Big Ten Football: Legends and Leaders To Stay Through 2011

There was a public outcry after the Big Ten's new division-names and the new division logo were released last month.

Commissioner Jim Delany had a somewhat surprising, public reaction to said outcry. In a radio interview, he said:

"We've had enough experience with names and expansion and development of divisions that we know that you rarely get a 90 percent approval rating. But to get a 90 percent non-approval rating was really surprising. It showed that we didn’t connect with our fans in a way that we wanted to. It’s humbling, to say the least, because we’re trying to build fan bases, not push them away."

He further commented, "I've been around this business a long time, and I would say it’s one of the more surprising things. There’s a sensibility there that we did not connect with, did not read well."

What I was left to wonder is: Who is the Big Ten employing to scout this stuff?

After all, it goes without saying that they spent at least five, if not six figures putting together their new logo.

They spent the same amount in researching the names "Leaders" and "Legends."

Yet, the aforementioned 90-percent disapproval rating, while possibly a bit hyperbolic, is still probably not that far from the truth.

After all, have you come across anybody that actually likes the division names or the new logo? About the best I've come across is indifference.

Regardless, on Thursday, the conference compounded its woes by announcing the division names would stay the same through 2011. Knowing the way the Big Ten works, that basically means that they expect everything to blow over, with everybody eventually getting used to the Disney-esque names and the teal-colored brand.

Incidentally, my 13 year old niece just had her room painted teal, so I can only assume the Big Ten is specifically targeting the Taylor Swift/Twilight crowd.

Nevertheless, as ESPN blogger Adam Rittenberg correctly pointed out: "Division names really aren't all that important. It's much more important which teams are in what divisions."

However, let's face it, in this world of immediate feedback and interactive everything, the Big Ten really dropped the ball, leaving one to wonder who is running this multimillion dollar corporation (yes, it is a corporation).

And if you need further proof of the conference's mismanagement, Mycroburst.com offered a "redesign the Big Ten logo challenge."

In just over two weeks of competition, every single proposed design put the new official logo to shame.

Furthermore, these designs were done by people that may or may not be amateurs, but were not getting paid by the Big Ten.

In closing, if you're reading this Jim Delany, the future is in being interactive. Don't waste your money on big PR and design firms—just ask the fans directly.

They'll do all the work, make you look good and save you a pretty penny in the process.