Anyone else not thrilled with how these divisions are looking?

[HawkeyeMike23]

I don't look at this just from the perspective of six games. It becomes a guessing game trying to balance these divisions. So why try? A simple east-west split preserves all the traditional rivalries, keeps things simple and gives the divisions instant identity that the Big Ten can market effectively.

For one reason why a straight geogrphical split isn't always the best look at the B12. The divisions basically became separate conferences with none of the B12 South teams really caring about teams in the north. You want fans to care about what is happening in both divisions. What instant idenity do east-west divisions give the B10?

 

[hawkeyemark]

For one reason why a straight geogrphical split isn't always the best look at the B12. The divisions basically became separate conferences with none of the B12 South teams really caring about teams in the north. You want fans to care about what is happening in both divisions. What instant idenity do east-west divisions give the B10?

I actually agree with you about the Big 12. North-South made sense geographically but not competitively. And the Texas teams in that conference pretty much run their own show it seems.

A geographical split in the Big Ten I think makes sense. People get East-West. The SEC fans living here in my area would immediately associate Iowa and Nebraska with the Big Ten West and Ohio State, the Michigan teams, Penn State with the Big Ten East. That works from a marketing perspective. An Iowa-Nebraska showdown for the Big Ten West title sells on the national stage. We went the ACC route with jumbled divisions and I don't think that works as well.