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CHICAGO -- Despite a few speed bumps, the Big Ten/Pac-12 scheduling partnership is "a go," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told his league's athletic directors this week.

The details are still being worked out, which isn't a surprise when you have 24 major-conference programs with unique interests, scheduling philosophies and scheduling agreements. But Delany hopes to have a more specific idea of the scheduling models in the next few months.

"We do want it all fit in," Delany said Wednesday. "Whether that means you have 12 games or 11 games or 10 games in the first cycle ... we're going to want 12 games ASAP. A lot of scheduling has been done in other nonconference areas that's reliant on this."

The original goal was to have a full round-robin schedule by 2017, but it could be wishful thinking. Ohio State, for example, has games scheduled with both Oklahoma and North Carolina, and athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN.com last month that he wouldn't add a Pac-12 opponent to the slate in 2017. Pac-12 teams have their own issues, namely a nine-game conference schedule -- as opposed to eight in the Big Ten -- and long-term agreements with teams like Notre Dame (USC, Stanford).

The partnership eventually will feature six home-and-home series, but it might not be complete until after 2017.

The scheduling process will be a "hybrid" effort between the schools and the two league offices. Big Ten and Pac-12 teams are facing one another with more frequency in the coming years -- three matchups take place this fall -- and some series are already set for 2017 and beyond. Northwestern and Stanford, for example, have a four-game series set for 2019-22.

Big Ten senior associate commissioner for television administration Mark Rudner and Pac-12 deputy commissioner Kevin Weiberg, are overseeing the scheduling elements.

"We may have to do less," Delany said, referring to the league. "In other words, if there are three or four games [set] in '17, '18, '19 and '20, maybe the conference will only have to come in and pick seven or eight other games."

Before announcing the Pac-12 partnership, the Big Ten had approved a nine-game conference schedule, supporting Delany's frequent statement that league teams should play one another more, not less. But the Big Ten decided to stay at eight league games because of the Pac-12 agreement.

"On balance, it's a close call," Delany said. "But in the nine-game conference schedule, who you don't play was one factor, but the other fact was five home games, four away. If you can create a situation where you improve your schedules, you improve the fan experience, you improve the games that are going on television without affecting the home/away segment inside of the conference, [it] was the preferred method. If we hadn't done the collaboration, we'd do nine [league games]. If we do the collaboration, we'll do eight.

"We're able to attract a higher-quality of game."

One potential concern is how the scheduling partnership will impact teams' other nonconference agreements. Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke has made it clear he wants to keep the annual Notre Dame series going as long as possible, and added that the Boilers have played Notre Dame and a Pac-12 team (Oregon, Arizona) in the same season before.

"It adds some name recognition to your schedules in September," Burke said. "Working together, we can try to get the programs in comparable stages of development, to compete against one another so we don't have an imbalance. It's not easy to do that, but that's something to work toward."

When the Big Ten football coaches gathered in Chicago for a meeting earlier this month, Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald looked over to Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and joked, "Which one of us is the old man now?"

Fitzgerald was struck by the notion that at age 37, heading into his seventh year as the Wildcats' head man, he is now the second-longest-tenured coach in the league. That shows how much change the conference has experienced the past two years -- and illustrates why this spring looms as an important time for many of its teams.

Three schools -- Ohio State, Penn State and Illinois -- hired new permanent head coaches this offseason, following the three that did so last year (Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota). Add in Nebraska, and seven of the 12 Big Ten teams have coaches either in their first or second year of competing in the conference.

"That's unprecedented," said Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner, who has worked for the league since 1979 and currently serves as the football coaches' liaison to the conference. "It's a whole new world."

The Big Ten used to be known as a collection of icons, the league of Woody and Bo and larger-than-life coaches. No school is less familiar with change than Penn State, which will begin a season without Joe Paterno as head coach for the first time since 1966.

All the new personalities lead some to wonder if the Big Ten will maintain its identity and culture. Already, new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has made waves with some aggressive recruiting tactics, leading Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema to criticize Meyer and caution that the Big Ten does not want to become a northern version of the SEC.

Meyer and Bielema met to hash out their differences in that coaches' meeting earlier this month. Rudner took it as a positive sign that 11 of the 12 coaches attended what was a voluntary gathering just two days after signing day. The only coach who didn't attend, Penn State's Bill O'Brien, was preparing to coach in the Super Bowl.

