B1G inactive but alert over conference title deregulation

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Geography dictated the Big Ten's recent round of football realignment, and one year into the East-West divide, league officials like the setup. While they may be adverse to changing it, they're also looking at how other leagues might revamp their divisional structure next season.

Last month, CBSSports.com reported the NCAA is likely to deregulate conference football championship games in 2016. That would give conferences autonomy in shelving the requirement for two divisions and at least 12 schools that was approved in the 1980s. It also allows conferences to decide independently which schools participate in league title games.

The change - if approved - would permit the 10-team Big 12 to add a title game. It also would give the Atlantic Coast Conference the chance to alter or dissolve its divisional structure and avoid match-ups like 6-6 Georgia Tech against 10-2 Florida State in 2012.

The Big Ten is far from considering anything radical, considering it divided based on competitive equality from 2011-13 and last year on geography. But Commissioner Jim Delany wouldn't shut the door on any possibilities, either.

'I would be open to that discussion, but I would like to have an idea of what the alternatives under consideration are for deregulation,” Delany said Wednesday at the Big Ten's annual spring meetings. 'Because in certain circumstances, I could easily say, ‘Yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me.' But I also think that if you want deregulation because all of us have structured, some of us - not us - have expanded to suit that model, I'm open to it. But I'd like to know a little bit more about what the plans are for it because I could conceive of structures that come out of total deregulation that might not be positive.”

With Nebraska's inclusion in 2011, the Big Ten opted to split the top four historic programs - Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska - into opposite divisions. Wisconsin and Iowa also were divided, and the rest of the league molded around rivalries and geography.

Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014. Those schools wanted to become closely aligned with Penn State, and the league revamped into an East-West structure. Competitively, that could tip the league's balance toward the East Division with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State. In last year's Big Ten championship game, Ohio State blasted Wisconsin 59-0.

Delany said he's 'pleased” with both the recent expansions and the geographical layout.

'I really like the fact that there's energy around Big Ten football in a way that I haven't seen in a while,” Delany said. 'I'm really excited about that.”

Deregulating championship games garnered minor discussion this week. Indiana Athletics Director Fred Glass classified talks as not 'anything serious.”

'We've noticed others have done that and know the momentum to try to get the two true best teams, so I think we're observing that and nimble on that,” Glass said. 'I feel like there's a lot of benefit of doing the divisions. It really helps preserve traditional rivalries; it really helps keep interest through the year with the division races. So I don't see us having a serious conversation about moving toward that.”

Nearly every rivalry was preserved through the divisional structure. Iowa-Wisconsin and Michigan-Penn State were lost rivalries under competitive realignment, and now they are annual battles. The only major series in opposite divisions - Indiana-Purdue - was saved as the league's only non-divisional annual game.

'A lot of our fans wanted more regional play to play rivals, and the divisions ended up working out really well for us,” Minnesota Athletics Director Norwood Teague said. 'I'm surprised they worked out like they did.”

'Right now our system works,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. 'We're happy with it.”

POTENTIAL IDEA

What if the Big Ten revamped its structure and shifted to a 14-team, non-divisional model? If the NCAA deregulates conference championship games, it's possible, especially if the power balance tilts to the East Division. That means the league's top two teams would qualify for the title game based on league record and not divisional finish.

But if that were to happen, the league likely would need to protect three annual rivalries per team. Here's a look at which ones would make the most sense:

IOWA

- Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin

NEBRASKA - Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin

MINNESOTA

- Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska

WISCONSIN

- Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska

ILLINOIS

- Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana

NORTHWESTERN

- Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State

PURDUE

- Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern

INDIANA

- Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois

OHIO STATE

- Michigan, Penn State, Maryland

MICHIGAN

- Ohio State, Michigan State, Rutgers

PENN STATE

- Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland

RUTGERS

- Maryland, Penn State, Michigan

MARYLAND

- Penn State, Ohio State, Rutgers

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