Big 10 divisional alignment - Michigan doesn't want to be in OSU's division

• the_system

  ...and they want to play earlier in the year.
  
  "University of Michigan Athletic Director David Brandon told WTKA Radio in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Friday that if it were up to him, Michigan would not be in the same division as arch-rival Ohio State.
  
  He said he would want the two teams to play once a year with a possible rematch in the conference championship game, and he wants the regular season game scheduled earlier in the year."
  
  
  
  http://www.ketv.com/news/24705246/detail.html
• mattinctown

  Possible rematch? UM has to actually get there first....
• dave

  hence the word possible.
• the_system

  mattinctown;457543 wrote:Possible rematch? UM has to actually get there first....

  
  I'm amazed they want to have it early in the season. Having it as the last game kind of made it what it was.
• Automatik

  

  After next year the UM game will never be the same. I'm not sure how I would like playing them earlier.
• Mr Miyagi

  

  i read if they stayed in the same division the game would be the last before the big ten championship. if they were in a different division it would be earlier so that there wouldnt ever be a possibility of back to back games with each other.
  
  any ideas on how you guys would like to align the big ten? i think michigan and ohio state should stay in the same division
• bigkahuna

  They should, but at the same time, they are the 2 historical big boys (Big 2 little 8/9). It's kind of like putting FLA/Alabama in the same division.
• karen lotz

  

  Nice spin on the title of the thread also. I don't think he said Mich doesn't want to be in the same division.
• purple_rein

  What is happening now is that it's become evident that OSU and UM could/will be split up by Delany and the Presidents who are the ones that vote and only see $$$$$.
  
  Now you have people like Gene Smith, David Brandon, and even Tress making statements saying that they are either for the split or that they don't care or wouldn't mind it even though it's not how they feel.
  
  It is damage control. They are trying to plant the seed that it won't be a bad thing. However, if this does happen, it will be a bad thing. OSU-UM will no longer be the best rivalry in sports.
  
  If you polled all of the Big Ten ADs, coaches, players, and fans they would overwhelmingly vote for OSU-UM in the same division playing on the last weekend of the season. I guess the powers that be feel that a second big paycheck for a OSU-UM rematch once every 7 years or so is worth more than preserving the greatest tradition of the conference and the PR backlash that will result.
• GeneralsIcer89

  It's really a tough call. The Big Ten is going to have to change some traditions in order for the expansion to work. There's no real way around it. If UM and OSU are in the same division, it screws with every other rivalry. If they are split up, and cross-division rivalries are protected but played at different times than those to which we're accustomed, then it's easier to preserve everything. Playing it earlier leaves the possibility of UM/OSU kicking off AND ending the Big Ten season, which could be a nice way to handle it, but it does take away the "all the marbles" mentality if one of them doesn't make the championship game. Playing for the right to go to the championship is better for UM and OSU, but as I said, it screws every other rivalry in some way.
• dtdtim

  bigkahuna;457599 wrote:They should, but at the same time, they are the 2 historical big boys (Big 2 little 8/9). It's kind of like putting FLA/Alabama in the same division.

  
  Not really, though. When the SEC split into divisions in the early 90s, Florida was an afterthought. They weren't considered an historical big boy and had never won a National Title. It would be like splitting Ohio State and Iowa into different divisions today. The east/west geographical alignment of the SEC made and still makes good sense and neither Florida nor Alabama consider each other the others' biggest rival in-conference (Georgia & Auburn, respectively) as well.
  
  Putting Ohio State and Michigan in separate divisions is a bad idea.
• the_system

  karen lotz;457604 wrote:Nice spin on the title of the thread also. I don't think he said Mich doesn't want to be in the same division.

  
  You're right. I should have titled it "Big 10 divisional alignment - Michigan Athletic Director, who has the biggest say in the direction of their athletic programs, doesn't want to be in OSU's division.", but it wouldn't fit. Michigan is a state and can't talk. The man in charge of their athletics programs can, and should be adequate as a voice for this topic, shouldn't he? It is safe to say if they have a vote, and I'm sure they do, they'll vote for being in a different division.
• karen lotz

  

  Nevermind.
• dat dude

  karen lotz;457604 wrote:Nice spin on the title of the thread also. I don't think he said Mich doesn't want to be in the same division.

