Hlas column: Big Ten has more changes in store, but none involving Notre Dame

CHICAGO -- The annual Big Ten football media day used to be this newsy:

"Coach, who do you think the favorites are to win the championship this year?"

Seriously. I've been to a lot of these. They've mostly been dreadful. Most of the coaches use a lot of words to carefully reveal nothing. Reporters scratch until they bleed to manufacture an angle.

But Monday, news poured into the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place faster than a Terrelle Pryor scamper and harder than an Adrian Clayborn tackle. That's thanks to the effects from adding Nebraska to the conference.

In a half-hour's time, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said:

a) The sentiment of him and league athletic directors is to play nine conference football games a season once the teams' schedules can be freed up to do it. Which probably wouldn't be any sooner than 2015.

b) The two six-team divisions for football are likely to be determined within the next 45 days, and won't necessarily be geographically based.

c) The site for the 2011 league football title game will be determined in the next 120 days. The conference will postpone deciding whether to rotate the site of the game or anchor it somewhere.

d) Notre Dame, which has made it clear it wants to stay an independent in football, isn't part of the Big Ten's future plans.

Whoa. So much for getting the skinny on Michigan State's deep-snapper.

Since all news is local, the possible 9-game schedule is our top concern in Iowa. It would seem to put the future of the Iowa State-Iowa series in question.

With both of those teams eventually playing 9-game league slates, scheduling that game may become a job requiring multiple Advil. Especially if Iowa and ISU have to play five of their nine league contests on the road in the same season. The Big 12 will go to a 9-game conference football schedule next year.

Iowa and Iowa State both need seven home games per season. In years they play five league games on the road, they won't be leaving home to play anyone else unless it's in a bowl game.

Can the Big Ten and Big 12 work out their schedules so the road team in the Iowa-ISU series is the one with five conference home games per year? You would think it's certainly do-able, but everyone involved has to really want to do it.

Were I the Big Ten czar, I'd have everyone play an 10-game league schedule and let them fill their remaining two dates with Cupcake State and Soft Touch Tech.

But nine games is what it will be, and nine is better than eight. If you win more of them than you lose, that is.

As for football's divisional alignment, Delany said it wouldn't necessarily be based on geography. Which means it almost surely won't be. That would be unfortunate.

There's no way anyone can know the six easternmost Big Ten teams would be a consistently tougher division than the six westernmost squads.

Had Nebraska been in the Big Ten last year, the West would have had three winners of prominent bowl games in Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, and a team that gave a great account of itself in a losing bowl effort in Northwestern. The East had two bowl-winners in Ohio State and Penn State, and just one other bowl-qualifier in Michigan State.

"I think that competitive equality or competitive balance is an important principle," Delany said.

Would the East be top-heavy some years with Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and MSU? Absolutely. But occasional competitive imbalance happens in all leagues with two or more divisions.

The nation would see the East as having three college football traditional superpowers in Michigan, OSU and Penn State, with just one (Nebraska) in the West. So what? Powers shift. Who's to say Penn State will remain strong as the Joe Paterno era ends? Who's to say Michigan will get its act together under Rich Rodriguez (or his successor if the Wolverines stay adrift)?

Some Minnesota people are worried they'll be placed in a division apart from either Iowa or Wisconsin. Others are concerned Iowa and Wisconsin will be separated. Either scenario would be crazy.

As for the other matters, it says here the 2011 Big Ten title game will be played in Indianapolis out of convenience and profitability, and will remain there.

And Delany saying 'I don't see (Notre Dame) as a player, really,"  in Big Ten expansion?

Well, nothing is permanent in college sports these days, is it?