Weighing in on Big Ten expansion, Part 4

Today the Big Ten announced the names of its football divisions and unveiled the new conference logo. The “cropped” version of the new mark is pictured above (you can find the other variations on this webpage) and the “playing it safe” division names are Legends and Leaders. Here’s the breakdown:

Legends:
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern

Leaders:
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin

The conference also introduced an insane list of trophies to be given out starting next year, each of which features the name of one Legend and one Leader. The cheese factor just went through the roof, people.

In a kind of knee-jerk item — I cannot call it news — to stir controversy, Time says the new logo “looks as if it needed an elementary-school stencil and an oven timer to complete.” The Chicago Tribune has posted a handful of negative Twitter comments, including, “If [sic] Big Ten was looking for a logo that looks like it was designed by Atari, they got it right!” And Eastern Iowa’s amateur graphic designers have come out of the woodwork to post their two cents on the CRG comment board.

Obviously, not everyone will be pleased with the change. Personally, I will mourn the loss of the classic logo with the “11” hidden in the center; I vividly remember when my dad pointed out the number to me when I was 10. But I welcome the fresh, happenin’, new redesign. Though the hidden “10” in “BIG” is a stretch — which is supposed to pay homage to the original 10 members — it offers a certain touch of continuity and familiarity. What would be particularly cool is if each school had its own version with appropriate colors, much like what the Pac-10 does with its new logo. For example, instead of the default white and blue, Iowa’s would be black and gold.

But the football division and trophy names? Horrible.

I understand the conference wanted to appease everyone as much as possible and not showcase or emphasize any of its institutions. (Thank God the Bo and Woody divisions did not come to fruition.) But you cannot get more inoffensive, bland, and corporately sterile. The division names feel too much like marketing slogans. Even the new logo has a benign touch to it.

However, as impartial and emotionless as the conference’s new branding and labels seem, I am sure the product on the football field will be just as passionate and exciting as it has always been.