Ohio State-Michigan game to be moved to the first Thursday in October.

[Condem]

I guess it ain't the Big Two-Little Eight anymore, is it?? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5493560

[happyiowan]

1. But, but, but, but...

oh nevermind.

At least I learned one interesting thing. The Iowa-Minnesota rivalry is older than Michigan-OSU, who knew?

[Poiuyt]

2. I think the Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry is the oldest in Div.1A football

They used to play for the Slab of Bacon award, but now play for Paul Bunyun's ax

[JonLP24]

14. 1890

which is among the earliest when it comes to the year when they first played each other. The earliest year I could find for a first game in a div. 1 rivalry game is 1887-Michigan vs Notre Dame.

On edit-The Michigan-Ohio St rivalry is older than the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry by 6 years.

[caraher]

3. Article doesn't say that...

Just that it will probably move.

But one thing that I thought was crazy - not moving the games, but doing the divisional split based on "competitive balance." The trouble is that these days which teams are "competitive" changes faster than divisional alignments ever will.

Maintain as many "rivalry" games as possible, keep a reasonable geographic balance, and let the relative strengths of the divisions ebb and flow as they must.

[Condem]

5. No, it doesn't , caraher.

But transcripts of some conversations of Delaney with Dave Revsine of the BTN will be released in the very near future. Part of it: "That
bitch-rod has sank that program. Indiana-Illinois is more fucking popular now. Move that fucking game to Thursday night. Yeah. The first one in
October. Put it on BTN. At the very fucking least, the Buckeye fans will watch." Wow. Just incredible.

[LisaM]

4. Delaney is such a jerk

I read his interview. Of course, he's basically proved to be a pathological liar (we're just looking at expansion! We're just thinking about dividing the conference!), so there's no reason to believe a word he says, but he actually has the freaking NERVE to mention the loss of the Nebraska/Oklahoma game and how that was bad for college football.

Well YEAH. And you're going to make it worse, you stupid lying freak.

[madinmaryland]

11. +1 brazillion.

[El Supremo]

6. They'll never move the Texas/OU game.

From during the biggest State Fair at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park.

[happyiowan]

7. My father often tells me...

to never say never. Or something like that. Secretly, El, I hope they don't, but never is such a very long time.

[El Supremo]

8. Aw, I'm not trying to bait you.

I am building for a great punchout of Condem.

[caraher]

9. Ugh

So why be commissioner of a conference if you don't give a crap about the things that its fans value? Homogenize things enough and why should I watch the Big Ten (or whatever number we should be using now) rather than even, say, the MAC?

Oh yeah. Money. It's amazing how consistently it turns out that when pure profit becomes the overriding consideration, loss of value seems to follow almost immediately? (see: the banksters, corporations that pay management consultants to sack their workers, etc.)

[LisaM]

17. He has no real connection to the conference

He's a UNC guy, and it shows.

[madinmaryland]

10. Only a douchebag would be excited by this. Fuck Delany.

Fucking shits are trying to make this like NASCAR and having your biggest event sometime early in the season.

FUCKING, FUCKING, FUCKERS.

[LisaM]

19. Boy do we agree

I've contacted the conference. I guess my next step is to do it again, and call the Michigan Athletic Department. I look for you to take steps on your end!

[madinmaryland]

21. Heh! I think Jim Tressel is doing it for Michigan since he owns them!

:hide:

[Condem]

12. Here's the interview with Delaney.

Says that eventually Rutgers-Penn State should replace the rivalry of Michigan-Ohio State http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/25089/jim-delany-talks-michigan-ohio-state

[Upton]

13. From reading the article

this isn't official yet. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to get these two boring teams and their media trumped up rivalry out of the way early..

[1gobluedem]

15. It's not a media rivalry, Upton

It dates back to Ohio denying Michigan's petition for statehood in 1836 (until Michigan ceded Toledo, ha, ha, ha...). The two states loathe each other and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry grew out of that. Ohio State has dominated in the past few years, just as Michigan did in the 90s but it's fierce, ongoing, and year round. I just got back from a breakfast where one of the topics of conversations was that if a bunch of cars are going 75 in a 65 mph zone in Ohio and ONE has a Michigan license plate, that car will be the one that's pulled over.

Not a media rivalry, not by a long shot.

[madinmaryland]

23. You got that right!

I remember driving back from Connecticut in the early 80's to a UM/OSU game with a Michigan Alum. My car still had Ohio tags on it. I was concerned the car would get torched, but fortunately, it was not.

[TZ]

16. Definitely not a media built up rivalry

I'm a native of Ohio and let me tell you the hatred of ALL things Michigan in that state extends even to people who aren't huge football fans. A relative of mine horrified a bunch of family members (in the 60's) when he went from doing his undergraduate work at Ohio State to doing his doctoral work at Michigan....

[LisaM]

18. Not a media rivalry

I was at a party a number of years ago, and my friend's MOTHER sang, "we don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan" in the middle of the party - in Seattle - and she said they used to sing it in their second-grade class, and they all loved being able to say "damn" in school!!!!

She would have gone to elementary school in, probably, the 1950s.

The rivalry runs deep. They really do stop Michigan cars if they can. I've known a lot of people who were pulled over with their Michigan plates.

In fact, our whole family is conditioned not to spend money there unless we have to. We wait until we cross the border one way or another. :)

[Capt. America]

24. I live in Ohio and TRUST ME it is not a media-hyped rivalry. Michigan Week is real. I know alumni

who paint their storefronts with "Beat Michigan". I work with a woman in her 50s whose mother went to Ohio State in the 1930s who would sing her a song AS A CHILD about a mother's deathbed request to make sure that her son did not attend Michigan.

[Condem]

20. Wisconsin and Iowa split...

..Barry says so. http://host.madison.com/sports/college/football/article_dd73bde0-b0a6-11df-9eaf-001cc4c002e0.html

[Condem]

22. This is getting mighty interesting...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0826-big-ten-jim-delany--20100825,0,2387947.story If Michigan and Ohio State split, who goes east? Wisconsin or Iowa?