The Latest on Big 10 Divisions (WGN Chicago)

[Rogue52]

How easily we forget that in '94 when the texas 12 er....the Big XII was formed that one thing that was paramount was maintaining the Texas--Oklahoma rivalry!!!

That Rivalry Plus Geographic Purity brought us a very unbalanced conference that was doomed from the start.


Texas should have headed up the south ...With Oklahoma and Nebraska heading up the north and then you would have had "Competitive Balance" and also it would have preserved the best rivalry aka Nebbie v. Okie!!!!

Boys it was doomed from the start and I think that the over and under on this conference is about five fricking years!!!!! (butt then again i could be wrong

When the Big 12 was formed, if you moved Oklahoma to the North who would you have moved to the South?

A division of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas State would have trumped anything the South could have mustered back then.

"Competitive Balance" is a dumb Reason #1 to form divisions. It has the capability to swing all over the place especially in a conference like the Big Ten.

[weR138]

That Rivalry Plus Geographic Purity brought us a very unbalanced conference that was doomed from the start.


Texas should have headed up the south ...With Oklahoma and Nebraska heading up the north and then you would have had "Competitive Balance" and also it would have preserved the best rivalry aka Nebbie v. Okie!!!!

In hindsight it would probably have been best to do a Big Six division and a SW divsion with OSU and CU joining the Texas teams but that would've seemed kind of strange back in '96 (including to me).

[cloneu]

When the Big 12 formed OU wasn't that good, they didn't have a winning record fror 5 seasons starting in 94. They did have a history of being good so one could assume they would become good again.

[ThatllDoCy]

Teddy Greenstein has offered zero insight to anything related to conference expansion.

[MookInLincoln]

Does anyone remember when Neb, KSU, and CU were the stalwarts of the conference? The conference was split geographically for good reason.

1995 Final AP College Football Poll

1. Nebraska
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Florida State
5. Colorado
6. Ohio State
7. Kansas State
8. Northwestern
9. Kansas
10. Virginia Tech

[MookInLincoln]

Interesting side note ...

In the year prior to the formation of the Big 12, schools that would join the league went 6-1 in bowl games. The north schools went 4-0 and the south was 2-1 with Texas the only loss.

Fiesta Bowl: #1 Nebraska 62, #2 Florida 24

Sugar Bowl: #13 Virginia Tech 28, #9 Texas 10

Cotton Bowl: #7 Colorado 38, #12 Oregon 6

Alamo Bowl: #19 Texas A&M 22, #14 Michigan 20

Copper Bowl: Texas Tech 55, Air Force 41

Holiday Bowl: #10 Kansas State 54, Colorado State 21

Aloha Bowl: #11 Kansas 51, UCLA 30

[tazclone]

So if the number one priority is competitive fairness, do they plan on changing the divisions when there is a shift of power to other schools. I know you can argue that schools like OSU have had a long history of success so thats why they are considered a top tier school, but you never know what could happen down the road.

Exactly!

People keep talking about Michigan but if they use recent Conference standings, Wisconsin and Iowa have been better than Michigan. That means if PSU is put in the West then the West is tougher. News flash people...Michigan has sucked lately. Using the three criteria, a East/West split works perfectly. It keeps a competitive balance, maintains rivalries, and fits the geography. Of course, people don't pay attention to Michigan's fall.

[tazclone]

Wouldn't that have been nice if the Big 12 would have been originally structured around a similar formula?

It was. Nebraska, KSU and CU were all pretty tough at the time. Texas was down as was Oklahoma. aTm ruled the roost at the time

[snowcraig2.0]

Let me be the first to say, who effing cares?

[TarHeelHawk]

Exactly!

People keep talking about Michigan but if they use recent Conference standings, Wisconsin and Iowa have been better than Michigan. That means if PSU is put in the West then the West is tougher. News flash people...Michigan has sucked lately. Using the three criteria, a East/West split works perfectly. It keeps a competitive balance, maintains rivalries, and fits the geography. Of course, people don't pay attention to Michigan's fall.

That's true, but I don't think anyone expects that to continue. If RichRod doesn't get them turned around this year, he'll be gone. I think a better bet would be that Michigan is back "up" in five years time as opposed to still down.

[tazclone]

That's true, but I don't think anyone expects that to continue. If RichRod doesn't get them turned around this year, he'll be gone. I think a better bet would be that Michigan is back "up" in five years time as opposed to still down.

Well people didn't expect Michigan basketball to suck this long either but it has. if Rich Rod doesn't get it done then it will be a complete renovation again back to a pro style offense. That means They will need to turnover players and take another 3-5 years.
Keep in mind, people didn't think Notre Dame would be down as long as they have been. How about Florida State. They have been pretty mediocre over the last decade. Nebraska is another example.

Reality is no one really knows and you can't predict the future. The state of Michigan is in decline as a whole. People are moving out and there is a population shift from the Rust Belt to South. No one knows the impact that could have on Michigan, the Big Ten, etc. So I don't know how anyone could predict michigan's future success or lack thereof. If the Big 10 ignores the competitive records of the last 10 years and favors Michigan, then they admit they will do anything to guarantee success to Michigan.

When it comes down to it, Iowa and Wisconsin have been as successful as anyone in the Big 10 not named tOSU. To throw PSU and Nebraska in their division would not be fair.

[MookInLincoln]

When it comes down to it, Iowa and Wisconsin have been as successful as anyone in the Big 10 not named tOSU. To throw PSU and Nebraska in their division would not be fair.

No, but it would make me VERY HAPPY

I want the bugeaters to have to play in the most difficult division possible ... they've earned that

[TarHeelHawk]

Well people didn't expect Michigan basketball to suck this long either but it has. if Rich Rod doesn't get it done then it will be a complete renovation again back to a pro style offense. That means They will need to turnover players and take another 3-5 years.
Keep in mind, people didn't think Notre Dame would be down as long as they have been. How about Florida State. They have been pretty mediocre over the last decade. Nebraska is another example.

Reality is no one really knows and you can't predict the future. The state of Michigan is in decline as a whole. People are moving out and there is a population shift from the Rust Belt to South. No one knows the impact that could have on Michigan, the Big Ten, etc. So I don't know how anyone could predict michigan's future success or lack thereof. If the Big 10 ignores the competitive records of the last 10 years and favors Michigan, then they admit they will do anything to guarantee success to Michigan.

When it comes down to it, Iowa and Wisconsin have been as successful as anyone in the Big 10 not named tOSU. To throw PSU and Nebraska in their division would not be fair.

Well, Nebraska is going to be in the west. That's just how it is. PSU, nobody knows; they're kind of a wild card. I look at it this way - if Penn State ends up in the West, Wisconsin will be in the East, and vice-versa. When Delany spoke to reporters in Lincoln, competetive balance was the single most important criteria he listed when asked about how potential divisions would be split up. The "would not be fair" argument doesn't fly, because it wouldn't exactly be fair to the other three schools in the East if PSU, OSU, and Michigan were above them.

[CrossCyed]

Geographically is the best way, simply put, unless they plan on realigning on a regular basis.

[MookInLincoln]

Geographic is really the only way that the general public will relate and identify ... I bet that every one reading this can quickly recite the SEC and Big12 divisions, but I don't have a clue who is in which division in the ACC