Throughout the day on Tuesday, various reports meandered their way across the vast expanses of the Internet stating that the Big Ten could announce Wednesday night exactly how they will split 12 schools into two six-team divisions.
A report and subsequent confirmation from the conference this afternoon has taken that “could” and trumped it with a “will”.
The Associated Press reported earlier this afternoon that the Big Ten will announce their divisional splits Wednesday night after reaching an agreement on the two divisions earlier in the day. Shortly after the AP’s report, the Big Ten confirmed the announcement will be made tonight.
From the conference’s release:
The Big Ten Conference will announce football division alignments to begin with the 2011 season tonight at 6 p.m. CT. In addition, Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany will be available via teleconference to discuss the announcement at 7 p.m. CT.
The announcement of the divisions will be made on the Big Ten Network.
As to how the divisions might be shaped, there are rumors flying all over the the Internet, with absolutely nothing being confirmed and seemingly conflicting from one piece of speculation to the next.
Perhaps the only agreement from those in a position to be in the know is that Ohio State and Michigan will most certainly be placed in separate divisions, a sure sign that the rumored movement of The Game from the end of the regular season to perhaps as early as late October will indeed take place.
One final time ahead of the announcement, here’s our last best guess as to how the two six-team divisions may look after the announcement tonight:
AVARICE DIVISION Ohio StatePenn StateWisconsinPurdueIllinoisIndiana
GLUTTONY DIVISION MichiganNebraskaIowaNorthwesternMinnesotaMichigan State