Big Ten moves to nine games in 2017

The Big Ten discussed a nine-game conference schedule since the minute Nebraska joined the conference last summer.

Thursday, the league announced a nine-game schedule will happen in 2017. Three teams from each division will play five league home games in 2017 and do so in every odd-numbered year (2019, 2021, etc.) going forward. The other six teams (three from Legends, three from Leaders) will play five Big Ten home games in even-numbered seasons.

"We spent a great deal of time, as a conference, considering the move to nine games," Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a statement. "There are positives and negatives, but in the end most everyone agrees it's the best way to go. The Big Ten worked with us regarding our series with Iowa State. At this point it appears it will go forward without interruption."

Iowa will play five conference home games in 2017. So, now Iowa has the road map to plan the Iowa-Iowa State series so that Iowa continues to have seven home games a season, an essential component for Iowa's bottomline.

“My first principle is we have to have seven home games,” Barta told The Gazette this summer. “No matter how the schedule is put together, we need to have seven home games. After that, seeing how we'd love to continue our series with Iowa State, I've said that publicly. Hopefully we can work that out in terms of syncing with the Big Ten Conference, and I think we can.”

The consensus school of thought was that if the conference added a ninth game, the Big Ten would call for a second protected rivalry. It doesn't look as though that will be the case, according to ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN.com Thursday morning that he doesn't expect a second protected cross-over rivalry. Purdue is Iowa's protected cross-over rival.

"That has not been discussed," he said. "The second protected rival, that tends to undermine the competitive equity."

UW athletics director Barry Alvarez told The Gazette he is all for a protected rivalry with Iowa.

“I think once we finalize nine games then there will be a discussion to see if it's logistically possible or mathematically possible to protect two,” Alvarez said. A second protected rivalry might also mean long gaps where the schools skip other Big Ten teams.

So, Iowa and Wisconsin, Iowa's closest Big Ten rival in terms of record (42-42-2) and proximity (Iowa City to Madison is a three-hour drive), remains in dry dock.

The nine-game league schedule ensures Big Ten teams will play at least six times in a 10-year span. The current model ensures a minimum of only four matchups in 10 years. The Big Ten hasn't played nine-game conference schedules since the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

Delany told ESPN.com that with other FBS conferences moving in the nine-game direction (Pac 12, Big 12), it made sense for the Big Ten.

Big Ten schedules are set only through 2014. Iowa now at least has the framework to continue the series with Iowa State. An Iowa official told The Gazette this summer that the series would remain intact.

“We're just in the formative stages of this so certainly I've not had any discussion with anybody about it,” Mark Abbott, Iowa's associate athletics director for legal affairs, said. “We would anticipate our series with Iowa State would continue, so that would be our direction.”

Iowa and ISU agreed to a 10-year contract in 2008 that lasts through 2017. It does contain an out clause "should either school's conference adds additional conference football games, that school shall be entitled to request that the parties seek to renegotiate the contract terms for the remaining contract years that are affected by the conference scheduling change. Both schools agree to make every effort to work with their respective conferences to try to keep this issue from arising."

Delany did acknowledge in his interview with ESPN.com that the majority of league coaches opposed the nine-game schedule. The degree of difficulty in scheduling will ramp up with this move. For Iowa in 2011, a ninth Big Ten game would've knocked Tennessee Tech or Louisiana-Monroe off the schedule.

“As the athletic director, I like it,” Barta told The Gazette in March. “It's something the fans want to see, and I think it's time to make that step. I'd love to see the rest of the country make that step as well so there's some competitive balance. I'm supportive of it, as is Kirk (Ferentz).”

Here's the Big Ten release on the conference's announcement this morning that it will adopt a nine-game league schedulein 2017:

BIG TEN SCHOOLS TO PLAY NINE CONFERENCE GAMES BEGINNING WITH 2017 SEASON

Teams to feature four or five Big Ten home games on rotating basis

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten announced today that conference football programs will move to a nine-game Big Ten schedule beginning with the 2017 season.

Three teams each from the Legends Division and Leaders Division will feature five conference home games during odd-numbered years, while the other three schools from each division will host five conference contests during even-numbered years. The 2017 schedule will include five conference home outings for Iowa, Michigan State and Nebraska from the Legends Division and Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State from the Leaders Division. The 2018 schedule will feature five Big Ten home games for Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern of the Legends Division and Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin of the Leaders Division.

The Big Ten will return to a full nine-game conference schedule for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Eight of 10 conference schools played nine-game schedules during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, while two of 10 teams featured nine-game schedules from 1971-72 and 1977-80.

The 116th season of Big Ten football kicks off with prime time home games for the defending Big Ten co-Champions, with Wisconsin hosting UNLV on Thursday, Sept. 1, and Michigan State facing Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 2. The conference's remaining 10 teams open action on Saturday, Sept. 3, including Nebraska's first official game as a member of the Big Ten. Conference play will begin on Saturday, Oct. 1, and will feature divisional play for the first time. The champions of each division will meet on Saturday, Dec. 3, in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX Sports. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

Here's Iowa release:

IOWA, BIG TEN TO PLAY NINE LEAGUE GAMES

IOWA CITY, IA – The University of Iowa, along with other Big Ten teams, will play a nine game league schedule beginning with the 2017 season. The announcement came today from the conference office.

The Iowa football program has played nine Big Ten games four times (1971, 1972, 1983, 1984) previously.

Three teams each from the Legends Division and Leaders Division will feature five conference home games during odd-numbered years, while the other three schools from each division will host five conference contests during even-numbered years. The 2017 schedule will include five conference home games for the Hawkeyes, Michigan State and Nebraska from the Legends Division and Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State from the Leaders Division. The 2018 schedule will feature five Big Ten home games for Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern of the Legends Division and Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin of the Leaders Division.

The Big Ten will return to a full nine-game conference schedule for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Eight of 10 conference schools played nine-game schedules during the 1981 and 1982 seasons (Iowa and Ohio State played eight). Iowa and Northwestern featured nine-game schedules in 1971 and 1972. Two league teams also played nine games from 1977-80.

"We spent a great deal of time, as a conference, considering the move to nine games. There are positives and negatives, but in the end most everyone agrees it's the best way to go. The Big Ten worked with us regarding our series with Iowa State. At this point it appears it will go forward without interruption."

The 2011 campaign, the Big Ten's 116th football season, kicks off with prime time home games for the defending Big Ten co-Champions. Wisconsin will host UNLV on Thursday, Sept. 1, and Michigan State will face Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 2nd. The conference's remaining 10 teams open action on Saturday, Sept. 3rd, including Iowa hosting Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. in Kinnick Stadium.

Nebraska officially enters the league this year and will play its first conference game at Wisconsin on Oct. 1st. The league will also begin division play for the first time this season. The champions of each division will meet on Saturday, Dec. 3rd, in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX Sports. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.