"Everybody seems willing to throw in with everybody else, so hopefully that will make for a lot smoother transition," Rudner said.

Transition will be the main buzzword thrown around most campuses when spring practice begins in early March.

Meyer will install the offensive system that helped the Florida Gators win two national titles as the Buckeyes begin their quest to regain Big Ten supremacy -- after the 2012 bowl ban expires, of course. Illinois is switching to a full-fledged spread attack under new coach Tim Beckman, himself a former Meyer assistant.

Jerry Kill at Minnesota and Kevin Wilson at Indiana will seek better things after disappointing first seasons, and each has brought in some junior college players to try to fill holes on the roster. Michigan won the Sugar Bowl in Brady Hoke's first year but still wants to move toward more of a pro-style offense, as long as it doesn't restrict the talents of QB Denard Robinson. Nebraska had its share of successes and setbacks in its first season of Big Ten play and now has a better idea of what it takes to compete in the league. The Huskers need to get stronger on defense but will have to do so without departed stars Lavonte David, Alfonzo Dennard and Jared Crick.

Even some of the most stable programs weren't immune to change. Wisconsin, which has gone to back-to-back Rose Bowls, lost most of its offensive staff when coordinator Paul Chryst went to Pitt and took several assistants with him. Purdue coach Danny Hope wasn't satisfied with making the program's first bowl since 2007 and reorganized his defensive staff. And as Big Ten dean Ferentz enters his 14th season at Iowa, he'll do so for the first time without defensive coordinator Norm Parker (who retired) or offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe (who left for the Miami Dolphins).

"We probably cheated time here a little bit," Ferentz said.

Some veteran staffs stayed intact, such as Northwestern and Michigan State. The Spartans figure to make another run at a Legends Division title if they can adequately replace QB Kirk Cousins, All-American defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and their top three receivers.

"Players just want to have consistency in vision and consistency in expectations," Fitzgerald said. "When you've had a position coach for four straight years, you know what to expect, and there's something to be said for that.

"At the same time, when there's change, there's a newfound sense of urgency. Our big challenge is making sure our guys don't feel like we're Charlie Brown's teacher going, 'Wah-wah-wah-wah,' and start getting bored."

There's nothing boring about the transition at Penn State. Paterno's reign came crashing down in shocking, controversial fashion before he passed away in January. For the first time in decades, the Nittany Lions will have several new assistant coaches, not to mention a new style of offense and leadership under O'Brien. Players can already see the differences in winter conditioning.

"There's a lot of excitement around here right now," linebacker Michael Mauti said. "It's just a whole new way of doing things."

They'll be saying that on a lot of Big Ten campuses this spring.

CHICAGO -- The 2011 Big Ten spring meetings are in the books at the antiquated Palmer House Hilton.

There wasn't a lot of major news coming out of the meetings, although league officials, athletic directors, coaches and faculty representatives discussed many topics during the three days. Nebraska officials were on hand, and while the school doesn't become an official voting member until it enters the league July 1, folks like AD Tom Osborne played an active role in the meetings.

Let's take a look back at some nuggets coming out of the Palmer House:

No resolution on nine-game conference schedule

Despite a lot of discussion, the league had no definitive answer on if and when it will implement a nine-game conference schedule. Athletic directors approved the nine-game schedule in February, but the vote was taken with the knowledge that further talks would take place.

Commissioner Jim Delany reiterated Tuesday that the biggest factor toward cementing a nine-game conference schedule is ensuring most league members will have at least seven home games per season. Coaches weighed in on the debate this week and while most if not all of them would rather have the schedule remain at eight league games, they know the decision ultimately rests with others.

"The onus is back on us," Delany said, referring to his staff. "We've got some scheduling information in the out years. We've got to be able to put that together in a way so all 12 athletic directors, they can get seven [home] games."

The general feeling coming out of the meetings is this: The nine-game schedule remains a strong possibility but not until the 2017 season at the earliest.

"I've gone from the eight-game philosophy to the nine-game philosophy because it benefits the entire conference," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said. "Selfishly, for Ohio State, the eight-game [schedule] is better financially for us. But for the overall health of the league, it's better to go nine as long as we have time to transition into that."

Recruiting issues

One of the issues Big Ten coaches discussed this week was the rise of traveling 7-on-7 high school all-star teams. Coaches are concerned about the increasing influence on recruits by people outside of their high school coaches and don't want their sport to end up like basketball, where AAU teams often take precedence.

