Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/129327
NEWS & NOTES BWI file photo GLORY DAYS Michigan and Penn State haven't met since 2010, but they are set to become divisional rivals in the 14-team Big Ten. FOOTBALL PSU set to join East Division Big Ten's new divisional alignment to take effect in 2014 So much for the Leaders and the Legends. After just two years using the alliterative nomenclature, Big Ten commissioner James E. Delany announced on April 28 that the conference is set for another shakeup in 2014. The change will bring geographic division names and will also usher in a nine-game conference schedule in '16. With Maryland and Rutgers set to begin Big Ten play in 2014, the conference is splitting into new divisions. Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers will compete in the East Divi- sion, while Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin will make up the West Division. All schools in the East Division are in the Eastern time zone, and all schools in the West Division are in the Central time zone, save for Purdue. Each team will play the other six teams in its division, plus two teams from the opposite division in 2014 and '15. Those will be transitional years during which the teams will still be playing eight-game conference schedules. Beginning in 2016, each team will play three teams from the other division as part of a nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue. "Big Ten directors of athletics concluded four months of study and deliberation with unanimous approval of a future football structure that preserved rivalries and created divisions based on their primary principle of East/West geography," said Delany. "The directors of athletics also relied on the results of a fan survey commissioned by the [Big Ten Network] last December to arrive at their recommendation, which is consistent