The right, and the many wrongs, of Big Ten realignment

The Big Ten screwed up this time.

Adding Nebraska was a major win for the conference. Having 12 teams and a conference championship are going to be huge boons to the conference, and adding a program with such a rich tradition is nothing but a positive.

The new divisional realignment, however, is not so positive.

Sure, they did some things right. But there is a lot wrong with the new East / West split, which we’ll get to in a second. For now, if you have been in a cave today and haven’t seen it, here is your new Big Ten (12). 

Big Ten West: 
Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota

Big Ten East: 
Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois

The first thing that stands out to me is how uneven these divisions are. The Big Ten was striving for competitive balance and protecting rivalry and trophy games, and it failed in both areas. The West is, overall, much more competitive and stronger than the East, although the East is clearly more top heavy. 

However, when you look at the West and see only one truly awful program, Minnesota, while the East has the mediocrity of Purdue, Illinois and Indiana to deal with, it’s pretty clear that things aren’t very even.

I get splitting Ohio State and Michigan, and the news that The Game will continue to be the last regular season game on the schedule is a huge, huge win for the Big Ten. The Ohio State - Michigan game is one of six protected crossover games, which means they are guaranteed to play each other every year.

That’s a good one. Penn State - Nebraska is another very good crossover game. The rest? Well, they suck.

Who really cares about Minnesota - Wisconsin, or Michigan State - Indiana. Northwestern - Illinois was protected for obvious reasons, and should be a good yearly battle.

Iowa - Purdue is both a loss and a win for Hawkeyes fans, depending on how you look at it. On one hand, Iowa gets to beat up on a poor Purdue program every year, instead of slugging it out with Ohio State or Penn State.

The bad is obvious, though. Iowa will no longer be playing Wisconsin every year, a major black stain on this divisional split. Everyone knows that Iowa - Wisconsin is one of the most competitive rivalries in the nation (I’m talking strictly in terms of win / loss records), and to lose that, in favor of Purdue, hurts.

But it’s not all bad for Iowa. Wisconsin got hurt the worst by the realignment, losing both Iowa and a shot at playing Nebraska yearly, something Bret Bielema has been pushing incredibly hard for.

One bonus for the Hawkeyes is that they get to play Nebraska every year, and for the first two seasons of the new alignment, they get them as the regular season finale. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com may be the one who coined it, but either way, the phrase “Farmageddon” is pretty accurate for what that rivalry is likely to become. As Rittenberg said, it’s a huge indication of what the league feels will happen with these two teams, pitting them against each other to close the season instead of having the protected game, Penn State - Nebraska, in the finale.

Iowa also loses Penn State each year, which is both good and bad – easier schedule, but lose a “rival” – but it could be worse. 

I still say the Big Ten should have gone strictly geographical, throwing Michigan and Michigan State in the East and bringing Illinois and Wisconsin to the West. The league, though, is too mired in history and not the current state of the programs or their outlook for the immediate future.

The Big Ten also kind of slapped Nebraska in the face, giving them Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin in one rotation, with the bottom feeders in the other. That means the Huskers play their first two years in the Big Ten having to play three of the best programs in the conference, while avoiding all but Minnesota from the bottom.

The conference did good in only losing three trophy games, but it’s unfortunate that Penn State loses two of theirs. The formerly annual games that are now lost are Iowa - Wisconsin, Minnesota - Penn State and Penn State - Michigan State. The middle one isn’t a huge loss, but the others were certainly intriguing match ups. 

It’s hard to say whether the Big Ten over- or under-thought this process, but something didn’t go right. The split isn’t horrible, but the protected games are a mess, and clearly were an afterthought. Commissioner Jim Delaney also didn’t so much as hint at a second crossover being added for each team once the league expands to nine conference games in 2015, which is another eyebrow raiser.

The blessing in disguise, at least for Iowa fans, is that the Hawkeyes get off easy their first two years of the new scheduling. Ohio State and Wisconsin are both missing from the schedule in 2011 and 2012 (and Illinois is strangely missing until at least 2013, despite not playing Iowa since 2008), so the Hawkeyes have almost the opposite road that the Huskers will have.

What are your thoughts on the realignment? I’ve heard satisfaction, I’ve heard disappointment. What would you have done differently? Can anybody out there give me any kind of reasonable explanation as to why the Hawkeyes and Badgers didn’t get each other for their crossover game?