Big Ten football coaches and administrators will spend the next two months studying pros and cons.
Fortunately for the league, “pros” does not refer to student-athletes who blow their eligibility by taking cash from agents. And “cons” is not in reference to those who get caught with stolen laptops in the trunk of their car.
These pros and cons are related to Big Ten scheduling.
Specifically, what are the plusses and minuses of switching from an eight-game conference slate to a nine-game model? And do the benefits outweigh the costs of extending the season into the Thanksgiving weekend?
“We need to think through everything,” Northwestern athletic director Mark Murphy said.
Big Ten coaches and athletic directors will discuss the issues during meetings May 16-17 in Chicago. University officials then could act on any recommendations, possibly in time for the 2008 season.
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said a simple 6-5 majority would not be enough to make, what he called, “major changes.”
“If we need to change, there should be a strong desire to change,” said Delany, adding that he senses “momentum” for such moves.
Here are the two major changes being debated, plus a look at the background and the pros and cons:
Adding a ninth league game
Background: Two schools, Michigan and Illinois, actually favor a 10-game conference season, which would provide the ultimate in fairness. Purdue hasn’t had to play Michigan or Ohio State since 2004 (not that it has helped the Boilermakers). Northwestern didn’t play Ohio State when it won the league title in 1995 or when it shared it with the Buckeyes in 1996.
The current eight-game Big Ten schedule allows teams to play four non-conference games. And some of those games are absolute dogs that turn off fans and TV networks.
Northwestern played host to Eastern Michigan and Division I-AA New Hampshire last season. The New Hampshire game wasn’t televised and drew just 20,108 fans to Ryan Field. Maybe that was actually good news because the Wildcats suffered an embarrassing 34-17 loss.
“We all play teams that make a lot of us wonder: Is this really helping us?” Murphy said.
Pros: 1. Fairer way to determine the conference champion; 2. Removing games that turn off the league’s fan base and TV partners.
Cons: 1. Swapping a I-AA opponent for a league game would decrease the Big Ten’s bowl-eligible (six-victory) teams; 2. Some teams would play five league home games, others four; 3. Simple math: 11 x 9 = 99.
Why does that matter? Because if 11 teams play nine league games, the result is an odd number. And that cannot work for scheduling. The solution being discussed is to have the 11th team play eight conference games (and one extra non-conference matchup).
But how would that team be selected? Short answer: By looking at the bottom of the standings from the previous one or two seasons in an effort to avoid affecting the conference race.
“Would that stigmatize that team?” Murphy wondered.
No question it would. This wouldn’t be a perceived slight. It would be a slap in the face.
It’s worth recalling that for years Big Ten teams played an unequal number of conference games. In 1963 Illinois won the league by going 5-1-1. Second-place Michigan State finished 4-1-1.
The next season Michigan (6-1) edged out Ohio State (5-1).
Another problem: A last-to-first turnaround is not impossible.
Northwestern finished 10th in 1994, first in 1995, Illinois tied for last in 2000, then won the league in 2001. Penn State climbed from ninth to a first-place tie from 2004 to 2005.
But wouldn’t that be a better solution than randomly alternating which team would play eight conference games?
“There wouldn’t be a lot of happiness,” Delany said, “if Wisconsin and Northwestern are vying for the championship having played an unequal number of games.”
Extending past Thanksgiving
Background: Why did Michigan and Ohio State get crushed in their bowl games? Some believe they were hurt by long layoffs. USC and Florida played their last regular-season games two weeks after the Wolverines and Buckeyes did.
Stretching the calendar also would restore the off week Big Ten teams lost when they added a 12th regular-season opponent. Illinois coach Ron Zook said having one weekend off is crucial.
“People say, `It’s just a weekend.’ Well, those kids are under unbelievable academic and athletic pressure,” he said. “When you have an open date, you can tell your players two weeks out: `Give me 14 days, guys.’ Then they have a chance to recharge their batteries.”
Pros: 1. Adds an off week; 2. Teams fresher for bowl games; 3. Minimal academic impact for players; 4. TV partners would relish a potential nine-game Big Ten conference schedule stretched over 10 weeks.
Cons: 1. Players and coaches can’t spend Thanksgiving with their families, as has been league tradition.
That said, the Ohio State-Michigan game has been played after Thanksgiving many times, most recently in 2001.
While at Florida, Zook twice coached against Florida State on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
“I tried to talk about this at the Big Ten meetings last year, but I’m a new guy,” he said. “Of course [Michigan’s Lloyd Carr] was against it and I think [Ohio State’s Jim Tressel] was against it.
“Somebody said they did a survey of the players and the players want to be done by Thanksgiving. But if they did it, I think they might find that it’s not hard, it’s not bad and there’s nothing wrong with it. I think they might enjoy it.”
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
