Conventional wisdom dictates that the Big Ten select a host city for its title game and stick to it.
That's what the Southeastern Conference has done since 1994, and now the SEC snaps its fingers and sells out the Georgia Dome every year.
But commissioner Jim Delany on Thursday said the Big Ten would strongly consider rotating its site, and two industry sources told the Tribune that they expect the game to move around.
"I think you can count on Soldier Field getting at least one of them," one source said.
Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium will host the inaugural game in 2011, and then Big Ten officials will shop around in the spring.
Soldier Field general manager Tim LeFevour told the Tribune in July that his group "absolutely" has interest in hosting the game.
The second source said that the SEC differs from the Big Ten in that Atlanta is the league's "crossroads," just as New York's Madison Square Garden is the undisputed home of Big East basketball. The Big Ten, though, has strong ties throughout the Midwest.
"I think there's lot of interest in different cities around the Big Ten," Delany said. "Chicago is fabulous, Indy's fabulous, Detroit, Minneapolis (and) Cleveland all have world-class facilities. We would not be smart not to look."
Speaking of smart, the Big Ten obviously was wise to add Nebraska and create a title game. It promises to pay for a lot of shoulder pads and lacrosse sticks.
A source said that the league's six-year agreement with Fox Sports will be worth between $20-$25 million per season. At $22 million, divided equally among 12 campuses and the conference office, each school will get $1.7 million richer by flipping the calendar.
The $22 million figure is more than analysts had estimated, given that the SEC title game is believed to be worth $14-$15 million a year.
FOX Sports executives were giddy over the network's return to broadcasting college football after getting outbid by ABC/ESPN on the most recent package of BCS bowl games.
Fox Media Group CEO David Hill called the Big Ten title game "the jewel in the crown."
Fox Sports President Eric Shanks, an Indiana alum who joked that he hoped the length of the deal would give the Hoosiers enough time to reach the title game, hailed it as "the biggest new property to come onto the market."
Shanks said that Fox is "a few months away" from deciding on announcers. Charles Davis and Thom Brennaman teamed for Fox's coverage of its BCS title games.
Brennaman is a top candidate to call the Big Ten title game, although Shanks joked of the native Ohioan: "If Ohio State's not in it, he might be weeping during the entire broadcast."
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