Could Big Ten Eliminate Divisions in 2024?

The East has won each of the nine Big Ten Championship games since 2014, when the East and West divisions were originally established.

The East and West divisions will be eliminated in 2024, based to first reports from The Athletic. The Big Ten and its sports directors attended their annual winter meeting on Tuesday.

Nothing is written in stone yet, but if approved, the move would occur the same year that USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins are expected to join the Big Ten.

Gene Smith, the director of athletics for the Ohio State Buckeyes, stated in August 2022 that the Big Ten was considering doing away with divisions at the time.

According to the current football divisional structure, the East Division is made made up of Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Indiana, while the West Division is made up of Wisconsin,  Nebraska, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Illinois.

The East has won each of the nine Big Ten Championship games that have been played in an East vs. West format.

Ohio State has won five, Michigan has won the last two, while Penn State and Michigan State are tied with one win each.

The Big Ten will have to make this decision moving forward under a new commissioner, as Kevin Warren was named the president and CEO of the Chicago Bears on Jan. 12.

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