When word got out that the Big Ten was considering moving the Michigan-Ohio State game out of its place as the final game of the year, outraged fans mounted an effort in favor of maintaining the 75-year tradition.

Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said he was “overwhelmed” by angry emails and phone calls. Even Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne had to field questions on the matter.

But when David Brandon checked his e-mail this morning — one night after the Big Ten announced its divisions and that The Game would remain as each team’s regular season finale, despite being in separate divisions — the Michigan athletic director said 75 of the 76 e-mails he received were all positive.

Now, with the Buckeyes slated as Michigan’s “cross-over rival,” the Wolverines could potentially play Ohio State twice in two weeks if both teams make it to the conference championship game. And to Brandon, that possibility was too good to pass up.

“The idea that we could play them for the championship, the idea that we could play them for the right to go to Rose Bowl, to me, speaks a lot about the history of that matchup,” Brandon said in a press conference on Thursday.

As far as the other scenarios the Big Ten discussed, Brandon said moving the game to “the beginning of the season or the middle of the season or even October” was never an option. But it was, at one point, “a very real possibility” that the two wouldn’t play in the regular season finale.

In a radio interview with WTKA-AM on Aug. 20, Brandon fueled much of the fans’ anxiety about The Game’s status when he said that he would prefer the two teams to be in different divisions and also hinted the matchup wouldn’t end the regular season.

"I think there's a distinct possibility that game will be a later game in the season but not necessarily the last game of the season," Brandon said in the interview. "That's simply because I don't think the coaches or the players or the fans or the networks or anyone would appreciate that matchup twice within a seven-day period."

But in the end, the allure of two potential matchups was too tempting for Brandon and the rest of the Big Ten athletic directors.

As far as the rest of the divisional alignment goes, Brandon said his goals included playing Ohio State, Michigan State and Nebraska every year and that preserving the Little Brown Jug rivalry with Minnesota was “icing on the cake.”

Michigan’s division includes Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern.

The other division includes Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue and Illinois.

Although each aspect of the division realignment may have upset some parties involved, Brandon said the process was all about a balance of brands and competition, which he felt was accomplished with the conference’s announcement.

“There was going to be compromise and sacrifice involved with every school in the conference,” Brandon said. “You can’t add a twelfth team and play the same number of contests and not disrupt something.”

ROLLING WITH THE TIDE: Brandon also answered questions about a possible matchup with Alabama, which was rumored to be slated for a 2012 date.

The two sides are currently in discussions, and Brandon has definitely not ruled out the possibility.

“It’s certainly a possibility we’ll tee it up with Alabama,” Brandon said.