Top 5 storylines entering Big Ten football media days

Top 5 storylines

1. The Great Divide: Big Ten athletic directors are scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. CST Monday and again on Tuesday to go over options for division alignment and discuss whether to host a championship game. Not everything will be decided in Chicago, but some headway should be made.

2. Go East, young man: Expansion, the story that never dies. Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez gave new life to the possibility that the Big Ten isn’t done growing Thursday when he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the league added more teams, specifically out east. Delany will update the conference’s eight-month-old expansion study.

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is in the running for preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Big Ten.

AP photo

3. Pimps and pushers: Or agents, if you will. Four schools in the SEC and ACC have opened investigations into whether their players had improper contact with agents. What do Big Ten schools do to police agents and how big a problem are they? Expect coaches and players to weigh in.

4. Joe Pa’s future: Penn State coach Joe Paterno is expected to attend the meetings after battling health problems much of the offseason. Paterno, entering his 45th season, answers questions about retirement every year. Approaching 400 wins and with Bobby Bowden relaxing somewhere sunny, pay close attention to what Paterno says this year.

5. Six pence: Ohio State has won or shared the last five Big Ten titles, and there’s no reason to think the Buckeyes won’t make it six in a row. Iowa and Wisconsin have very good teams, but the Buckeyes are everyone’s preseason favorite. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor may even be preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.