Behind The Box Score

The Big Ten Network has just released the new conference divisions that will take place in solely football for the 2011 season and on. Included in this change is the separation of arch rivals Ohio State and Michigan. In the new alignment, the first conference includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. In the other division is Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. Building up to the realignment was speculation whether or not the protected rivalries would retain their place on the schedule. According to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, these rivalry games will keep their place on the schedule, so fans in Columbus and Ann Arbor will no longer fear losing the “Game,” which has lost some of it’s importance since Rich Rodriguez arrived on the scene. The heavily anticipated Big Ten Championship Game will take place on December 3, 2011 at Lucas Oil Stadium, marking the first time the 115 year old conference has had a championship game in football. This is what Delany had to say on the change;

“We focused on competitive equality, traditional rivalries and geography. We considered multiple models and countless permutations in an effort to achieve the most competitively balanced divisions while at the same time respecting our traditions, preserving existing rivalries, and creating opportunities for the establishment and growth of new rivalries. We have listened to the feedback from our institutions, alumni and fans, and while we understand that no final alignments could possibly satisfy all of our constituents, we believe that we have achieved a very exciting result.”