AP sources: Big Ten splits up Mich., Ohio St.; Illinois, NU
PARK RIDGE – Love The Game? Well, Michigan and Ohio State could be playing twice in a season.
Two people familiar with the Big Ten's decision said Wednesday that the league has decided to put Ohio State and Michigan into separate divisions for football, starting next season when it grows to 12 teams.
One person also said Michigan and Ohio State will continue to play each other each year in the regular-season finale, as they have since 1943, meaning they could wind up meeting again for the conference championship.
The alignment also has Northwestern and Illinois in separate divisions.
According to the two people, one six-team division will include Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern, while the other will have Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana.
They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Big Ten had not yet disclosed its decision. An announcement was expected Wednesday evening. The breakdown was first reported by ESPN.com.
Nebraska will join the Big Ten as its 12th team next year, allowing the conference to split into two divisions and add a lucrative championship game. The expansion put the conference in a delicate balancing act, trying to add to its coffers without diminishing its rich traditions, none bigger than Michigan and Ohio State.
It's a rivalry that dates back to 1897 with 106 meetings since, and for nearly seven decades, the final weekend of the conference calendar was sacred territory for Buckeyes and Wolverines fans.
"The Game" has often decided the Big Ten title dating back to when Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes stalked the sideline, and although Michigan's winged helmets and Ohio State's scarlet and gray aren't going away, there is a new twist to the rivalry.
Now that they're in separate divisions, Michigan and Ohio State could meet in back-to-back games with a rematch for the championship.
So how does a possible double dose sound, Wolverines and Buckeyes fans?
Would that add to what is already one of the game's great rivalries or take away some of its win-or-else nature?
Then again, Michigan-Ohio State isn't the only tradition to consider.
Longtime rivals such as Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State, and Purdue and Indiana wound up in the same division, while Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Illinois and Northwestern, were split.
That means there will still be an annual tilt for the Little Brown Jug, which Michigan and Minnesota have been playing for since 1909. And Iowa can still square off each fall with Minnesota for Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze statue of a pig.
But it's not a given that there will be annual battles for the Brass Spittoon (Indiana-Michigan State) or the Governor's Victory Bell (Minnesota-Penn State).
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AP Sports Writers Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Eric Olson in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.