  
  What did he say then?
• killer_ewok

  

  This sucks. Michigan vs. Ohio State is a game that should only be played once a year and it should be late in the year. Combine these potential issues with the series being so one-sided as of late and this rivalry will not be what it once was.
  
  Damn shame.
• WebFire

  the_system;457645 wrote:You're right. I should have titled it "Big 10 divisional alignment - Michigan Athletic Director, who has the biggest say in the direction of their athletic programs, doesn't want to be in OSU's division.", but it wouldn't fit. Michigan is a state and can't talk. The man in charge of their athletics programs can, and should be adequate as a voice for this topic, shouldn't he? It is safe to say if they have a vote, and I'm sure they do, they'll vote for being in a different division.

  
  This is actually way more accurate. The UM internet communities are pissed that Brandon is supporting this. The fans want to see them in the same division, playing the last game of the year.
• WebFire

  mattinctown;457543 wrote:Possible rematch? UM has to actually get there first....

  
  You must be young.
• krambman

  

  I'd like to check out what people are saying about this on some Michigan message boards right now to see how their fans feel. I have a feeling that David Brandon is a very unpopular man in Michigan right now.
  
  What makes the OSU/Michigan rivalry the best in sports (and really what makes any college football rivalry better than rivalries in other sports) is that they only play once a year. But not just that they only play once a year, the fact that they play the same time every year is significant. All great cultural traditions like holidays, festivals, remembrances, and celebrations happen once a year and always at the same time. These things mark the passage of time for those who celebrate them. The OSU/Michigan game is one of those cultural traditions for people in this part of the country. For all of us our images of that game involve overcast skies, crisp cool air, the feel of the cotton hoodie on our skin, and the possibility of snow. For my whole life the "holiday season" has always included the OSU/Michigan game (whether ti started with the game or whether the game was in the middle of it like this year). For me, moving the game to another point in the season would be akin to moving Christmas to the middle of September. For those who grow up with it in its new location it would feel normal, but for the rest of us, it would never feel as much like Christmas as it used to. Whatever happens, whether it stays the same or gets moved to earlier in the season I hope that they at least play it the same time every year. This is why I think it's a good idea to play each other in game one if they aren't playing the final game of the season. It allows it to be hyped all summer and then the game won't be lost in the shuffle in the middle of the year.
• purple_rein

  If you feel strongly about not diminishing Ohio State's greatest tradition, here are some people you can contact:
  
  
  Big Ten Conference
  James E. Delany
  Commissioner
  
  1500 West Higgins Road
  Park Ridge, IL 60068-6300
  (847) 696-1010
  Jim Delany ([email protected])
  
  Fax numbers:
  Admin. (847) 696-1150
  Comm. (847) 696-1110
  
  
  Ohio State:
  President E. Gordon Gee ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Gene Smith ([email protected])
  
  
  I don't think emailing the other Big Ten presidents who have a vote will really influence them, unless its a concise, cogent, logical argument of why its in _their_ school's best interest to keep OSU-UM in the same division, but here they are. E. Gordon Gee should stand up for our school and our feelings though.
  
  Illinois:
  President Michael Hogan ([email protected])
  Athletics Director Ron Guenther ([email protected])
  
  Indiana:
  President Michael McRobbie ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Fred Glass ([email protected])
  
  Iowa:
  President Sally Mason ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Gary Barta ([email protected])
  
  Michigan:
  President Mary Sue Coleman ([email protected])
  Director of Athletics David Brandon (http://www.mgoblue.com/feedback/mich-feedback.html)
  
  Michigan State:
  President Lou Anna Simon ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Mark Hollis ([email protected])
  
  Minnesota:
  President Robert Bruininks ([email protected])
  Athletics Director Joel Maturi ([email protected])
  
