Big Ten football: Ohio State's Smith favors Buckeyes, Wolverines in same division

By Bill Rabinowitz

The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday February 12, 2013 5:18 AM

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said yesterday that he is in favor, at least for now, of having the school in the same division as Michigan when the Big Ten reconfigures its alignment in 2014.

?I?m leaning toward that,? Smith said after returning from a Big Ten meeting in Chicago attended by the league?s athletic directors and football coaches. ?It seems to be the best option for us as we go to 14 teams, but I?m going to stay open(-minded) until we get all the information we?re looking for and make sure we do what?s best for the conference.?

Smith said he and Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon have had discussions about what?s best for the rivalry after Maryland and Rutgers join the conference next year. Smith said the Big Ten is leaning toward switching to divisions based primarily on geography. The Legends-Leaders setup was designed with competitive balance as the paramount issue.

Ohio State and Michigan presumably would be placed in the eastern division of the new configuration, along with Penn State, the new schools and two others. With Urban Meyer and Brady Hoke revitalizing the conference?s top two traditional powers, there?s a concern that if they were in separate divisions, Ohio State and Michigan would often face each other in their traditional season-ending game and the Big Ten championship in consecutive weeks.

?If we end up playing twice, how healthy is that?? Smith said.

Smith said the league is trying to decide whether to have a nine- or 10-game league season. The current eight-game setup is virtually sure to end.

The conference also is considering abandoning its ban on playing night games in November, Smith said. Last week, Meyer advocated having more late games because they are more appealing to recruits.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

@brdispatch

Source: http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/02/12/0212-big-ten-divisions.html

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