Division alignment within the B1G has been a major point of conversation for the past few years. Is it best to keep the East and West as is? Should there be some reshuffling? Would it make sense to eliminate divisions entirely?

All of those ideas have been discussed throughout the B1G, especially since the news of Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC sparked a new wave of conference realignment last summer. While the B1G hasn’t seen any additions or departures, it’s still mulling over the best path to stay relevant in the world of college football.

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At the B1G spring meetings, University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle said that the future of divisions in football are still a topic of discussion. Right now, there is no plan in place for changes but that doesn’t mean the conversation has been abandoned.

Per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, Coyle says there’s still plenty of conversation about how the B1G will move forward. There’s one thing the Gophers AD is hoping to maintain, though, regardless of direction.

“Whatever we end up doing, I just hope we protect those rivalries,” Coyle said. “Because that’s a big part of who we are and what we’re about.”

The B1G is home to some of the longest and most fierce rivalry games in college football. The league would benefit greatly by protecting as many as possible.

But in the changing climate of college athletics, anything is possible. There are certainly no guarantees in protecting those rivalry games, regardless of how historic and intense.