  Nebraska:
  Chancellor Harvey Perlman ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Tom Osborne ([email protected])
  
  Northwestern:
  President Morton Shapiro ([email protected])
  Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips ([email protected])
  
  Ohio State:
  President E. Gordon Gee ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Gene Smith ([email protected])
  
  Penn State:
  President Graham Spanier ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Timothy Curley ([email protected])
  
  Purdue:
  President France Córdova (http://www.purdue.edu/president/contact/index.html)
  Athletic Director Morgan Burke ([email protected])
  
  Wisconsin:
  President Kevin Reilly ([email protected])
  Athletic Director Barry Alvarez ([email protected])
• jordo212000

  

  I think you gotta keep them in the same division and I think it needs to be the last game of the regular season. There are plenty of other good teams you can put on the other side of the division
• centralbucksfan

  I actually believe the Mich AD has some good valid points. I don't believe he said he wanted the game to be played earlier in terms of VERY early. Something around mid-season. This way if they both did make the title game, it wouldn't be a back to back game if the regular was played last.
  And I too believe they should be in different divisions. If Mich ever gets back to being good...it would enhance the rivaly again if both made the Big Ten title game.
  Times are changing people. I love tradition as much as anyone. But the reality is, its going to change...so might as well accept it and move on.
• vball10set

  karen lotz;457604 wrote:Nice spin on the title of the thread also. I don't think he said Mich doesn't want to be in the same division.

  wtf you talkin' about,Willis?? oh,that's right---"nevermind" :rolleyes:
• jordo212000

  

  centralbucksfan;457817 wrote:I actually believe the Mich AD has some good valid points. I don't believe he said he wanted the game to be played earlier in terms of VERY early. Something around mid-season. This way if they both did make the title game, it wouldn't be a back to back game if the regular was played last.
  And I too believe they should be in different divisions. If Mich ever gets back to being good...it would enhance the rivaly again if both made the Big Ten title game.
  Times are changing people. I love tradition as much as anyone. But the reality is, its going to change...so might as well accept it and move on.

  
  Why can't we have both tradition (Mich vs. OSU last game of season) and change (championship game)? Let's call a spade a spade, I'm not sure why we are worried about the competitive nature of divisions and discussing Michigan at the same time. Michigan has been an above avg Big 10 team the past 4 or 5 years. Iowa and Penn State have been more consistent IMO. We should be more worried about keeping them split from Ohio State
• Manhattan Buckeye

  Weren't Texas and Oklahoma in the same division in the old Big 12? I don't recall either of them complaining.
  
  I don't see this happening, Michigan and OSU should be in the same division and maintain the last regular season game. The new Big 10 doesn't have to be split geographically, PSU and Nebraska can anchor the other division (and as long as PSU is guaranteed OSU every year a la Florida/LSU and Miami/FSU in other conferences I doubt they'd complain - is PSU/Michigan a real rivalry?) - hell add Iowa and Wisky to that division and one can make a credible argument it would be stronger on a yearly basis.
• purple_rein

  centralbucksfan;457817 wrote:I actually believe the Mich AD has some good valid points. I don't believe he said he wanted the game to be played earlier in terms of VERY early. Something around mid-season. This way if they both did make the title game, it wouldn't be a back to back game if the regular was played last.
  And I too believe they should be in different divisions. If Mich ever gets back to being good...it would enhance the rivaly again if both made the Big Ten title game.
  Times are changing people. I love tradition as much as anyone. But the reality is, its going to change...so might as well accept it and move on.

  The problem is that with this plan you are banking on OSU vs UM in the B10 Title Game happening a lot which will not be the case. Instead, 80% of the years you have a watered down version of The Game and then MAYBE 20% of the time you get the big rematch.
  
  I don't see how the spike in ratings once every 5-7 years for a OSU-UM Title Game will make up for the dip in ratings when The Game is moved to earlier in the year and becomes just a big rivalry in college football but not THE rivalry of college football.