"We signed a tight end from Dallas who played with another guy from Kentucky and this guy on those teams," Michigan coach Brady Hoke said. "I understand that because of the skill development and, I guess, the showcasing or whatever. But at the same time, you want them to be with their high school. It would be like if our guys were getting with a bunch of guys from somewhere and doing 7-on-7 without us being there."

For similar reasons, Hoke says he is against an early signing day in college football, even though he has racked up a lot of early commitments so far with the Wolverines.

"I want kids to enjoy their high schools and play for their high school teams," he said. "The whole process is getting pushed more. If you don't push the process, you may lose out on some guys. We're all doing it. I always worry about maybe a kid getting distracted and not being focused on what's important, which is his teammates and his high school where he's playing."

Wisconsin gears up for spotlight

Wisconsin will play make four ABC/ESPN primetime appearances this fall, more than any other Big Ten team. Coach Bret Bielema joked that while he had a good idea about Wisconsin's two primetime home games (UNLV and Nebraska), he didn't know his team would be playing back-to-back night games on the road (Oct. 22 at Michigan State, Oct. 29 at Ohio State).

Despite the late October challenges, Bielema appreciates the national exposure and so do his players.

"A couple kids texted me and commented on the exposure we're going to be able to have," Bielema said. "It makes everybody excited."

Final nuggets

• Coaches can't publicly discuss potential transfers, but there's some mutual interest between Wisconsin and NC State quarterback Russell Wilson. While the SEC still appears to be the likeliest destination for Wilson, don't count out the Badgers, who might be a quarterback away from another Big Ten title.
• Michigan will host its first night game in team history Sept. 10 against Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium. Hoke called the Notre Dame game "a special one," and while he's used to plenty of night games from his time at both Ball State and San Diego State, he prefers noon kickoffs. "I hope not to play a bunch of 'em," he said, "but we're going to play them, so you just adjust." One game Hoke doesn't envision ever moving to prime time is Michigan-Ohio State. "No, not that one," he said, smiling.
• Big Ten senior associate commissioner for television administration Mark Rudner said the league has no plans to move games to Sundays this fall if the NFL lockout is still ongoing. He also said that while some Saturday kickoff times could be moved around, most Big Ten non-primetime game will begin at noon ET or 3:30 p.m. ET.
• League officials said the decision of whether to put a rivalry trophy at stake in the Big Ten championship game rests with the respective schools. For example, rivals Iowa and Wisconsin don't play during the regular season but could decide to put the Heartland Trophy on the line if they clash Dec. 3 in the Big Ten title game.

The Big Ten spring meetings are here, as league officials, administrators and coaches gather Monday through Wednesday at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

The site of this year’s meetings has a historical connection, as the Big Ten was founded at the Palmer House in 1896. I think Joe Paterno was entering his 12th season as Penn State’s coach. I kid, I kid.

I will be on hand throughout the meetings. Although this year’s spring session shouldn't resemble the chaos of 2010, when realignment was the rage and Nebraska's arrival was just around the corner, there could be some important news coming out of Chi-Town.

Here's a look at some things to know heading into the spring meetings:

Nine-game discussion

Big Ten athletic directors and coaches will continue discussing whether to add a ninth conference game to the schedule, and a resolution is possible this week. Commissioner Jim Delany first broached the possibility of a ninth game at media days last summer and indicated that it could happen several years down the line.

The momentum seems to have slowed a bit, but the conference schedule structure will be a main item on the agenda this week. Big Ten officials will present financial models of nine games versus eight games to the ADs. The Big Ten schedules are set through 2014, so the 2015 season is the earliest a nine-game schedule can go into effect.

"I think we'll finally get a resolution to it after all this time of talking about it," Big Ten senior associate commissioner for television administration Mark Rudner, who oversees the schedule, told ESPN.com.

If the schedule issue does go to a vote, Rudner expects a large degree of agreement one way or the other.

"I don't think we’ll get a 6-6 vote," he said. "I don't think we’ll get a 7-5 vote. You'd like to have a strong majority favor one format over another. There’s a great deal of interest in looking at it and getting it resolved once and for all. They need to move on with their nonconference scheduling."

Division tiebreakers

In announcing the new divisions, the Big Ten outlined its basic tiebreakers for determining division champions: head-to-head record, conference record, record within the division and BCS ranking. But the league still must finalize some of its more complex tiebreakers, and the discussion will continue this week.

