So if you are a Wisconsin football fan, whether passionate or just on the periphery of the action, you?re probably feeling somewhat empty and perhaps a bit angry today.
When the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday night revealed its pair of six-team divisions for football, beginning in 2011 with the arrival of Nebraska, you learned:
? The Badgers and rival Minnesota will be in opposite divisions. The teams will face each other every season because the Gophers are UW?s protected crossover rival, but the game won?t be the regular-season finale in 2011 or ?12.
? The Badgers won?t face Iowa or Northwestern every season because the Hawkeyes and Wildcats are also in the division opposite UW.
? You?ll see a lot more of Illinois, Indiana and Purdue.