Big Ten may reconsider division names after uproar
After creating an uproar with the generic division names "Leaders" and "Legends," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany conceded his conference may have whiffed when it came to the naming while talking on WGN radio this morning.
Even better: he said Big Ten officials may reconsider the division names.
Delany said the conference was not prepared for the enormous backlash from fans across the Big Ten.
"We've had enough experience with names and expansion and development of divisions that we know that you rarely get a 90 percent approval rating," Delany said on the broadcast. "But to get a 90 percent non-approval rating was really surprising. It showed that we didn’t connect with our fans in a way that we wanted to."
He didn't address the logo.
Here's the link to the radio broadcast on WGN.
Comments
Ben
Sat, Dec 18, 2010 : 11:36 a.m.
Why don't they make a poll and let the _people_ decide? Isn't that who they're there to serve anyways?
PortageLkBlu
Sat, Dec 18, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.
I don't particulary like that logo color and I thought at first the division names was an odd choice but the more I look at it and think about the concept the closer I am to accepting it. I think it's strange but it's different and makes us stand out uniquelly from all the other blasea divisions, it has a power to it and when I look at those names it actually reminds me of Michigan as I'm sure it does the same to say a Indiana Hoosier basketball fan.
GJJ
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 10:03 p.m.
Can you imagin the silly sounding (future) reports on the standings: "Well, the leaders of the Leaders conference are..."
3 And Out
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 9:30 p.m.
Jaime has a good suggestion above... or it could be: 3Yards Division Cloud of Dust Division
LRF
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 8:29 p.m.
Those names are LAME!
The OSU
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 5:16 p.m.
The logo is really lame. Baby blue has gotta go. The design is uninspired. Hold a contest among Big Ten students. Award a $10,000 scholarship as a prize. Require 5 colors in the logo (similar to the Olympics): red, blue, green, black and yellow/gold. They represent all the school's colors.
blusage
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 5:02 p.m.
He does deserve credit for reconsidering. It shows he truly cares, and understands, how the Big Ten is being perceived. His best solution -- this isn't rocket science -- would be to have a public input on the matter, both for suggestions, then to choose the winner. It should be pretty easy to set up a website to handle that, meanwhile POSITIVELY affecting the Big Ten's image and visibility. Do the same thing with the logo -- get public input. He could pay for it all by getting his money back from the firm who designed (if you could call it that) the current logo.
rreidannarbor
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 4:56 p.m.
A group of intelligent people also came up with the idea of a "HALO" for the Big House a few years back. We all know how that turned out. The mistake was acknowledged and they took it down (I remember apologizing to Notre Dame fans about the halo in one of our first games that year...ughhh). At least with this divisional naming mistake, their is no monetary investment being lost. That was not the case with the Halo. Undo the naming now before the printing presses roll.
GoblueinNE_PA
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 4:33 p.m.
Quite frankly, they should call them what they are: The University of Michigan Division and The Ohio State Division Those are the only thing most people, even those fans of other schools, will really care about. Which division is Michigan in and which division is Ohio State in.
goblue16
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 4:18 p.m.
I disliked both names as soon as I heard them. There is no creativity in these names.
Jaime
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:57 p.m.
Delaney and crew are at least acknowledging that they made a pretty big mistake. I still don't like the baby blue logo but I agree that the B1G is rather unique as long as it isn't interpreted as the big 1 and little 11. Let call the divisions "six of one" and "half dozen of the other"
jmac
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:43 p.m.
"Legends" does sound pretty lame, kind of implies "Has Beens." Some of these other suggestions (the simple north and south categories makes the most sense) sound much better. But, quite frankly, naming these two divisions is pretty much the least of our problem at Michigan...
Jim Trithart
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:39 p.m.
I like the Lakes and Plains divisions or, at a minimum, north and south.
DeeDee
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:32 p.m.
Oh really, why is this important? There no two words they could have chosen that wouldn't have stirred up the "needs to get a life" crowd that follows sports obsessively. Give it a rest.
woodyk
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:31 p.m.
It pains me to hear those lame names. This is one reason we have English majors!
leaguebus
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 3:28 p.m.
How about First Half and Second Half? They should just put something on their web site asking for names, probably take ten minutes to come up with some pretty cool ones.
heartbreakM
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 2:59 p.m.
@Yel: Your suggestions of "lakes" and "land" is the best one I have heard. Though Minnesota can be in both (land of lakes), and I can imagine the jokes about Land o' Lakes dairy. Colors are interesting. In election years, it can be red and blue. Non election years?
heartbreakM
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 2:50 p.m.
