In the Big Ten Network's summer programming season finale, the two divisions for football will be announced at 7 PM Eastern, 6 Central. Jim Delany will do the announcing I assume, and Mark Hollis will be in the Big Ten Studios along with three other athletic directors. Andy Katz of ESPN is reporting from several sources that the divisions will be set up thusly (with the division names being entirely my creation):
CORSO DIVISION | ZOOK DIVISION |
Michigan | Ohio State |
Nebraska | Penn State |
Iowa | Wisconsin |
Michigan State | Indiana |
Northwestern | Purdue |
Minnesota | Illinois |
Once again, this is not definite, but Katz seems pretty sure this is how everything shakes out. For football that seems split pretty evenly, for basketball though, holy crap. If the Big Ten goes to an SEC 16 game model (10 games in division, 6 out), when does State lose that division for the first time, and how far does their RPI drop? For that sake alone, I hope they stick with the 18-game schedule.
We'll have a live blog starting at 6:30 PM tonight of the Big Ten's announcement. Until then, discuss away.