Big Ten Announces Football Scheduling Formula for 2024-25 Seasons; Bucket Game Protected

The Big Ten announced its new football scheduling formula on Thursday now that USC and UCLA are joining the league in 2024. There are no more divisions, and the Old Oaken Bucket game is one of 11 protected rivalries. UCLA will come to Bloomington in 2024, and the Hoosiers will travel to Los Angeles to play USC in 2025.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Big Ten is changing the way it schedules its football games starting in 2024 when USC and UCLA join the conference. And it's great news for Indiana.

There are two pieces of news that come from the Big Ten's new Flex Protect Plus scheduling formula. The first is that the annual Old Oaken Bucket game between Indiana and Purdue is one of 11 protected rivalries and the game will be played every year. 

The second bit of big news is that the league will no longer use the two-division format. That means Indiana will no longer have to face perennial national powers Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year. Now there will be just one 16-team league, and teams will play nine Big Ten games every year in their 12-game schedule.

The Big Ten East has dominated throughout the format, which started in 2014. A Big Ten East team has won the conference title game at nine years, with Michigan winning the last two. Ohio State has won five titles, with Penn State and Michigan State each winning one.

Indiana's opponents for the 2024 and 2025 seasons were announced Thursday by the Big Ten office. In 2024, the Hoosiers will play five home games and four road games, while in 2025 they will play four home games and five road games.

Under the new formula, the top two teams in the conference standings will play in the Big Ten Championship game each season. Teams will now play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – in evert four-year period.

Here are Indiana's conference opponents in 2024, including a first-ever matchup with UCLA.

• Home: Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA.
• Away: Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin.

Here are the opponents in 2025, with Indiana heading west to Los Angeles to play USC. The two teams have played four times, with the most notable matchup on Jan. 1, 1968 in the Rose Bowl after the Hoosiers had won the Big Ten that year. They also played in 1953 in Los Angeles and had a home-and-home series in 1981-82. USC has won all four games.

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• 2025 Home: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers.
  
• 2025 Away: Illinois, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, USC

The only teams Indiana plays both seasons outside of Purdue are Maryland and Michigan State.

Here are the 11 protected rivalries that will be played every year:

• Illinois-Northwestern
• Illinois-Purdue
• Indiana-Purdue
• Iowa-Minnesota
• Iowa-Nebraska
• Iowa-Wisconsin
• Maryland-Rutgers
• Michigan-Michigan State
• Michigan-Ohio State
• Minnesota-Wisconsin
• UCLA-USC.  

Here is the complete press release from Indiana:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2024 and 2025 football home/away opponents for each school on Thursday (June 8). As the conference moves to the 16-team, no division format, the Indiana football program will host five games during the 2024 season and have four conference home contests in 2025.

The Hoosiers home and away opponents will be as follows (listed alphabetically):

• 2024 Home: Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA.
• 2024 Away: Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin.
• 2025 Home: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers.
• 2025 Away: Illinois, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, USC

Dates for the 2024 schedule will be announced during the 2024 season.

With the additions of UCLA and USC into the conference for the 2024 season, the Big Ten will debut the Flex Protect Plus model, which features a combination of protected opponents and rotating opponents for universities. Each member institution will continue to play nine intraconference games per season, and teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – in a four-year period.

Conference schedules will include 11 protected matchups that will continue to be played annually and feature a combination of historic and geographic rivalries, as well as trophy games. These matchups, which includes Indiana-Purdue, were finalized in conjunction with all 16 member institutions to ensure the traditions of the Big Ten Conference remain strong as the conference evolves. The two-play opponents for each member institution will change every two years.

The 2024 season will conclude with the annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, which will feature the top two teams in the overall conference standings at the end of the regular season, with the winner earning the Big Ten Championship. Tiebreaking procedures will be announced later

The 2024 and 2025 opponent rotations were approved by the Big Ten Administrators Council after careful consideration and constructs that included:

• Maintaining control and flexibility as the college football postseason format evolves, with the goal to create access for programs into an expanded College Football Playoff.
• Balance of annual travel by distance, regions of the conference, and time zones.
• Balance of historic competitiveness and recent competitive trends, including home/away balance of traditionally competitive schools.
• Balance and maximization of television inventory each season.