[NU Sports] Our non-conference schedule

[Michael Vance]

Hardly any conference plays every team.  The ACC used to be able to do 
it when they were a nine-team conference, but the Big Ten never did, or 
at least hasn't in a very, *very* long time.  Even before we were the 
Big Televen, one team was off the schedule every year.  The main 
difference there was that only the year-end games were "protected" 
rivalries.

And don't even get me started on the conferences with multiple 
divisions.  Sure, in a twelve team conference you play every team in 
your division every year, but you only get to play three of the six in 
the other division.

A three-game non-conference schedule became the expectation a long time 
ago.  I agree that it's unfortunate that the extra game wasn't added to 
conference play when the 12-game season was implemented.  But you also 
have to consider the mathematics of scheduling.  A couple of years ago, 
this topic was addressed in a Trib article that was heavily drawn from a 
Jim Delaney interview.  As Delaney pointed out, with an eleven-team 
league, it's impossible to have a nine game conference schedule.

-Michael

Dennis W. Brandt wrote:
>> Overall I would rather see an additional Big Ten game(9 conference
>> games) than attend a non-conference game that I care little about.
>
> Bravo!  I have an even better idea.  Play two non-conference games and 
> then play every team in the Big 10 every year.  This nonsense of a 
> conference that doesn't schedule games against everyone else in it is 
> ludicrous.  Ain't gonna happen, of course, but it would make the 
> season more interesting.
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