B1G Basketball Coaches Unanimously Support Protected Rivalries

Last week, we reported that Purdue AD, Mike Bobinski, and Purdue men’s basketball coach, Matt Painter, expressed their interest in making sure rivalries within the Big Ten are protected. This stemmed from Purdue and IU often playing each other once every season as the conference expanded, resulting in fans on both sides expressing their frustration with the latest scheduling fiasco.

It seems that Purdue administrators are not alone in this fight. Last week, Bobinski did state that IU wants a protected rivalry, and earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that Bobinski stated that “basketball coaches have "unanimous support" for protected rivalries that would ensure biannual games.”

While it was implied that this change would not be implemented in time for the 2016-17 basketball season, we could see protected rivalries across the conference in the near future.