B1G to vote on divisions, schedule Sunday

The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors on Sunday will vote on new Big Ten football divisions and nine-game conference schedule.

The vote is seen largely as a formality. League officials have discussed revamping the divisions geographically since adding Maryland and Rutgers beginning in 2014.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta told The Gazette in January the football divisions would have a strong geographic slant. ESPN reported last year week the Western division will include: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin, The Eastern division will include: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

The geographic slant revamps the current divisional structure based on competitive balance. The design was to split top-tier powers Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska into separate divisions. But with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the league chose to realign based on geography.

The revamp will reignite the Iowa-Wisconsin rivalry (tied 42-42-2) on an annual basis. The teams had played 72 times over the last 76 years. The only reason the teams did not play those four seasons was because of Big Ten expansion (1993-94, 2011-12). Iowa and Illinois will meet in 2014 for the first time since 2008, a year earlier than originally scheduled.

The league also expects to approve a nine-game league football schedule beginning in 2016, according to ESPN.

BTN will air a report about the divisions beginning at 6:30 p.m. The show will include an interview with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.