Big Ten Releases 2015, 2016 Football Schedules, Golden Gophers To Start Campaigns Against Nebraska, Iowa

The Big Ten conference has released their football schedules for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, approved by the conference's administrators during the Big Ten Joint Group Meetings last week. Both seasons will kick off in early October, and while there are some great rivalry matches scheduled for the kickoff days of both years, Minnesota won't be partaking in them.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will face different opening opponents each year, taking on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on October 3 in 2015 and the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 1 in 2016. Both seasons will end with games against the Michigan State Spartans, with Minnesota heading to Michigan the first year and hosting the Spartans the second.

As with previous seasons, the Big Ten Championship game in 2015 will be decided at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. For 2016, the site is still to be determined though it would be a safe bet to assume that Lucas Oil will host it once again.

A full .pdf of the two newly announced seasons, along with all of the other seasons that had already been decided from 2013 on, can be found here.

For more news and analysis on the Big Ten Conference, head over to Off Tackle Empire. More on the Minnesota Golden Gophers can be found over at The Daily Gopher, and more on NCAA Football in general can be found at SB Nation's designated NCAA hub.