During the Big Ten football media days, the conference traditionally compiled and announced the preseason offensive and defensive players of the year and a preseason poll that revealed the three teams with the most votes.

Don't expect the same out of next week's meetings in Chicago.

ESPN.com reported that Big Ten coaches voted to eliminate those announcements and replace them with a "Players to Watch" list that highlights five players from each of the conference's two new divisions.

Here's what ESPN Big Ten writer Brian Bennett thinks of the decision:

It's pretty easy to understand why the coaches don't want a preseason favorite named. From their perspective, all it does is add pressure to the coaches and players who are expected to win the league before play starts. Given that the media poll was batting less than .500 on preseason picks since 1996, perhaps they have a point. Preseason polls are pretty worthless except to drive interest, and the Big Ten is hardly lacking for attention.

If you're craving a media poll, Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer announced on Twitter that he organized a Big Ten Newspaper Poll and will announce preseason voting next week.

Shameless plug: While you won't get a preseason poll from the Big Ten media days, you can expect plenty of coverage from AnnArbor.com football writer Kyle Meinke. Follow him on Twitter @kmeinke for the latest news, notes and thoughts on Michigan football.