Big Ten Announces Football Divisional Alignments, 2011-2012 Conference Schedules – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office announced football division alignments beginning with the 2011 season as recommended by conference directors of athletics and reviewed and supported by the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors. Nebraska will officially begin conference competition in 2011, giving the Big Ten 12 football programs for the first time in conference history.
The winner of each Big Ten division will meet in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, to be played December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The championship game will determine the Big Ten Champion and the conference’s participant in the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.
The Big Ten football division alignments will include a division featuring Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin, and a division featuring Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. Each school will play the other five schools within its division and will also face three teams from the other division, including one cross-division matchup guaranteed on an annual basis. The guaranteed cross-division matchups are Illinois-Northwestern, Indiana-Michigan State, Ohio State-Michigan, Penn State-Nebraska, Purdue-Iowa and Wisconsin-Minnesota. Names for each Big Ten football division will be announced at a later date.
“Over the past several months, Big Ten staff and directors of athletics have met on several occasions to discuss and finalize division alignments,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “We focused on competitive equality, traditional rivalries and geography. We considered multiple models and countless permutations in an effort to achieve the most competitively balanced divisions while at the same time respecting our traditions, preserving existing rivalries, and creating opportunities for the establishment and growth of new rivalries. We have listened to the feedback from our institutions, alumni and fans, and while we understand that no final alignments could possibly satisfy all of our constituents, we believe that we have achieved a very exciting result.”
With the division alignments finalized, the Big Ten also announced updated conference schedules for the 2011 and 2012 football seasons. The 2011 and 2012 intraconference schedules are attached as PDFs.
The 115th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, Sept. 2, as Indiana hosts Towson, Minnesota plays at Middle Tennessee State, and Ohio State welcomes Marshall. The conference’s other eight teams open action on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Big Ten Divisions
Ohio State
Illinois
Indiana
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
2011 Schedule
September
3 Akron
10 Toledo
17 @ Miami, FL
24 Colorado
October
1 Michigan State
8 @ Nebraska
15 @ Illinois
22 BYE
29 Wisconsin
November
5 Indiana
12 @ Purdue
19 Penn State
26 @ Michigan
December
3 Big Ten Championship Game
2012 Schedule
September
1 Miami, Ohio
8 Cincinnati
15 California-Berkley
22 Alabama-Birmingham
29 @ Michigan State
October
6 Nebraska
13 @ Indiana
20 Purdue
27 @ Penn State
November
3 Illinois
10 BYE
17 @ Wisconsin
24 Michigan