Why is this a huge issue? Just look to the 2010 season, when three teams finished atop the Big Ten at 11-1. Because Ohio State and Michigan State didn't play, the ultimate tiebreaker was highest rating in the final BCS standings. Wisconsin held the distinction despite its loss to Michigan State. The Spartans ended up being left out of the BCS bowl mix. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said he was the only Big Ten coach to vote against using the BCS standings as a tiebreaker.

The head-to-head tiebreaker will prevent any two-team ties within a division. But what if there's a three-way tie and each team boasts a 1-1 record against the others? Could the BCS standings once again break the tie? I'd imagine there will be some resistance to this, and the discussion this week should be interesting.

"There's a lot they [the coaches] can use,” Rudner said.

Future championship game sites

The inaugural Big Ten football championship takes place Dec. 3 at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium. The league still is in the process of determining championship sites for 2012 and beyond.

Big Ten deputy commissioner Brad Traviolia said the league began its evaluation of potential future sites this winter and wants to make a decision by early summer. The league is evaluating football sites as well as sites for the men's and women's basketball tournaments, which enter the final year of a deal with Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse.

Although Traviolia declined to reveal many details of the evaluation process, he said, "There's a general excitement over a new premier event. The buzz is great."

Expect the Big Ten to announce a multiyear plan for sites this summer, but the league is flexible with length of term and could use a rotation for all three championship events.

"We're open to any possibility," Traviolia said. "If there was a foolproof method of hosting a successful conference championship game and it would work well no matter what area of the country you're in or what the economic environment you're in, we'd sign up. But there are different schools of thought, whether you park it one place, whether you rotate it around.

"You take a look a the pros and cons of what's in front of you and you make a choice."

Because of scheduling and the advance planning needed to produce the football championship game, the Big Ten can't wait until after the 2011 event at Lucas Oil to determine sites for 2012 and beyond, Traviolia said.

Big Ten presidents and chancellors have the ultimate say on future championship sites, but the topic will come up this week with coaches and administrators. Athletic directors ultimately will recommend sites to their presidents or chancellors.

"The coaches and the administrators have very important opinions that need to be included in the process," Traviolia said.

Coaches' meeting

The football coaches will gather Tuesday morning for their first meeting, which will be held in executive session without any league officials. Dantonio is the chair of the coaches' group and will lead the meeting.

Four new coaches will be in attendance: Michigan's Brady Hoke, Indiana's Kevin Wilson, Minnesota's Jerry Kill and Nebraska's Bo Pelini.

"They need some time together alone to sit across the table and communicate," Rudner said. "Our approach has always been, 'No surprises.' Don't leave anything off the table. Get it out in the open. Let's make sure we're communicating efficiently. And it makes a difference, it really does."

Rudner expects the coaches to discuss recruiting issues, including the possibility of an early signing date (which many Big Ten coaches want). Other topics include agents, freshman eligibility issues, the rise of 7-on-7 teams and gambling awareness initiatives. Delany will present the coaches and ADs with a report on the BCS and the Big Ten's bowls, and coordinator of football officials Bill Carollo will update the coaches on rules changes and the officiating training program.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the spring meetings throughout the week.

My inbox has filled up with proposals for Big Ten divisions from the moment the blog network launched in July 2008.

Turns out, Big Ten fans aren't the only ones getting an early start on the tall task of splitting up the league.

When Big Ten athletic directors gathered in Chicago for their spring meetings in May, they looked at different models for division alignment. Nebraska had been discussed as an expansion candidate, but the ADs didn't anticipate any imminent action, so they played around with the divisions without knowing the potential addition or additions to the league.

"We didn’t have names, but we talked about different ways you could do it, depending on the size of the conference," Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke said.

Now that Nebraska is joining the league in 2011, the process has accelerated.

The Big Ten athletic directors received a memo this week from league commissioner Jim Delany, outlining the priorities and the process for determining divisions. Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner and others are spearheading the project, and will present data to the athletic directors when they gather in Chicago for the Big Ten's media days and kickoff luncheon Aug. 2-3.

A resolution should come shortly after, especially because of the need to sort out future schedules.

"I believe the divisional makeup will be done by the beginning of the academic year," Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi said, "and the schedule will follow shortly thereafter because we all want to know where we’re playing and when. I don’t see this being as big an issue as some people have made it. Maybe I’ll be surprised at that, but I do believe we'll come to a conclusion relatively quickly."