Well, maybe Delany is not as arrogant as he comes off. Though his comments expressing surprise sound like he has the wool over his eyes. What a mess and an embarrassment.
David Vande Bunte
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 2:24 p.m.
Actually, given the states that the Big Ten uses, they could use a color scheme too...Long time ago, the unofficial name of the NFC North (formerly NFC Central) was the Black and Blue division. Geographically, the Big Ten is most closely aligned with those states, so lets pay homage. How about naming one division Black, and the other Blue? On the western side of Michigan, we already divided the huge OK conference(Ottawa-Kent) into color based divisions..the OK White, OK Blue, OK Green, etc. So that could be a possibility. Plus, with a color scheme, you don't have to worry at all about which teams are where geographically. While I like a simple east/west or north/south name the best, I think a color scheme that makes logical sense could work too.
Oregon39_Michigan7
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 2:01 p.m.
I propose this: Group A: Slow Group B: Slower
Yelmonian
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 1:49 p.m.
Leaders and Legends just didn't make sense. Really? It was weird. Let's take OSU... are they a Legend or a Leader? Realistically, with football they are both. And not to go after Minnesota... I'm not sure that people would consider that they are a Leader or Legend. I'm not sure I like the Bo/Woody. I understand the historical perspective... but it favors 2 teams too much. And Hayes did get fired for hitting an opposing player. He is a Bob Knight persona... he had a great winning record... but he also was booted for bad behavior. I'm not sure you would name a basketball division after Knight. Now I agree... a North/South or East/West would work. Lakes/Land works. It's something that all teams can relate.
DLRomero2
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 1:29 p.m.
@ David Vande Bunte... Great point! The Big Ten has, arguably, the highest percentage of NFL-ready players. Why not mirror that system? Big Ten North (BTN) and Big Ten South (BTS) BTN: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern BTS: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin It's somewhat geographically sound. It's also in keeping with the existing Legends/Leaders split. What do you think, Mr. Delany?
David Vande Bunte
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 1:07 p.m.
East/West makes the most sense. Even if geographically, it doesn't make 100% sense. Conference division names need to be simple. Shoot, look at the AFC East and North. The AFC North has teams that are all south of 3 of the AFC East teams. Does that make a lot of sense? The Colts play in the AFC South, but are actually northwest of Cincinnati, who plays in the AFC North. How many NFC teams not in the NFC East are actually geographically east of the Dallas Cowboys? (all but 3) Even the St. Louis Rams, who play in the NFC West, are farther east than the Dallas Cowboys. So what if there would be some geographical inconsistencies, as sports fans, we are used to East/West/North/South type divisional names.
Jx Fine
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.
Wings played in the Campbell conference, not Wales.
DLRomero2
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:49 p.m.
East/West is the best idea. Even if the geography doesn't fit perfectly with team alignment, at least we won't be forced to use terms that taste so terrible when rolling off the tongue. Besides, if we can have 12 teams in the Big Ten, why do we need to be factually correct with our division names?
treetowncartel
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:48 p.m.
I also think Indiana made a great move with their hire. It will be interesting to see if that program can actually turn itslef around. Hoke's predecessor at SDSU is coming along for the ride there I think too.
ArthGuinness
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:47 p.m.
I must have missed something. What's wrong with the names? People actually PREFER the all-too-common and boring directional names? As for the logo, it's very average and I haven't found the 2 yet, but who cares about the stupid Big Ten logo? All's I care about is my winged helmets!
treetowncartel
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:43 p.m.
Yes Hoke, sorry about that. That was the talk on Bill King yesterday. I for one would like to see Jimmy Johnson make a return to college football here, but I know that will never happen.
treetowncartel
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:25 p.m.
@lugemachine, and here I thought that was marketing's dilligent use of a hidden phalic symbol, like the nose of joe camel or the one version of the diet coke logo. @ ERMG, apparently, the new person of interest is Brady Hope.
lugemachine
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:06 p.m.
While you're at it, Jim, let the fifth-grader who created the logo know that you're going to completely redesign it...though the 1 in "B1G" was a stroke of purest genius.
MikeB
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.
What a tempest in a teapot. Is this really an issue to get worked up about? How many times will we really use the conference names? I am interested in the football games, not a silly artificial name.
Ignatz
Fri, Dec 17, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.
Ummmmmmmmm, you could ask us what we think.