Divide and Conquer? Can Rivalry Be Preserved in Big Ten Division?

There are few things in sports that should never have been meddled with in order to make a buck. The Rose Bowl, for instance, was once the proudest of bowls. "The Grandaddy of them all" now has that lovely tagline "Presented by Citi." The Orange Bowl is now the property of FedEx, and Nokia owns the Sugar Bowl. For now, at least. You see, that's the problem with money running everything. There's no telling who the sponsor will be in 5-10 years.

Well, once again the almighty dollar is aiming to re-shape proud traditions. This time it has its sights set on some of the oldest rivalries in the Big Ten. Rivalries such as "The Game" (Michigan-Ohio State), Ohio State-Penn State and many others could be at risk of losing their luster with the looming decision regarding Big Ten divisions.

The question is: Can rivalry and tradition be upheld while welcoming the inevitable divisional split of the Big Ten? I, for one, believe it can be done, but not everyone will survive.

(Full Disclosure - I am a Michigan fan, but I will try to remain unbiased.)

Here is one way it could work.

Division Alpha*:

Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana

Division Omega*:

Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern

Why this would work: For one, I think it creates equal divisions strength-wise.  Additionally, each team would be allowed at least one out-of-division rivalry game.  This enables a Michigan-Penn State, a Wisconsin-Minnesota (Oldest Rivalry in FBS), Iowa-Minnesota, or Ohio State-Penn State rivalry to continue unimpeded.

*I chose Alpha and Omega because it would work with a very vague, but effective, slogan for the new Big Ten. "From Beginning to End, You Get More in the New Big Ten."  They could then market the whole "more" idea ("More Rivalries", "More Championships") very effectively, all while devising a way to incorporate XII (or 12) into the Big Ten logo.

What it would look like:

Perhaps, the new logo could look something like this?

Why not? People used to call it the Big Two and Little Eight, why not the Big Ten plus Two? Just as an aside, I'm not a graphic designer by trade, but I think the logo turned out great. Let me know what you think.

The Bottom Line:

Some rivalries should never be touched.  As a Michigan fan, I take the whole week off before every Michigan-Ohio State matchup. I take the time to watch previous games, to plan my viewing party, and to bask in all that is "The Game." The end of November is sacred time to me, and to change that would be sacrilege. The Big Ten can make it work for all the fans, it just needs to think of tradition. Tradition brings loyalty. Loyalty can bring money just as well as sponsors.