Minnesota athletic director pleads for Big Ten scheduling to preserve rivalries

The Big Ten Conference continues to meet over possibly removing divisions and reworking scheduling, along with the rest of college football. As the NCAA and college football at large continues discussions on removing divisional requirements from their schedules, the Big Ten may be following suit. The goal with conferences who wish to make the change is to have the divisional requirements removed as early as the 2023 season.

Big Ten scheduling concerns

Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle is among those who are wary of the change, indicating that he wants the conference to preserve their existing rivalries. The new schedule would inevitably require a major overhaul to existing schedule methods, potentially at the cost of some key rivalry games.

“Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle, speaking at B1G meetings, says the division/no-divisions discussion continues in football,” said ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

“Whatever we end up doing, I just hope we protect those rivalries, because that’s a big part of who we are and what we’re about,” said Coyle via Rittenberg.

One major way this would benefit the conference is when looking at the Big Ten Championship game. Last season, Michigan and Ohio State would have been able to play each other for the conference title under the proposed new scheduling.

Adam Rittenberg on future of NCAA football

Rittenberg recently spoke on the Paul Finebaum Show about the growing possibility of college football separating from the NCAA. According to Rittenberg, the Power 5 conferences and the FBS at large are continuing to explore options of self-governance for football — independent of the NCAA rules and structure.

“I think we’re closer and closer to Power 5 leagues, if not all of the FBS, breaking away and self-governing in a different way,” said Rittenberg. “Not being under this NCAA umbrella in terms of making rules, making policies. There’s a real level of frustration and a motivation to do something differently.”

The idea of having college sports leave the NCAA umbrella has grown in popularity quickly over the offseason, as the success of the College Football Playoff system has appeared as an alternative for proponents of the change. This, combined with the rapidly changing landscape of NIL deals and the NCAA Transfer Portal, have made many programs push for quicker rule changes and better enforcement of those rules by the NCAA.