants to.

 

[Retired711]

Another clueless post . The OPs hypothetical does not persevere the game as the league wants to.

As I read the OP, each team would be guaranteed some every-year rivalry games (for instance, we would play Penn State every year). I didn't get to sleep until very late last night . . . do you think I"m misreading it?

 

[RUtrumpet92_rivals498139]

Another clueless post . The OPs hypothetical does not persevere the game as the league wants to.

Excellent point, except the second bullet that clearly states he would preserve (not persevere) all key rivalries and starts the list with Ohio State vs. Michigan.

 

[Plum Street]

As I read the OP, each team would be guaranteed some every-year rivalry games (for instance, we would play Penn State every year). I didn't get to sleep until very late last night . . . do you think I"m misreading it?

You aren’t misreading it. But the hypothetical does not keep “the game “ intact as the league and schools want it to

 

[Plum Street]

Excellent point, except the second bullet that clearly states he would preserve (not persevere) all key rivalries and starts the list with Ohio State vs. Michigan.

Omg. Stop being a dunce . The teams have to play the last game of the regular season and need to be in the same division so they aren’t playing in the conference championship game the next week . The league and schools don’t want any scenario where “the game” can be cheapened by a more important game the next week . Pretty much anyone that knows anything about the BIG and the history of this rivalry knows this. That we have these moronic hypotheticals that are then supported by other moronic statements are well...moronic

 

[RUaMoose_rivals]

I hope it's true! SEC gets overhyped and part is because they feast on super easy OOC games.

Keep telling yourself that. What do you think would happen if Florida played Minnesota ( both 1st place teams in the "weaker" division) ? They're hyped because they're by far the best conference.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Another clueless post . The OPs hypothetical does not persevere the game as the league wants to.

Ohio State’s guaranteed 2 annual games would be Michigan and Penn State and a team TBD. So the game occurs every year as it should. Every school plays the same 3 schools each year and rotates the others every other year. It’s not clueless. Its quite rational. Hope you understand it somewhat better.

 

[rutgersguy1_rivals]

Read somewhere that the days of Power Five schools playing Division 1-AA are numbered . Networks want changes in the next TV contracts for all the conferences. They want more conference games and more Power Five vs Power Five Games. Also, more games may be on the main networks-Fox, ABC, CBS

Sounds good to me but a couple of those contracts don’t expire til the 2030s and it will be killer on the budgets for those lower level schools.

 

[Plum Street]

Ohio State’s guaranteed 2 annual games would be Michigan and Penn State and a team TBD. So the game occurs every year as it should. Every school plays the same 3 schools each year and rotates the others every other year. It’s not clueless. Its quite rational. Hope you understand it somewhat better.

I am talking to walls here .
Yes and this hypothetical leaves the scenario of Michigan–Ohio state playing in the conference title game one week after “the game”. The league and schools were steadfast against that ever happening during previous realignments . I hope you understand somewhat better

 

[e5fdny]

Another clueless post . The OPs hypothetical does not preserve the game as the league wants to.

Ohio State’s guaranteed 2 annual games would be Michigan and Penn State and a team TBD. So the game occurs every year as it should. Every school plays the same 3 schools each year and rotates the others every other year. It’s not clueless. Its quite rational. Hope you understand it somewhat better.

The key here is the bolded.

@Plum Street is right.

 

[BuckeyeLegion]

@Plum Street is mostly right...except the league does want Ohio Stste and Michigan playing for the title, hence the original split in the "Leaders" and "Legends" divisions.

The schools and fans however, want none of it. And with good cause. If they have to play again the very next week, the first game becomes completely meaningless.

 

[Hardslider33]

I think it's great. Drop back down to 8 conference games (like the SEC is taking advantage of doing), then you definitely play each team only once every other year.

Zero chance of B1G going to 8 conference games, better odds of them going to 10 games.

 

[Plum Street]

@Plum Street is mostly right...except the league does want Ohio Stste and Michigan playing for the title, hence the original split in the "Leaders" and "Legends" divisions.

The schools and fans however, want none of it. And with good cause. If they have to play again the very next week, the first game becomes completely meaningless.

Thank you. Hopefully these people in this thread will read this and acknowledge they were wrong

 

[Hardslider33]

Funny thing about this balance division conversation.
I don’t hear the big 3 schools complaining about how it’s unfair.
Until they do, changes won’t happen.

 

[ATIOH]

I think the OP’s proposal levels the playing field in the B1G.

IMHO, it hurts the conference in the current playoff structure though. I see increased odds of the following scenarios:

• Our conference’s #2 team picks up another loss and possibly gets knocked out of the playoffs.
• Or worse, our #1 team is upset, and the B1G gets no teams in.

I’d like this idea more if it was adopted by the SEC at the same time. I understand the process, but I hate that a team can even be considered for the playoffs without winning their division.

