Posted on 12/18/2010 7:30:54 PM PST by greatdefender
CHICAGO -- Jim Delany has spent more than two decades as commissioner of the Big Ten, overseeing two conference expansions and the formation of the Big Ten Network.
None of it prepared him for the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the conference's new division names.Delany said during an interview with WGN AM-720 in Chicago on Thursday that the names Legends and Leaders were picked to highlight the conference's rich history, and that "to a great extent it's fallen on deaf ears." Many fans have instead mocked the names and asked officials to reconsider, which Delany said could happen after the first of the year.
"I think we have enough experience with names, and expansion and development of divisions, to know that you never, rarely, get 90 percent approval rating," Delany said during the interview. "But to get a 90 percent non-approval rating was, you know, really surprising."
The league will be split into two divisions beginning next season, when Nebraska becomes the 12th member. The Huskers will be joined by Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa in the Legends Division. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will comprise the Leaders Division.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Embarrassing division names. Also, why not have a conference name that makes sense?
I am 100% Ohio State and big ten fan.....but this leaders and legends name is an absolute disaster! Elitists once again out of touch!
The Big Ten needs to learn to count and swap names with the Big Twelve.
wonder how much the consultants were paid.
I agree. These are crap names. Just terrible.
You might as well name them Dumb and Dumber.
They should name them Vanity and Hubris. LOL
how about a
midwest divison
and a
great lakes division
But even the division line-ups are screwy. What would make sense is East and West (even the time zones would make sense), as follows:
The western six: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois
The eastern six: Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State
The "Big Ten" gets an "F" in Arithmetic and Geography.
That sounds good even if the teams in each division do not necessarily match.
right ! the midwest is close enough to the great lakes.
not as bad as the cowboys being in the NFC east
the big 10 is the big 12. The big 12 is the big 10. After the story breaks on UT maybe 9.
As a Notre Dame alumnus and fan who despises the Big Integer with every fiber of my being, I think the appropriate names would be the “Know Nothing” division and the “Masonic” division.
It is interesting that this league now has two teams with N on their helmets standing for “nowledge”, Nebraska and Northwestern.
“As a Notre Dame alumnus and fan ... “
Your opening statement would be as accurate and more concise if you had said:
“As a crybaby ...”
They should really name the two divisions:
Over-rated
and
Unranked
How ‘bout “SEC Wannabes”.
My sons are both graduating college next year - one from Notre Dame, the other from Ohio State. I'm the referee. :)
Having said that, "Leaders and Legends" sucks as bad as the University of Michigan.
Somebody went overtime putting their liberal arts degrees to use on this one.
Division names should be East/West, to reflect the geographic locations of the schools.
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