Maturi is confident in a group of ADs who have made tough decisions before. The fact that they got a jump start on the process in May also helps.

"We weren’t sure how the expansion thing was going to pan out, but we did talk about the notion that geography doesn't always work," Burke said. "The one thing we talked about, and it’s actually in our bylaws, is comparative parity. You have to make sure you protect the rivalries as best you can, and I think we’ll be able to do that, but you don’t want either of these divisions to be imbalanced."

Burke added that divisions likely would be necessary only in football, which lacks a conference tournament like the other sports. So the concerns about non-revenue sports travel aren't valid because their scheduling format won't change much.

Many Big Ten fans favor a geographical split down the Illinois-Indiana border. They think it maintains competitive balance, preserves longstanding rivalries and limits travel to many of the road games.

"That’s just the easy thing to do, just draw a line and divide it up geographically," Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said. "I don’t know if that’s necessarily the best way. Competitive equality in both divisions is important."

How do you assess competitive balance? Traditional power Michigan is at its lowest point in 45 years, while Wisconsin certainly isn't the sputtering program that Alvarez took over as head coach in 1990. Minnesota is no longer winning national titles, while Northwestern hasn't been the league's doormat for 15 years.

How far back should the ADs go to evaluate programs?

"You have to look with a wide lens," Burke said. "You have to look over a 50-year period and look at who’s been consistent. If you take a snapshot of a five-year period or a 10-year period, you may miss it. Clearly, Michigan and Ohio State and Penn State and Nebraska, if you look at a 50-year history, are your four biggest brands. It doesn’t mean they win all the time, but they’re your biggest brands. I don’t think there’ll be any disagreement among all the Big Ten ADs about that.

"You’re not going to stack all four of them in one division. You’re going to try to create some level of parity."

Like the rest of their colleagues, Burke, Alvarez and Maturi will go to Chicago with their own specific interests to protect. Wisconsin wants to safeguard its rivalries with Minnesota and Iowa. Burke values the Purdue-Indiana rivalry, and he wants to keep playing Notre Dame out of conference every year, too. Maturi is well aware of Minnesota's extensive history with both Wisconsin and Iowa.

But to reach a consensus, the ADs also have to go in with an open mind.

“Have to is a strong term because again, we’re all willing to give up something," Maturi said. "Our traditional rivalries always have been and remain Iowa and Wisconsin. Those are the two schools we would hope to maintain competitive balance and a relationship with. But even those schools, I’m willing to take a deep breath and look at the big picture and do what is necessary because this is a good, long-term commitment for the betterment of the Big Ten.

"I think you’ll find that the athletic directors and the commissioner will lead us down that path."

Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster and his Wisconsin counterpart, Bret Bielema, both got a taste of what Nebraska football is all about while serving as assistants in the Big 12.

They have a message to Big Ten fans about the league's newest addition: you're gonna like Big Red.

Brewster and Bielema both roamed the sidelines at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium as assistants with Texas and Kansas State, respectively. They faced the Huskers multiple times, and they're looking forward to a reunion in the Big Ten.

Nebraska on Friday officially became a member of the Big Ten and will begin play during the 2011 season.

"It's a first-class operation," Brewster said. "Coach [Tom] Osborne exemplifies what class is all about. And some of the classiest fans I've ever seen. When I was at Texas [in 1998] and we broke Nebraska's 47-game home winning streak, I was truly amazed leaving the field, the Nebraska fans gave Texas football players a standing ovation.

"That doesn't happen many places, let me promise you."

Bielema also had the fortune of winning a game at Memorial Stadium, as Kansas State crushed the Huskers in 2003 while he served as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator. Nebraska certainly wasn't Nebraska at that time, but Bielema came away impressed with the atmosphere in Lincoln.

"It reminded me a little bit of a Michigan-type stadium," Bielema said. "They've got their traditions -- they clap when you're walking off the field. It's a great environment. The people in Nebraska are very proud of the program and the history and all that goes into it, so it's a really unique place to play."

Bielema and Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, a former linebacker at Nebraska, had been trying to schedule a home-and-home series with the Huskers for several years. Although Bielema had heard Nebraska mentioned as a potential Big Ten expansion candidate for some time, he didn't stop pursuing a nonconference series with the Huskers.

Now there's no need, as Wisconsin and Nebraska could be playing every year if placed in the same division.

