Minnesota heads to West Division as Big Ten football realignments become official

Starting in 2014, the Minnesota Gophers will be a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. The announcement made by the conference on Sunday would abandon the Leagues and Leaders Divisions that had been in use since 2010.

The division reshuffling is in anticipation of Rutgers and Maryland joining the Big Ten in 2014, which would push the total number of members to 14 schools.

The West Division will be consisted of Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. The East Division will be composed of Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

The realignment is defined by time zones as every school in the East Division will be in the eastern time zone while every school in the West Division will be in the central time zone, all except for Purdue.

Full Press Release from the Big Ten Conference:

"The Big Ten Conference office announced football division alignments set to begin in 2014 and nine-game conference schedules set to start in 2016.  The changes were unanimously recommended by conference directors of athletics and supported by the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors.“Big Ten directors of athletics concluded four months of study and deliberation with unanimous approval of a future football structure that preserved rivalries and created divisions based on their primary principle of East/West geography,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany.  “The directors of athletics also relied on the results of a fan survey commissioned by BTN last December to arrive at their recommendation, which is consistent with the public sentiment expressed in the poll.”The new division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. All schools in the East Division are in the eastern time zone and all schools in the West Division are in the central time zone with the exception of Purdue. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.With the start of the nine-game conference schedule in 2016, teams from the East Division will host five conference home games during even-numbered years, while teams from the West Division will host five conference home games during odd-numbered years. As a result of the nine-game conference schedule and the Big Ten’s schedule rotation, every student-athlete will have the opportunity to play against every other team in the conference at least once during a four-year period. The Big Ten is returning to a nine-game conference schedule for all teams for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons.“Big Ten directors of athletics met in person or by conference call six times from December to March to discuss a new Big Ten football model,” Delany said.  “The level of cooperation and collaboration was reflective of what we’ve come to expect from this group of administrators who have worked extremely well together on a number of complex matters over the past several years.  We are all looking forward to ushering in this new era of Big Ten football.”The Big Ten will hold the 2013 Football Media Days and 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, at the Hilton Chicago, featuring all 12 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players. The 118th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, August 29, and culminates with the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7, to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game."

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