@Plum Street I thought that’s where you were going, but your first post wasn’t clear.

They made it clear they won’t blow up the Michigan Ohio state game. Why doesn’t anyone realize this when doing hypothetical alignments?

 

[e5fdny]

Zero chance of B1G going to 8 conference games, better odds of them going to 10 games.

Would love that.

 

[BigEastPhil]

I am talking to walls here .
Yes and this hypothetical leaves the scenario of Michigan–Ohio state playing in the conference title game one week after “the game”. The league and schools were steadfast against that ever happening during previous realignments . I hope you understand somewhat better

You’re the wall. Stuck on traditional nonsense that doesn’t jive anymore. You’re wall has broken down with inter league baseball; the rose bowl involving non big 10 teams etc. and many other things. So what if Ohio State and Michigan play 2 weeks in a row. Would probably be the best publicity this league has ever seen given its 2 most popular schools are in the title game. This same conference that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in 2 years and was embarrassed with Michigan state 3 years ago.

 

[e5fdny]

You’re the wall. Stuck on traditional nonsense that doesn’t jive anymore. You’re wall has broken down with inter league baseball; the rose bowl involving non big 10 teams etc. and many other things. So what if Ohio State and Michigan play 2 weeks in a row. Would probably be the best publicity this league has ever seen given its 2 most popular schools are in the title game. This same conference that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in 2 years and was embarrassed with Michigan state 3 years ago.

Don't yell at him, direct it at those who make the decisions in Chicago.

@Plum Street is just talking the B1G company line.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Don't yell at him, direct it at those who make the decisions in Chicago.

@Plum Street is just talking the B1G company line.

I’M NOT YELLING. LOL.

All in good fun.

 

[Knight Shift]

Should be 3 divisions:
Legends, Leaders, Losers. Bottom 4 teams in the conference are in the losers division and have to play each other twice to win their way out each year, like a steel cage match.


^^^^^That's a joke, a joke.

 

[e5fdny]

I’m fine as it is or as someone suggested on eleven warriors...a North/South set up where the dividing line is on a little bit on an angle heading north...

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/2012/12/17646/big-ten-leaders-legends

 

[yesrutgers01]

I think the OP’s proposal levels the playing field in the B1G.

IMHO, it hurts the conference in the current playoff structure though. I see increased odds of the following scenarios:

• Our conference’s #2 team picks up another loss and possibly gets knocked out of the playoffs.
• Or worse, our #1 team is upset, and the B1G gets no teams in.

I’d like this idea more if it was adopted by the SEC at the same time. I understand the process, but I hate that a team can even be considered for the playoffs without winning their division.

@Plum Street I thought that’s where you were going, but your first post wasn’t clear.

After the clarification, it makes sense.

 

[graystork]

East- Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana
West- Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

My idea for blowing up the divisions is similar. Every school gets two fixed games they play every year no matter what. The rest of the conference games are rotated so that every school plays each other at least once every 4 years.

 

[rufancoe00]

There are ways to rebalance and keep OSU-UM intact. Imagine an alignment where you play 6 divison and 1 cross division rivaleach yr and 2/6 of the other divison .. something along

Michigan. Ohio State
Mich Stat . Penn State
Maryland. Rutgers
Northwestern Illinois
Purdue. Indiana
Nebraska. Iowa
Wisconsin. Minnesota

 

[Retired711]

I am talking to walls here .
Yes and this hypothetical leaves the scenario of Michigan–Ohio state playing in the conference title game one week after “the game”. The league and schools were steadfast against that ever happening during previous realignments . I hope you understand somewhat better

I understand your point: Michigan v. Ohio State is the most important B1G game, and so it needs to be played the last day of the conference schedule. And, you say, the game would lose importance if Michigan and Ohio State were then to meet for the championship the following week.

I am not sure that I agree. First, it is quite likely that the Michigan-Ohio State game would determine who gets into the championship game (suppose Michigan needs a win to get past Penn State) , or who would have the home field advantage in the conference final. Second, there are all kinds of traditional rivalries that used to be on the last Saturday of the season that have since been moved without harm. For instance, it used to be that the last Saturday of the season in what was the Pac-10 would have Washington v. Washington State, Oregon v. Oregon State, Cal v. Stanford (the "Big Game"), USC v. UCLA, and Arizona v. Arizona State. Those games are no longer on the last Saturday, and yet they remain important rivalries. Third, at present the B1G championship game is a joke, with Michigan or Ohio State playing a far inferior team from the other division. Maybe it's worth sacrificing tradition so that the championship game can become a real focal point of the season, rather than another blowout.

 

[zazoo2002]

Also...the proposed realignment and conference game reduction (ala SEC) makes it easier for a B1G blue blood to be selected for the college football playoffs. The East is just a ridiculous guantlet.