Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald: Big Ten coaches voted against 9 conference games
Not everyone in the Big Ten is on board with its decision to expand its conference schedule from eight to nine games.
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told reporters at Big Ten Media Days that he and his fellow Big Ten coaches voted unanimously against the change.
Pat Fitzgerald said Big Ten coaches voted 14-0 AGAINST going to nine league games. "But hey, we do what we're told."
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 31, 2015
Despite the apparent opposition from the football coaches, the league's athletic directors supported a new schedule outline mandating nine conference games. The scheduling outline will be implemented in 2016, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney announced Friday.
The outline - dubbed an "athletic directors agreement" rather than an official league rule by Delaney - also restricts Big Ten programs from scheduling games against lower-level FCS opponents.
The move was implemented to bolster the overall strength of the conference's schedule.