As much as many teams and their fans disliked the idea of the Big Ten realignment, something clearly needed to be done. This afternoon, the final nail in the latest realignment idea was hammered in as the Big Ten announced the new setup.
There will now be 2 separate divisions of 6 teams a piece. The divisions are as follows:
Michigan
Nebraska
Michigan State
Iowa
Northwestern
Minnesota
Ohio State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Purdue
Indiana
Illinois
The most dramatic shift is that, probably the two biggest rivals in all of college football are now in separate divisions, Ohio State, and Michigan. Having said this, the Commissioner of the Big Ten, Jim Delaney, has made sure that certain key rivalries take place each and every year. The following games will occur each year despite the new divisional setup. Ohio State-Michigan, Penn State-Nebraska, Illinois-Northwestern, Purdue-Iowa, Wisconsin-Minnesota and Indiana-Michigan State. The new divisions go into affect beginning in 2011