Is the Big Ten about to make a big change?
It was back in May that we talked about the Atlantic Coastal Conference having discussions during their annual spring meeting discussing a new scheduling model that would see the conference abandon the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions. The NCAA recently repealed a rule mandating conference divisions for any league that wanted to play a conference championship game. Now, divisions are no longer required for championship games. With that rule now removed, the ACC has become the first league to eliminate their conference divisions, starting in 2023.
The new model the ACC has adopted is known as the 3-5 format. That would give each of the league’s 14 full-time member schools three permanent opponents, while the other ten schools would operate on an every other season rotation for ten seasons, five years on and five years off. That would allow a four-year player to play every conference opponent at least once.
In 2023, the ACC will adopt a 3-5-5 football scheduling model and all 14 schools will compete in one division.
Teams will play 3 primary opponents annually + face the other 10 teams twice during the 4-year cycle, once at home and once on the road.
📰: https://t.co/7cvsuH48j3 pic.twitter.com/ne5TjwtfYd
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) June 28, 2022
The Big Ten has made vague interest in dropping the conference’s east and west divisions and adopting the same format. That change would not occur though until after the Big Ten and its TV partners have signed a new media rights agreement. That agreement could make the Big Ten the first conference to earn more than $1 billion per year in media rights.
CLIP: The Big Ten could be the first conference to have a billion dollars a year in media rights
POD: https://t.co/WYHtIh6vnU pic.twitter.com/1kcwQtVlAH
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 8, 2022
Hopefully the Big Ten can move quickly and wrap up their negotiations and begin the process of having a division free conference starting in 2024. The ACC has take the first important step and it’s time for the Big Ten to start a trend among the other three major conferences with divisions remaining (Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12) and take that important first step and eliminate divisions in order create a more engaging schedule both for fans and for the conference itself.
Look below at list of Big Ten Championship Game participants.
Nebraska
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Championship Game Appearances: One (2012-Legends)
Championship Game Record: 0-1
Championship Game Result:
2012 – #14 Nebraska 31 Wisconsin 70
Michigan
© Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Championship Game Appearances: One (2021-East)
Championship Game Record: 1-0
Championship Game Result:
2021 – #2 Michigan 42 #13 Iowa Hawkeyes 3
Penn State
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Championship Game Appearances: One (2016-East)
Championship Game Record: 1-0
Championship Game Result:
2016 – #7 Penn State 38 #6 Wisconsin 31
Iowa
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Championship Game Appearances: Two (2015-West, 2021-West)
Championship Game Record: 0-2
Championship Game Result:
2015 – #4 Iowa 13 #5 Michigan State 16
2021 – #13 Iowa 3 #2 Michigan 42
Northwestern
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Championship Game Appearances: Two (2018-West, 2020-West)
Championship Game Record: 0-2
Championship Game Result:
2018 – #21 Northwestern 24 #6 Ohio State 45
2020 – #14 Northwestern 10 #4 Ohio State 22
Michigan State
© Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Championship Game Appearances: Three (2011-Legends, 2013-Legends, 2015-East)
Championship Game Record: 2-1
Championship Game Result:
2011 – #11 Michigan State 39 #15 Wisconsin 42
2013 – #10 Michigan State 34 #2 Ohio State 24
2015 – #5 Michigan State 16 #4 Iowa 13
Wisconsin
Championship Game Appearances: Six (2011-Leaders, 2012-Leaders, 2014-West, 2016-West, 2017-West, 2019-West)
Championship Game Record: 2-4
(AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Championship Game Result:
2011 – #15 Wisconsin 42 #11 Michigan State 39
2012 – Wisconsin 70 #14 Nebraska 31
2014 – #13 Wisconsin 0 #5 Ohio State 59
2016 – #6 Wisconsin 31 #7 Penn State 38
2017 – #4 Wisconsin 21 #8 Ohio State 27
2019 – #8 Wisconsin 21 #1 Ohio State 34
Ohio State
© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Championship Game Appearances: Six (2013-Leaders, 2014-East, 2017-East, 2018-East, 2019-East, 2020-East)
Championship Game Record: 5-1
Championship Game Result:
2013 – #2 Ohio State 24 #10 Michigan State 34
2014 – #5 Ohio State 59 #13 Wisconsin 0
2017 – #8 Ohio State 27 #4 Wisconsin 21
2018 – #6 Ohio State 45 #21 Northwestern 24
2019 – #1 Ohio State 34 #8 Wisconsin 21
2020 – #4 Ohio State 22 #14 Northwestern 10
