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Delany: New division alignment not set

We passed along a report on Monday from colleague Brett McMurphy that Maryland and Rutgers would join the Leaders Division, with Illinois switching to the Legends.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany refuted that report as Rutgers officially joined the league on Tuesday, saying any talks of an alignment being settled "just have no basis in fact."

"Someone had already created new alignments [on Monday]," Delany said. "Those are news to me. One of the great things about expansion is the speculation surrounding expansion."

Delany said Big Ten athletic directors will decide on division alignment and that they "have not sat down to discuss it for one moment." He said that would be a high priority for the league in early 2013.

It still makes sense that Maryland and Rutgers will end up in the same division as Penn State. But maybe there will be more dramatic realignment than we once thought.