![Michigan State’s Protected Rivalries In A Divisionless Big Ten](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2022/06/attachment-msu-protected-rivalries.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Michigan State’s Protected Rivalries In A Divisionless Big Ten
Changes are coming to the Big Ten. We know that for a fact.
Last month, the NCAA officially divested itself from the process of how leagues determine participants in their conference championship games for football. Almost immediately thereafter, the Pac-12 announced its title game representatives will be the teams with the two highest winning percentages in Pac-12 play, shunning the old model that sent the winners of each of the league's two divisions to the conference title game.
![The Game 730 WVFN-AM logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WVFNAM.png?w=100)
Just a few days after that, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller confirmed the Big Ten was "working through" changes of its own. That has led many to believe that the league will follow suit and abandon its division-based format.
If/When that happens, conventional wisdom suggests that each Big Ten team would need three protected rivalries to help the league maintain a scheduling system. The idea is that each school would be guaranteed to play its three protected rivals each season, while the other six opponents on the nine-game conference schedule would rotate every two years so as to guarantee that each Big Ten member plays the other 13 teams every two seasons.
So what would that look like for Michigan State? It's safe to assume the Michigan game would be protected. But after that, who are the other opponents the Spartans would be guaranteed to face every season?
MSU's other in-conference rivalries are with Penn State (which is manufactured out of a commonality between the two schools that dates back to the Civl War era) and Indiana (thanks to a really old jar). The point is that there aren't two clear candidates beyond Michigan.
With that in mind, we've come up with a few options for Michigan State's protected rivalries in a divisionless Big Ten.
Michigan State's Protected Rivalries In A Divisionless Big Ten
Candidates for Big Ten Expansion
More From The Game 730 WVFN-AM
![Why Are Michigan State Fans Worried About Losing A Bunch Of Players Who Went 4-8?](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/11/attachment-msu-transfer-portal-.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Sam Leavitt Is Leaving Michigan State Because He Hates New Coach Jonathan Smith](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/11/attachment-Sam-Leavitt-Jonathan-Smith.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Saturday Night Live Roasts Michigan State For Hitler Image On Spartan Stadium Scoreboard](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-msu-hitler-spartan-stadium-snl.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![It’s OK, U-M Fans, You Can Say It —Michigan State Is Michigan’s Biggest Rival](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-gettyimages-1244337960-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Michigan State Almost Canceled Michigan Game Over U-M Sign-Stealing Allegations](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-GettyImages-619021848.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Urban Liar’ Crowd Pivots Hard To New Position That Meyer Is The Epitome Of Honesty](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-urban-meyer-spartan-stadium-michigan-state-coaching-search.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Nothing A Good Dose Of Character And Integrity Can’t Fix!](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-GettyImages-1724281867.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Friendly Reminder That Everyone Reporting On Michigan State’s Coaching Search Is Full of S&!#](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-urban-meyer-spartan-stadium-msu.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Michigan State Won’t Hire Urban Meyer, But Not Because of His ‘Problematic’ Past](http://townsquare.media/site/668/files/2023/10/attachment-urbay-meyer-msu.jpg?w=980&q=75)