Filed under: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Big Ten

The Big Ten has announced the alignment of its two divisions in football, which will begin once Nebraska enters the conference in 2011-2012 and makes it a 12-team league.

The divisions, as first reported by ESPN’s Andy Katz and later confirmed by the league, are as follows:

o. Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota
o. Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois

Katz reported that the league wanted to preserve a number of “traditional” rivalries, naming, among others Indiana and Illinois. Of course, Michigan and Ohio State are in different divisions — so that doesn’t really seem to add up.

For that issue, the league announced a consistent crossover game in football so that those two rivals will play each other every season.

As far as basketball, the details are still being ironed out. Katz reported the Big Ten could use the divisions and play each divisional opponent twice (a home-and-home) and then each non-divisional opponent in a single game — where each team would get three home and three road games. It’s also a possibility that the league sticks with its current 18-game schedule, which would obviously need some modifications to accommodate Nebraska.

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