"With Coach Osborne's and Coach Alvarez's history, maybe we can start a little trophy game," Bielema said. "Call it the Alvaborn Cup or something like that. We don't have a season-ending finale game, so maybe we can start a tradition here."

Bielema already has contacted Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner -- who handles scheduling and will oversee division alignment and a football championship game -- and told Rudner that Wisconsin will do "anything we've got to do" to set up a rivalry. Wisconsin likely will have some competition from Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State and others.

Brewster expects Minnesota's division to include both Iowa and Wisconsin, which would preserve long-standing annual trophy games, but he'd like to see Big Red a lot, too. Minnesota has faced Nebraska 51 times but not since it suffered back-to-back shutout losses to the Huskers in 1989 and 1990, falling by a combined score of 104-0.

"Adding Nebraska forces Minnesota to continue to step up," Brewster said, "knowing that we're competing against a program that has amazing support in all areas. We want to be the best in the Big Ten, that's our goal, and adding a program like Nebraska does nothing but help Minnesota in every way.

"It's going to turn into a natural rivalry. I would probably think Minnesota and Nebraska will be on the same side of a divided conference."

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald hadn't been as pro expansion as some of his colleagues, seeing no need for the Big Ten to expand simply "to keep up with the Joneses." But Fitzgerald thinks Nebraska is "a great fit" and welcomes the league's newest addition.

"Just an outstanding program," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously, it's a big change for our conference, and what a great one. Nebraska solidifies us as a conference even more."

I just got off of a teleconference with Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon, Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman and Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne about Nebraska becoming the 12th member of the Big Ten.

There are so many subtopics to discuss in the coming months, but here's a bit more about what we know now:

Further Big Ten expansion: It definitely could happen. Delany and Simon both said the league remains within its 12- to 18-month time frame to study expansion and could act again depending on the climate. The Big Ten only acted now because of circumstances with the Big 12 and Nebraska. Delany admitted the league might not have been ready to act three months ago. The Big Ten now will return to "the slower tempo sort of game" with expansion, but Delany said the league is prepared to act quickly again. "We have two-thirds of study period left to go and we’re real anxious to work with Jim and others around the next step," Simon said. Added Delany: "If we can be as successful with a 13th or 14th member as we were with Nebraska, that would be great."

Championship game: Delany has never been rah-rah about them, but he expects the Big Ten to begin playing a championship game in football in 2011. Venues and locations haven't been discussed, but Big Ten associate commissioner for television administration Mark Rudner and others will begin examining the possibilities. Feedback from athletic directors and coaches will be gathered before any decisions are made. "It’s important to get it right, and there’s no silver bullet," Delany said. "There will be different views on it."

Division alignment: The Big Ten also must figure out divisions in the coming months. Delany listed three main criteria for sorting them out: competitive fairness, maintenance of rivalries and geography. He stressed that competitive fairness is the No. 1 priority, which I believe to be the correct approach. Geography shouldn't determine divisions. You don't want another Big 12 South scenario.

Scheduling: Osborne hinted that the number of conference games could increase in the new Big Ten. He expects at least three nonconference games and, like many Big Ten athletic directors, wants to keep as many of those at home as possible. The Big Ten's challenge will be figuring things out for Nebraska's arrival in September 2011. "Mark Rudner and Mike McComiskey have done a lot of models," Delany said. "The issue for us it the short turnaround."

Rivalries: Delany has often talked about the intimacy of a league and how vital rivalries are to its fabric. "They're part of who we are," he said Friday. But he added that rivalries have to be evaluated independently to see which ones are worth preserving in an expanded league. "We’re going into this with the idea that rivalries really matter," Delany said. "But not all rivalries are equal."

Timeline with Nebraska: Delany and other Big Ten officials met with Nebraska officials three or four weeks ago to have informal discussions in an undisclosed location (it wasn't Lincoln, where Delany made his first trip Friday, or Chicago). Osborne also had briefly discussed expansion with Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez (a former Nebraska player and coach), both of whom told him the Big Ten was considering the Huskers. The process only really heated up after the Big 12 issued stay-or-go ultimatums to its members. If the Big 12 -- and Pac-10 -- didn't speed things up, the Big Ten would have continued to move along slowly. But Nebraska seems happy with the way things worked out. "We don’t feel like we’re walking into a room of strangers," Perlman said. Added Osborne: "We feel we share a lot of common values with what we know of Big Ten institutions."