This past week, Big T1e1n fans were in a buzz about the Ohio State/Michigan game. First, the news that, once again, Nike would be issuing “special” uniforms; response ranged from “meh” to “whoo! New Buckeye gear!” to “Why are they messing with the greatest rivalry in sports?”
The folks in the last camp soon gained a lot of company, as rumors began to swirl that the conference’s decisions about divisions for their 12 teams would place the two premier programs of the conference in separate divisions. “The Game” would not be lost- it would be a “protected rivalry” game that would more than likely be moved to earlier in the season.
These rumors were based on the comments from three “well informed” persons- Ohio State’s AD, Michigan’s AD, and Jim Tressel. First, Smith’s comments–
“I know one thing for sure – that we’re going to play (Michigan) every year. We may end up playing the last game of the year, or not. I just don’t know that yet.”
Brandon went further, and advocated for this move-
When asked if he were making the decision, would he put Michigan and Ohio State in the same conference division? Brandon paused then answered. “No.”
“Because we’re in a situation where one of the best things that could happen, in my opinion in a given season, would be the opportunity to play Ohio State twice. Once in the regular season and once for the championship of the Big Ten.
“I think there’s a distinct possibility that that game will be a later game in the season, but not necessarily the last game of the season. And that’s simply because…I don’t think the coaches, or the players, or the fans, or the networks or anyone, would appreciate that match-up to happen twice within the same seven day period.”
“What you’re really going to want is that last game of the regular season to really determine, often times, the championship—who’s going to be the champion of that division and go to the championship game and play for all the marbles. So from a scheduling/timing perspective it’s a new ballgame and although I love playing Ohio State in the last game of the year, I don’t think it’s necessarily a slam dunk that that’s going to continue.”
Before everyone gets excited about playing The Game twice, it might be good if Michigan focused on showing up to play the first time.
The Senator was more diplomatic (go figure), but just as cryptic-
“Where it will be in the future, I’m not sure. But I don’t think it will ever change in its importance to the people that are involved in it, especially, what it means to all of them and all of us.”
Would this speech have mattered as much?
There are two issues at play here- Conference divisions (geographic and loaded) and Conference championship game. While Delaney said that the major factors would be “Fairness, Rivalries, and Geography“, he was only partially accurate- the major factor is money. Brandon is right- Conference expansion is all about TV dollars; that will ultimately drive this decision.
Vico over at OHD does an amazing job (as always) looking at the entirety of this issue, and questions that the money that’s imagined will be the money that appears-
…the idea being put forward by the conference’s brass significantly overstates the extra revenue that an Ohio State-Michigan game would garner. This is not an exponential increase in potential ratings. There would be a huge audience for, say, a Michigan-Nebraska Big Ten Championship game or an Ohio State-Iowa Big Ten Championship game. A Big Ten Championship game pitting Ohio State against Michigan would be a huge draw, but not enough to offset the huge damage done to the rivalry by hiding it in the middle of the season.
Vico’s article is well worth reading, and he suggests joining with fans from Michigan to protest this potential change. Yes, we may be rivals, but we’ll fight for the right to remain that way.
Seriously, watching this pisses me off
The O-Zone’s Tony Gerdeman also has some suggestions (and a very animated post…)-
I think the saddest part for me in all of this, however, is that Ohio State could stop it if they wanted to.
Remember the power wielded by Texas this spring? If Ohio State was interested in throwing its weight around, they could do so too. Heck, they could get the divisions named after Brutus’ left and right butt cheeks if they wanted to.
But apparently things are going exactly where the university wants them to. And I have no idea why.
Is the severely-off chance that Ohio State and Michigan could meet twice in the same season really worth ignoring the very history that the Big Ten—and every university in it—champions whenever it is convenient to them?
There’s nothing else to talk about. Go write your letters and start your underground fight clubs, folks. It’s the only way we can win this battle.
