Chip Patterson

Posted by Chip Patterson

The addition of Nebraska in 2011 has provided the Big Ten with the opportunity to host its own conference championship game, adding an extra week of premiere Big Ten football and most importantly, a significant spike in revenue for the conference.

While it was initially expected that the announcement will come in mid-September, there is speculation that we could know as soon as Wednesday evening.

The Big Ten Network has scheduled a "live football special" for Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.  It is the belief of some that this will be the announcement of the 2011 divisions.

The most commotion has been caused by the discussion of how to divide the divisions of the new 12-team Big Ten.  Most notably, how the split may affect the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.

There are those that believe the teams should be in the same division, so that their annual matchup will continue to take place in late November, as the last game of the season.  If "The Game" were to be moved any earlier in the season, it would certainly be to the displeasure of many former Buckeyes and Wolverines - many of whom have sounded off publicly on the issue.

Unfortunately, many of the heavy hitters, especially Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, believe that splitting Ohio State and Michigan across the divisions will be better for the cash flow rivalry in the big picture.

"You can make a pretty good argument that Michigan and Ohio State should never be playing for a divisional title," [Delaney] said in explaining why the two rivals would be in different divisions. "If they're going to play, play for the right to go to the Rose Bowl."
Of course, a Buckeyes-Wolverines showdown in the Big Ten championship game has the potential to generate an absurd amount of money for the conference, and as we have clearly seen throughout the last decade with expansion: the name of the game is dollar dollar bills yall.