To this day, I don't know which Big Ten team is in which division.
I'm a Big Ten alum and write about college football for a living, but I need to look up whether Ohio State is in the Leaders or Legends every single time. The names have never made sense. They seemed like a bizarre attempt to be different when "east" and "west" or something similarly mundane has been a pretty tried and true formula through the years. The names were an immediate joke, especially on social media.
Well, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN.com on Monday that the conference will consider changing the division names for 2014. It is highly unlikely there would be any rallies to save the names.
"I don't take umbrage to negative reaction," Delany told ESPN.com. "I don't necessarily change when I hear it. I think on the other hand, we said we would test-market it, and we have for a couple of years. We have the opportunity to look at it again."
The inclusion of Rutgers and Maryland into the Big Ten, which has been vilified itself, allows the Big Ten to think about rearranging divisions and coming up with better names. ESPN.com wrote that a decision could be made by June.
Delany said the Big Ten would look into many issues over the next few months, including bowl lineups and branding. Maybe by the end of it, the Big Ten will have division names that don't make us roll our eyes.
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