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Paul Sullivan: The Big Ten really is a misnomer, so it’s time for a name change after the conference bent its rules for Ohio State
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune
Fri, December 11, 2020, 4:30 AM CST
CHICAGO — After an emergency meeting of Big Ten presidents, chancellors and athletic directors, a decision has been reached on a name change for the prestigious conference.
Beginning Dec. 19, the Big Ten officially will become the Big One.
The new name will go into effect with the kickoff off the inaugural Big One Championship Game between Ohio State and Northwestern in Indianapolis. A new logo will be unveiled at halftime by ESPN analysts Joey Galloway and Kirk Herbstreit on the newly rechristened Big One Network.
“This was a difficult decision but the only one that really made sense,” the conference said in a statement. “Though the Big Ten has a proud history dating to 1896, it has become apparent only one university matters, and we all know which one that is.”
The resolution passed by a 13-1 vote, with Michigan the only school voting against the change.
“On behalf of the Ohio State University, the players, all those associated with the football program and our fans, I am appreciative of our Big One Conference colleagues for stating the obvious,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said in a statement. “All Big One schools are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
It has been quite a year for the Big One, starting in August when the former Big Ten Conference announced it would postpone the fall football season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote by presidents and chancellors to postpone was 11-3, with Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa voting to proceed.
Ohio State was not allowed to enter the NFL, and student-athletes from the football team were forced — unfairly — to concentrate on being students only.
But on Sept. 16, after turning on their TVs and seeing the ACC, SEC and Big 12 proceed with revised football schedules, Big Ten presidents and chancellors abruptly changed course, voting unanimously to proceed with a conference-only, eight-game schedule and a mandatory six games necessary to qualify for the championship game.
Ohio State went 5-0, beating Indiana and four other schools who have an 8-18 record. But when Michigan was forced to cancel Saturday’s game because of a COVID-19 outbreak, the conference had little choice but to change the rules to benefit the only team in the conference that matters.
Had Ohio State been denied a spot in the title game as the East Division winner, the conference would have been forced to send Indiana, the second-place team, to face Northwestern. No one outside Indiana wanted to see the Hoosiers in a conference championship game that did not involve a round ball, so the rule was changed 10 days before the game.
“A Big Ten championship game without Ohio State is like a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese,” a Big One source said. “It’s still a sandwich, but it’s inedible.”
Without a conference championship under its belt, Ohio State might not have been able to convince the College Football Playoff committee to award the Buckeyes a spot in the playoffs. The $6 million payout that would go to the conference and be distributed among the 14 schools would be reduced to, well, zero.
Not that it’s about the money, of course. It’s about the principle.
Rules are made to be broken, especially if those rules are harmful to Ohio State’s chances of fulfilling its destiny.
But the conference name change is just the beginning, according to Big One sources.
Here are a few other changes expected to be in place in time for next week’s title game:
— If Ohio State wins the coin flip, it will not have to defer to the second half.
This will ensure the Buckeyes’ potent offense is on the field to start both halves and their suspect secondary gets some rest. It also will increase Justin Fields’ Heisman Trophy chances.
— Hate Michigan Week is rescheduled.
With “The Game” not being played for the first time since 1917, Ohio State will reschedule Hate Michigan Week to Dec. 13-19, leading into the Northwestern game. While few if any Buckeyes fans actually hate Northwestern, they don’t want to wait another year to celebrate hating Michigan, especially with coach Jim Harbaugh’s fate uncertain.
— Northwestern will use Rece Davis as a starting wideout.
The Wildcats made a big deal of Galloway’s snarky comment that Northwestern is a bunch of Rece Davises, referring to his ESPN colleague. In order to maintain viewership in what’s expected to be a blowout, the Big One will grant Northwestern a special exemption allowing Davis a roster spot as long as he’s accepted into the Medill School of Journalism.
There might be more changes in store as Big One honchos confer this week to map out the future of the conference, which may or may not include permanently switching the site of the championship game to the Horseshoe.
As usual, all decisions are subject to change.
Got a huge kick out of this.
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