CHICAGO — Since Dec. 15, 2009, when the Big Ten announced it would officially investigate conference expansion, the cards have been in Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany’s hands.
And with the addition of Nebraska as the conference’s 12th team, halting further expansion for the time being, the nation’s focus has shifted to Delany again.
On the first day of the annual Big Ten Media Days, many of the questions asked of Delany focused on if and how the Big Ten could be divided to create a conference championship game — a game that Delany says should happen by December of 2011.
Delany specifically touched on three considerations in dividing Big Ten teams: competitive balance, rivalries and geography, with competitive balance being the most weighted factor. He says the conference expects to have a divisional alignment within the next 30 to 45 days.
Throughout the day, talks of expansion were focused on the preservation of Michigan’s rivalry with Ohio State — a game that, for almost 75 years, has been played as both teams’ regular-season finale.
With divisional alignment guaranteed to come sooner rather than later in the Big Ten, the question of whether the two teams would be divided along with possible scheduling conflicts brought the conversation about The Game to the forefront at Big Ten media day, even with coaches who don’t have stake in the rivalry.
“I love the Ohio State-Michigan game,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. “Before I was playing college football, I watched that game. It’s what it is. I’d like to have tradition (like that) for ourselves.”
Although a regular-season meeting is nearly assured — it’s been 93 years since the teams haven’t met in a season — questions of when the game should be scheduled and whether the two teams would be on the same side of the conference’s divisional realignment went mostly unanswered.
But Delany didn’t rule out the chance of a possible division split between the two football powerhouses, saying he could “equally conceive a division” that put them inside or outside of each other’s divisions.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said what’s important is that the rivalry simply continues no matter how Delany decides to divide the conference. As for when that game takes place, Rodriguez offered insight into his own preferences for the rivalry.
“I care that we play Ohio State every year … and that’s probably going to happen,” Rodriguez said. “I think the last game traditionally has been terrific … but if you didn’t and had to play them earlier, well, as long as you’re playing them. But I would prefer to play them at the end, just from a tradition standpoint.”
Rodriguez even reflected on the possibility of the two teams meeting on back-to-back weeks, if both reached the championship game from separate divisions.
“I’m sure our fans would be pretty excited (to see both teams play more than once),” Rodriguez said. “I think Michigan loves to compete against Ohio State, and Ohio State loves to compete against Michigan … I think it’ll sell out if you play three times a week in Ann Arbor, Columbus or Chicago.”
But for Michigan, a team that has a great deal of historic matchups in-conference, some games will have to be sacrificed to allow for scheduling flexibility.
The Little Brown Jug — the oldest rivalry trophy in college football — could be the sacrificial lamb if divisional alignment were to part Minnesota and Michigan, ending the 107-year-old tradition.
Minnesota coach Tim Brewster, however, is more focused on preserving other Big Ten rivalries, especially since the two teams didn’t meet in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
“We haven’t played Michigan for the past two years,” Brewster said. “To me, I don’t see anything different there. Obviously the Little Brown Jug is a historical game and it’s been really important to Michigan and Minnesota for a long time … I just don’t feel like that game is in the same place as the Wisconsin and Iowa games.”
As far as rivalries go, Michigan, as well as many other Big Ten teams, may be forced to pick its battles as Delany’s 45-day self-imposed deadline draws nearer.
Notes: Despite the conference’s repeated efforts to include Notre Dame in expansion talks, Delany says that he “doesn’t see Notre Dame as a player in future Big Ten expansion” and that the school “should be independent for many years to come.” … Rodriguez commented on junior running back Michael Shaw’s eligibility, saying that “we’re still waiting on summer school,” which ends in two weeks.