(01-26-2016 09:58 AM)RutgersGuy Wrote: (01-25-2016 10:03 PM)nzmorange Wrote: (01-25-2016 09:54 PM)billybobby777 Wrote: "I would struggle in giving the B1G divisions, does that mean that they are dysfunctional? No."--??
I can never remember the ACC divisions either. The PAC is easy. The SEC is easy, the Big 12 was easy (when they had 2 divisions) and the Big is super easy. How do you "struggle in giving the Big divisions???? West: The 7 most western teams. East: The 7 most eastern teams. I suppose one could mix up Purdue and Indiana but come on.......
I think that he's saying that he would have a hard time creating balanced divisions with equitable access to recruiting territories, while maintaining historic rivalries.
Having Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State all in one division is a little risky and makes the conference lopsided.
It's not hard, take the 6 most northern schools who have a history together and add in Miami. Then the 7 most southern schools (not counting Miami) who all have historical ties together and BOOM you have 2 divisions that are both balanced and access to Florida recruiting. It makes sense for fans, for the players and the schools. FSU & Miami are permanent rivals and UVA & UNC are permanent rivals. I just solved your issue in two seconds. If UVA doesn't want to play those new schools then why did they invite them into the conference?
Are you counting Louisville as a northern school? Yes the Cards have BE history with Syracuse & Pittsburgh but we were also in the Metro conference with FSU, GT & VT.
Is this what you're suggesting?
North- Miami, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, BC, Louisville, VT & Virginia
South- FSU, Clemson, NC, Duke, NC State, WF, GT
Do you see the problems? You solved nothing. You are leaving out a lot of old rivalries. It's not that Virginia doesn't want to play the northern teams, it's that they want to play their long standing & established rivals. For example, you reestablish NC & WF but you do away with Duke & Virginia. How is this fair to Miami? Their closest division mate is in Virginia, meaning they have to skip the states of Georgia, South Carolina & North Carolina to get there. How does your suggestion speed up the crossover rotation, the biggest complaint? This is something that the B1G & SEC are facing as well.
A good point about the zipper model is that everyone gets into the north, the Carolinas, Virginia & Florida for equal recruiting. The zipper works best for the ACC, maybe it wouldn't work as well for the SEC or B1G but who cares. Perhaps if Rutgers devout as much time to football & basketball as they do worrying about the ACC divisions then they might be able to win a few games a season.