Report: Big Ten says Army, BYU, ND, Cincy, UConn are Power 5 opponents
Big Ten teams must play at least one Power Five opponent on their non-conference slate each season beginning in 2016, but the league is also allowing games against certain Group of Five teams to meet that requirement as well.
According to ESPN, independents Army, BYU and Notre Dame count toward the requirement, as do Cincinnati and Connecticut of the American Athletic Association. Big Ten senior associate commissioner confirmed the exceptions for Cincinnati and Connecticut.
Indiana (2021-22), Michigan (2017), Nebraska (2020, 2025) and Ohio State (2019) already have Cincinnati on future schedules while Illinois (2019-20) and Indiana (2019-20) will face UConn in the coming years.
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According to ESPN, not all AAC schools will count, but Big Ten senior associate commissioner Mark Rudner said that Big Ten schools “may ask for exemptions” concerning both teams from the AAC and other Group of Five leagues.
From ESPN:
Rudner added the league would evaluate any other non-Power 5 schools – programs in the AAC, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt leagues – brought up by a Big Ten school and decide whether they would count as a Power 5 opponent based on their RPI rankings in recent years and other factors.
The ACC will also require its teams to play a nonconference Power Five opponent beginning in 2016 while the SEC will begin the practice in 2017. The Pac-12 and Big 12 have not enacted such a rule.
BYU and Notre Dame will both meet the ACC and SEC’s Power Five requirement, with the SEC also including Army. The ACC and SEC rules will not include other Group of Five opponents.
In addition to its nonconference Power Five requirement, the Big Ten, beginning in 2016, will become the first league to not allow its teams to schedule FCS opponents.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
