Big Ten Scheduling

The Big Ten is moving to a 9- or 10-game conference schedule, and has agreed to eliminate scheduling I-AA teams.

"As a conference we want to play each other more, not less, and an increase in the number of games will help accomplish that goal." -- Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany

"So we've made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools." -- Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez

I think more than anything the Big Ten's decisions are again driven by television. Conference match-ups theoretically draw a bigger audience, and make for a "better" game, especially when you consider that they would replace a I-AA team and/or non-Power-5 school. More appealing games for television, a bigger pool of games to broadcast on the B1G Network—which just recently expanded to include two new large markets. This is how Jim Delany is printing money.

The ACC had voted to move from an 8- to 9-game conference schedule, but reverted to 8 games after the Notre Dame partnership was announced. The league's decision makers are trying to put a network together, my guess is it will ultimately include an expanded conference schedule.