Big Ten looks to nine game conference slate, title game in '11

Ohio State tabbed by media to win Big Ten for sixth straight year

CHICAGO ----- The Big Ten isn’t done yet.

Sure, it’s on a self-admitted break from expansion while it tries to figure out how to incorporate the Nebraska Cornhuskers fully into the conference in time for the 2011 season, but that burgeoning transition has left the conference with a slew of unanswered questions and major decisions to be made heading into the 2010 season.

Rivalries are on the line. Trophy games could be affected. Tradition hangs in the balance.

And right now, Big Ten officials and presidents aren’t quite sure how to keep everything intact.

“Whether or not we’ll be 100 percent able to preserve every trophy game or every rivalry game, I’ll tell you we’ll go to great lengths to make sure that the tradition and rivalries are respected,” said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.

But that won’t be easy.

The conference is going to be split somehow, into two six-team divisions. Delany said that he expects the decision-making process there to take 30 to 45 days. Splitting geographically would be the easiest solution, but it would make the proposed East division top heavy, with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan together.

There doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. One question that was asked repeatedly was whether or not to keep Michigan and Ohio State in the same division as one another. Delany said the important thing would be to make sure those two teams play each other each year, regardless of division.

The coaches agree.

“I can’t imagine that there’d ever be a change from the fact that Ohio State and Michigan are going to square off and it’s going to be exciting and meaningful,” said Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel.” It’s going to be interesting to watch the change unfold. I think change is exciting, and anytime you add somebody like Nebraska to the fold, and their tradition and their academic excellence, there’s a lot of neat things going on.

“I have no trepidation at all that it will affect the great Ohio State / Michigan rivalry.”

One thing that appears all but certain is that the Big Ten will be having a conference championship game. Delany said he anticipates the first Big Ten Title Game will occur in December of 2011, with the only thing left to determine being the location.

Of course, that’s not an easy decision, either. Delany suggested the possibility of the league trying to find a site to host the first game, next year, before settling either on a permanent site or a rotation.

Another near-certainty is the fact that Notre Dame is no longer in the Big Ten’s future.

“I don’t see them as a player, really,” said Delany. “I think (Notre Dame AD) Jack Swarbrick has been consistent from the beginning about their commitment to the Big East and their commitment to independence.”

Delany also seemed set on is the name of the conference itself. With the Big 12 now having 10 teams and the Big Ten now having 12, a name-switch was proposed by a reporter Monday.

“I think the Big Ten is the Big Ten regardless of the number,” said Delany, who added that a new logo will be coming out for the Big Ten with the division alignments.

One proposed change is cause for some dissent among some of the conference’s coaches – the possible addition of a ninth conference game. Delany said it seems to be a consensus among the athletic directors to move to nine conference games, but not all the coaches are on board with that idea because of the inequality of home and road games each year.

Much like the rest of the major items being discussed in Chicago, that expected change would be down the road, a minimum of two full years away.

But that’s all then. In the now, the Big Ten is shaping up to have a fiercely competitive season on its hands, with all eyes pointing toward a supposed de-facto championship game November 20 in Iowa City, when Ohio State takes on the Hawkeyes.

“This will be as veteran and as tough and as excellent a Big Ten in the 10 years that I’ve been here,” said Tressel. “I think that we do have a number of teams that can compete against anyone in America.

As it has been for five years running now, Ohio State is the team leading the pack. The Buckeyes were selected as the Preseason No. 1 in the conference, and quarterback Terrelle Pryor was tabbed as Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Iowa was chosen second, and Wisconsin came in at No. 3. Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones, last year’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, earned the same preseason honor for the second straight year.

Everybody is playing catch-up with Ohio State, but many coaches talked about how strong parity in the league has been. Purdue beat Ohio State and Michigan last year. Northwestern beat Iowa. Iowa toppled Penn State.

Yet the Buckeyes remain the team to beat, at least on paper and in the preseason polls.

“One thing’s for sure, if you’re going to try to win a Big Ten Championship, you’re going to have to find a way to compete with them and beat them,” said Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. ”And not many people have had much luck doing that.”