It's a rapidly changing world that we're living in today. Things are changing fast all around us, and that extends right into the sports we've known and loved all our lives. Especially college football.
The Big Ten Conference has certainly not been immune to this change. The league, which was once known as the Big Nine (you can look it up), decided to stop counting at 10 teams when Penn State joined in 1993 and brought the total to 11. Now, Nebraska is in the fold and we have 12 teams, split into two divisions. The league will continue to be called the Big Ten. Why? Because of the two things that rule America most these days-marketing and image. People are familiar with the Big Ten "brand", and therefore it would be "crazy" to ever change the name, or so we would be led to believe.
Big Ten officials, not content with that bit of silliness, went on to commit two more ridiculous acts. First, they messed up the division placements. Then, out of nowhere, they decided that the names of the divisions would be 'Leaders' and 'Legends'. To top it off, they were actually surprised at the negative backlash!
The division placements ended up like this: Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin in one division, while Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska comprise the other. So they opted not to go the obvious East-West route. They also opted to break up Ohio State and Michigan, figuring people would love to see a potential rematch in a Big Ten championship game. I could almost live with that, for reasons I'll get into below, but couldn't understand splitting up Illinois-Northwestern and Minnesota-Wisconsin. Illinois has been playing Northwestern since 1892. Minnesota first squared off against Wisconsin in 1890. I'm sure Big Ten officials will assure everyone that these teams will still meet during the season-but why leave any doubt. Keep them in the same divisions. A North-South set-up could have worked with Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska in the North and Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern in the South. This way every major rivalry besides OSU-Michigan would have been assured of remaining intact, and you can bet OSU-Michigan would continue to be played somehow. Also, those stupid division names wouldn't be necessary. Also Iowa and Nebraska would have to become a big rivalry. Which could happen.
I can live with placing OSU and Michigan into different divisions for a few reasons: 1) I know they're still going to play. It's too big a deal, and there's too much money involved. 2) The rivalry is as big as the Big Ten itself, rendering any divisions inconsequential. 3) Each team has another big rival.
Michigan vs. Michigan State is a major rivalry. Some folks in Michigan think it's just as big a deal as the OSU game. The reason it never had the historical status of Buckeyes-Wolverines is because Michigan dominated for a long time (70s to 90s). Those days appear to be over. The Spartans have taken three in a row from the Wolverines, and this matchup is getting to be the big deal it hasn't been since the 60s. Now it has the potential to be for a division title every year as well, although the division's other teams of course will have their say.
With things changing as rapidly as they are, I can see a day in the future when Ohio State vs. Penn State could be as big as OSU-Michigan. That's hard to imagine, with the long history, the traditions, the books, the DVDs, and all the people who say that Ohio State vs. Michigan football is the greatest rivalry in all of sports.
However, now Ohio State and Penn State are in the same division of the Big Ten, and could one day find themselves playing the final game of each season. (Big Ten officials' promises to keep OSU-Michigan there notwithstanding.) Many a division title can, and probably will, be on the line every year. A team will need to win its division before it can win the Big Ten, so a matchup for a division title will be meaningful. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series-but only by a 14-12 count. On the high school level, each year there is an Ohio vs. Pennsylvania all-star game. No such game exists between Ohio and Michigan. Heck, even Penn State's official name is THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY. The audacity.
Many will likely disagree, saying no way could this ever happen. I'm not saying bigger than OSU-Michigan, just maybe as big as. Today's young Ohio kids and future football junkies might one day learn to hate Nittany Lions just as much as they do Wolverines, and the feeling could be mutual among young Pennsylvanians.
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