Schnauzer
Pretty Sure You are Wrong
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I have seen several posts about how the future Big 10 will look with 12 teams. Most of these threads list some sort of breakdown between a "Big 10 North - Big 10 South" or "Big 10 East - Big 10 West"
My apologies if this has already been thrown out there (if it has, I haven't seen it) but what if it was done on a regular rotation instead of some sort of eternal mason dixon line?
I actually don't like the SEC and Big 12 with their divisions. It always seems as though one side is loaded and the other is the little sister, in one form or another. It also creates conferences within the conference and breaks up some of that long standing unity that makes conference affiliations special.
In its current form for football, the Big 10 allows each team to have two rival opponents remain on the schedule every year (Minnesota has Iowa and Wisconsin, Michigan has Ohio State and Michigan State, etc.). What if they just continued this relationship and then altered which "pods" existed with others on a rotating basis for dividing the conference? That way, the conference wouldn't bog down into a long standing division and everyone would not lose focus of the Big 10 itself.
Pod one: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa
Pod two: Illinois, Northwestern, New Team
Pod three: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State
Pod four: Purdue, Indiana, Penn State
(I'm not stuck on these exact divisions, do it any way you see fit if you like a different lineup)
Year One: Pod One and Pod Three / Pod Two and Pod Four
Year Two: Pod One and Pod Four / Pod Two and Pod Three
Year Three: Pod One and Pod Two / Pod Three and Pod Four
Year Four: repeat year one
etc.
There would still be two divisions. Who is in each division would change every year though with the rotation of pods. The pods would exist to protect core rivalries but would mix/match on a regular basis. Two pods would always combine to create a division (in the example above, on year one Division A would consist of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State while Division B would include Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Penn State, New Team, and Indiana).
If every year is too soon, make the "pod rotations" and division alignments every other year or longer if you wish.
Basically, the main point is to mix it up and maintain the Big 10 instead of creating a long standing division like we have seen in other conferences.
Just throwing ideas around this morning and thinking out loud.
My apologies if this has already been thrown out there (if it has, I haven't seen it) but what if it was done on a regular rotation instead of some sort of eternal mason dixon line?
I actually don't like the SEC and Big 12 with their divisions. It always seems as though one side is loaded and the other is the little sister, in one form or another. It also creates conferences within the conference and breaks up some of that long standing unity that makes conference affiliations special.
In its current form for football, the Big 10 allows each team to have two rival opponents remain on the schedule every year (Minnesota has Iowa and Wisconsin, Michigan has Ohio State and Michigan State, etc.). What if they just continued this relationship and then altered which "pods" existed with others on a rotating basis for dividing the conference? That way, the conference wouldn't bog down into a long standing division and everyone would not lose focus of the Big 10 itself.
Pod one: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa
Pod two: Illinois, Northwestern, New Team
Pod three: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State
Pod four: Purdue, Indiana, Penn State
(I'm not stuck on these exact divisions, do it any way you see fit if you like a different lineup)
Year One: Pod One and Pod Three / Pod Two and Pod Four
Year Two: Pod One and Pod Four / Pod Two and Pod Three
Year Three: Pod One and Pod Two / Pod Three and Pod Four
Year Four: repeat year one
etc.
There would still be two divisions. Who is in each division would change every year though with the rotation of pods. The pods would exist to protect core rivalries but would mix/match on a regular basis. Two pods would always combine to create a division (in the example above, on year one Division A would consist of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State while Division B would include Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Penn State, New Team, and Indiana).
If every year is too soon, make the "pod rotations" and division alignments every other year or longer if you wish.
Basically, the main point is to mix it up and maintain the Big 10 instead of creating a long standing division like we have seen in other conferences.
Just throwing ideas around this morning and thinking out loud.