And finally, Marcus Hartman weighs in-
And that’s why the Big Ten has, in all likelihood, decided to fundamentally alter the way people who care about the rivalry approach and ultimately appreciate it in order to possibly sometimes maybe create a game with more name recognition to sell to everyone else who is otherwise not affected and would probably watch that network that day anyway regardless of the matchup (especially if the ACC championship game is the only alternative).
Yeah, the Big T1e2n should look closely at the ACC and remember that “Championship Games” do not equal “duh awesomz” if you sacrifice conference tradition.
And it’s not just OSU and TSUN fans that have opinions- Penn State fans are also invested in this, although at a different level. At least one blogger thinks the idea of keeping The Game as the central focus for all decisions is short sighted- although, this is coming from a fanbase that has only been in the league for 17 years and hasn’t had a traditional rival in seemingly forever.
For me (and you knew it was coming) it doesn’t make any sense to deprive Michigan of a rematch in 2006 with “who wants to see that again?” logic and then use the potential for a rematch to throw everything that is Big Ten football out the window.
There are two division solutions that seem the most logical; either go geographic (East/West) with OSU/MSU/PSU/UM in the same conference or divide the “powers” (UM/OSU and PSU/UNL). This latter seems to be untenable for PSU fans (again, not certain they’ve been in the conference long enough to have a real say), since their division will probably be mostly teams west of Indianapolis- really far away. Although, this puts “geography” above the other criterion.
The idea of going east/west has two historical precedents- When the SEC moved to 12 teams, there were concerns that the conference would be one sided, as Tennessee and Georgia and Florida were the powers at the time. Since then, though, we’ve seen the resurgence of Alabama, Auburn, and LSU’s two titles. So, the “imbalance” ended up not being an issue.
The example that people are afraid of, though, is the Big 12/10/whatever; They sacrificed the Oklahoma/Nebraska rivalry and ended up without any parity between divisions. However, no one could have anticipated the Callahan debacle in Lincoln, or that Texas Tech would find success under the Pirate Captain.
The Pac 10/12 is also wrestling with this issue as well- the debate there is “do we divide into geographical regions that support our traditions, or do we divide in a way that gives everyone the chance to play in and recruit California?”
My vote is for geography, and Ohio State/Michigan as the last game of the season and for the divisional crown. It’s good to know that I’m not alone in this- according to people who are supposed to be a lot smarter than me–
… put Michigan and Ohio State in the same division and leave their game date as is. A purely geographic divisional split has always made the most sense, even though that would mean placing Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan all in the same division. It keeps schools playing against the most geographically relevant opponents and it’s easily digestible. (Quick, who’s in the haphazard ACC Coastal Division?) The divisions would be reasonably (though not perfectly) balanced, given each school’s performance since the conference expanded to 11 in 1993. Potential Big Ten West teams could make a formidable division of their own.
I also think that, once the expansion stuff has finally settled, much of this debate may be temporary growing pains. A sixteen team conference may (with the addition of the right programs) end up having options that correct this “issue”.
But for now, we need to maintain this as the highlight of the season. Keep THE GAME the same.
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And now, we need your input. tBBC has been approached by a national publication (nope, can’t tell you which one. You’ve heard of it. Trust me.) who’s looking for
… an interesting Buckeye alumni story revolving around the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry that we could publish at the time of this year’s game. For example, perhaps it’s a story about a group of alumni who gather every year to attend the game and have gone to extremes to do so like ride a yak through the Mongolian desert or rowed solo across vast bodies of water; maybe it’s about a rivalry between a group of Ohio State alumni vs. Michigan alumni and the tricks they’ve played on each other over the years; or maybe it’s about a tailgate-BBQ contest that a bunch of alumni hold at the game every year.
Is this you? Has The Game always been an important part of your and/or your family’s life? If so, please email us at thebuckeyebattlecry (at) gmail.com; we’ll forward the best stories onto them. We’ll link to the story when it hits the press, and let you know where you can go to get copies and whatnot.
Given the controversy that exists, this may be one of the best ways to draw attention to the importance of this game; it’s not something that can or should be sacrificed for potential TV revenue.
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