My Take: Does Jim Delany Own a Globe?

The title pretty much just says it all, but I guess a map of the United States would have worked just as well. To be completely honest the new divisional allignment doesn't make much sense.

In our original reporting we said that the new divisions would have some geographic relationships, but apparently that didn't factor into the decision. If you look at the new divisions Wisconsin will now have to spend almost their whole season away from all but one state that shares a boarder with Wisconsin. No more Minnesota. No more Iowa. No more Northwestern. And we'll even count Michigan and Michigan state because of the upper peninsula.

Instead Wisconsin will get Illinois as the closest division rival in relations to Madison. The Minnesota rivalry may be still garunteed, but the rivalry with Iowa has been ripped apart completely. The Badgers who have a trophy game with the Hawkeyes, will not have another opportunity to play Iowa for the Heartland Trophy until 2012 after this season.

Now Wisconsin will have to play Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Illinois every year. While no one is complaining that the Badgers are guaranteed to play the Buckeyes on a regular basis, the trip to Penn Stat does not make much sense. If you look up the time it takes to drive to State College, Penn. you'll find out that it is just a mere thirteen hours. Not what anybody would consider geographically close.

The arguments about competitive balance are completely legitimate, but at the same point it could have been achieved in a more geographic way. And if you don't beleive that take a look at a globe, or at least buy one for the Big Ten.