"The Game", Ohio State vs. Michigan, will happen at the end of the 2010 regular season just like it does every year, but what has many fans and alumni for both schools in dismay is the meaning of the game could be lost. If this sounds confusing, there is a simple explanation: it's all about realignment of football conferences, TV revenue and the hard choices that have to be made in big-time college sports.
Because the Big Ten agreed to a conference realignment that features two six-team divisions, the champions of both divisions will compete in a conference championship to secure rights for a Rose Bowl nomination. Previously, when the Big 10 was one conference, Michigan and Ohio State met at the end of the year and even if one team was not doing well, it had the potential to be the Rose Bowl spoiler for one of the teams.
How does the co-conference change affect one of the biggest rivalries in sports, known to many football fans in Michigan and Ohio as simply "The Game?"
Both teams will be placed in separate divisions. Although it is potentially intriguing that the two storied programs could be playing at the end of the year for the conference championship, because the game will be played at the end of the year it may also be meaningless, as the division champions may have already been decided.
The good news for Michigan and Ohio State fans is "The Game" will happen at the end of the year like it always has. The bad news is that for the game to mean anything you may have to be rooting for your hated rival all year long.
