“You had 12 athletic directors sitting in a room and it was a process where each one of us was looking out for the best interest of our individual institutions, but also working with the best interests of the Big Ten at heart,” MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis said in a statement.

He acknowledged MSU’s tough future schedules that in 2011 include away games at Ohio State and Nebraska.

“You want to see those big match-up games,” Hollis said. “Every week as you go through the schedule, you’re going to see a big rivalry game; you’re going to see a national game. It’s going to create a lot of excitement leading up to the last few weeks of the season, as teams are jockeying for divisional titles. It’s the kind of league that kids want to play in – you want to play in those big games.”

The recent addition of Nebraska gave the Big Ten a 12th team, allowing the conference to hold a conference championship football game.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said the divisions would only apply to football and that basketball would sort itself out.

He also said the conference would be come up with a new logo and division names within the next 90 days

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