For a look at the Illini's conference schedules in 2011 and 2012, click here

We don't know the names — but we do know the teams. And Illinois caught a break.

DIVISION A (Woody)

Listed in order of football relevance

Ohio State
Record the last 10 seasons: 102-25 with a bowl every year, including three BCS title games
Asmussen says: Good that the Big Ten divisions allow for a repeat of Ohio State-Michigan. Somewhere, Woody and Bo are high-fivin'.

Penn State
Record the last 10 seasons: 77-46 with five consecutive bowl trips, four Jan. 1 types
Asmussen says: Hard to believe the Nittany Lions were under .500 in four of the first five years of the decade. JoePa fixed it.

Wisconsin
Record the last 10 seasons: 83-43 with seven consecutive bowls and three 10-win seasons
Asmussen says: Twenty-five years ago, the then-dreadful Badgers would have been at the bottom of the list. Pat Barry Alvarez on the back.

Illinois
Record the last 10 seasons: 45-73 with two bowl appearances, both BCS games
Asmussen says: Only Indiana has a worse record than the Illini over the last decade, but the Rose and Sugar bowls provide hope for fans.

Purdue
Record the last 10 seasons: 67-57 with seven bowl appearances, none since 2007
Asmussen says: Like at Indiana and Illinois, basketball still rules. Maybe last year's upset of Ohio State will fire the crowd up.

Indiana
Record the last 10 seasons: 39-78 with one bowl game, an Insight loss to Oklahoma State.
Asmussen says: Thankfully, the Old Oaken Bucket survives into next century. And beyond. Constant turnover in coaching hasn't helped.

DIVISION B (Bo)

Michigan
Record the last 10 seasons: 82-43 with eight bowl appearances, though none last two years
Asmussen says: Little Brown Jug game with Minnesota now becomes a permanent rivalry. And the crossover with Buckeyes was obvious.

Nebraska
Record the last 10 seasons: 84-44 with eight bowl appearances, including one title game
Asmussen says: The Cornhuskers played classic games with the Nittany Lions in the early 1980s. Now, they'll get to see each other every year.

Iowa
Record the last 10 seasons: 80-45 with eight bowls, including six New Year's Day games
Asmussen says: League made sure not to end Floyd of Rosedale game with Minnesota. But Iowa-Purdue rivalry won't go over well in the IC.

Michigan State
Record the last 10 seasons: 60-62 with five bowl bids, including the last three years
Asmussen says: When you think Big Ten rivalries, Michigan State-Indiana is high on your list ... wait for it ... in basketball.

Northwestern
Record the last 10 seasons: 61-61 with five bowl berths, including the last two seasons
Asmussen says: It's a shame that schools two hours apart (Northwestern and Purdue) can't meet every season. Something had to give.

Minnesota
Record the last 10 seasons: 62-62 with eight bowl trips, three each to the Insight and Music City
Asmussen says: Nothing better than winners of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game running around with Paul Bunyan's Axe. Good it stayed.

So .... which division is better?

Asmussen said Division B (Bo). Here's why:

-The winningest program in college football history (Michigan) resides on this side. Though down now, that won't last long.
- Three teams with 80-plus wins during the past decade, compared to just two on the other side. And everybody had at least 60 wins.
- Iowa and Nebraska are preseason Top 10 teams, while only Ohio State represents the other division among the nation's elite.

Here's why Division A (Woody) Is the lesser of the two:

- The two worst records in the league during the last decade belong to Indiana and Illinois. They went a combined 84-151.
- Division members earned just three bowl bids after the 2009 season, compared to five on the other side. The lone miss, Michigan.
- Dominance of Ohio State could be a hindrance to the rest of the programs, which look up at a monster at the start of every season.

Finally, Asmussen caught up with Ron Zook on Wednesday night for reaction. Here's what the Illinois coach had to say:

"Coach (Ron) Guenther talked to me a couple weeks ago about the possibilities, that it could be this one or it could be that one. The Big Ten is a great conference now. When you add a great football team, a great program coming in, it's going to make it that much better. How the divisions are worked out, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.
"I'm thinking about Missouri right now. I'm sure most of the coaches are thinking about their game.
"I didn't lobby, but let me ask you a question: if I would have lobbied would it have made a difference? Joe Paterno, it might have made a difference.
"I know we've got eight home games (in 2011). I've known that. That's what we've been trying to get to, get as many home games as we can get.
"I think if you ask the coaches, they would rather not play nine (conference games). We knew the way it was put to us that we were going to play nine. It keeps the money in the Big Ten. You don't have the million dollar payouts. It was one of one of those things that was going to happen regardless of what we said. We would all rather play eight Big Ten games."