Big Ten Conference
Association | NCAA |
---|---|
Commissioner | James Delany (since 1989) |
Sports fielded |
|
Division | Division I |
Subdivision | FBS |
Region | Midwestern United States |
Official website | http://www.bigten.org/ |
Locations | |
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its eleven member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Iowa and Minnesota in the west to Pennsylvania in the east. The conference enjoys the prestige of both high athletic achievement and academic excellence. Ten of the eleven conference schools are considered Public Ivies[1] (The private Northwestern being the only exception). The conference competes in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly known as Division I-A), the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport. Member schools of the Big Ten also are members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a leading educational consortium. Despite the conference's name, since Penn State joined in 1990, there have been 11 schools in the Big Ten, as signified by the hidden "11" in the Big Ten Conference logo (each "1" is on either side of the "T" in "Ten").
Members
The Big Ten is the only Division I conference to have all of its member institutions affiliated with the Association of American Universities, a prestigious collection of 60 research institutions, and leads all conferences in the total amount of research expenditures.
All or most member schools participate in baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and field, rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, women's volleyball and wrestling.
Institution | Location | Founded | Joined Conference | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Varsity Teams | NCAA Championships (As of Spring 2008) [2] (excludes football) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Illinois | Urbana and Champaign, Illinois | 1867 | 1896 | Public | 42,728 | Fighting Illini | 21 | 17 |
Indiana University | Bloomington, Indiana | 1820 | 1899 (Athletics 1900) |
Public | 43,247 | Hoosiers | 24 | 23 |
University of Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | 1847 | 1899 (Athletics 1900) |
Public | 30,409 | Hawkeyes | 24 | 23 |
University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 1817 | 1896 Inactive 1907-1916 |
Public | 40,025 | Wolverines | 27 | 32 |
Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan | 1855 | 1950 (Athletics 1953) |
Public | 45,520 | Spartans | 25 | 19 |
University of Minnesota | Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota | 1851 | 1896 | Public | 51,194 | Golden Gophers | 25 | 15 |
Northwestern University | Evanston, Illinois | 1851 | 1896 | Private/Non-sectarian | 13,407 | Wildcats | 19 | 5 |
Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | 1870 | 1912 | Public | 52,568 | Buckeyes | 36 | 22 |
Pennsylvania State University | University Park, Pennsylvania | 1855 | 1990 (Athletics 1993) |
Public | 42,914*[3] | Nittany Lions and Lady Lions | 29 | 34 |
Purdue University | West Lafayette, Indiana | 1869 | 1896 | Public | 39,333 | Boilermakers | 18 | 2 |
University of Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin | 1848 | 1896 | Public | 41,466 | Badgers | 23 | 25 |
Former member
Institution | Location | Founded | Tenure of Membership | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Varsity Teams | NCAA Championships[2] (excludes football) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1890 | 1896-1946 | Private/Non-sectarian | 13,602 | Maroons | 19 | 1 |
- The University of Chicago was a co-founder of the conference and still maintains affiliation through the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.
- Lake Forest College attended the original 1895 meeting that led to the formation of the conference, but did not join it.
Endowment
- Michigan-$7.1 billion [4]
- Northwestern-$6.5 billion [5]
- Minnesota-$2.8 billion [6]
- Ohio State-$2 billion [7]
- Purdue-$1.8 billion [8]
- Indiana-$1.8 billion
- Illinois-$1.5 billion [9]
- Wisconsin-$1.4 billion [10]
- Penn State-$1.3 billion [11]
- Michigan State-$1 billion [12]
- Iowa-$833 million[13]
History
On January 11, 1895, the presidents of the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, Lake Forest College, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin met in Chicago to discuss the regulation and control of intercollegiate athletics. The eligibility of student-athletes was one of the main topics of discussion.[14] The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was founded at a second meeting a year later. Lake Forest was not at the 1896 meeting that established the conference and was replaced by the University of Michigan. At the time, the organization was more commonly known as the Western Conference.
The first reference to the conference as the Big Nine was in 1899 after Iowa and Indiana had joined. The first reference to the conference as the Big Ten was in 1917 after Michigan rejoined following a nine-year absence; Ohio State had been added in 1912.
The conference was again known as the Big Nine after the University of Chicago decided to de-emphasize varsity athletics just after World War II. Chicago discontinued its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the conference in 1946. Chicago continues its relationship with the conference as a member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the "academic Big Ten." In 1950, Michigan State joined and the conference was again known as the Big Ten. The Big Ten's membership would remain unchanged for the next 40 years.
The conference’s official name throughout this period remained the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives. It did not formally adopt the name Big Ten until 1987, when it was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. In 1990, the Big Ten universities voted to expand the conference to 11 teams, and extended an invitation to Penn State, which it accepted.[15] When Penn State joined in 1990, it was decided that the conference would continue to be called the Big Ten, but its logo was modified to reflect the change; the number 11 is disguised in the white areas of the traditionally blue "Big Ten" lettering.
Following the addition of previously independent Penn State, efforts were made to encourage the University of Notre Dame, the last remaining traditionally independent football powerhouse, to join the league. Early in the 20th century, Notre Dame had sought official entry into the Big Ten but was never extended an invitation.[16] However, in 1999, both Notre Dame and the Big Ten entered into private negotiations concerning a possible membership that would include Notre Dame. Although the Notre Dame faculty senate endorsed the idea with a near unanimous vote, the ND board of trustees decided against joining the conference and Notre Dame ultimately withdrew from negotiations. [2] Though the idea has been revisited in the wake of the Atlantic Coast Conference's expansion to 12 teams, neither Notre Dame nor the Big Ten has taken any official action in pursuit of Notre Dame's membership. Notre Dame had, in 1995, joined the Big East Conference in all sports except football, men's lacrosse, and men's hockey, the latter for which there is no Big East Conference.
The Big Ten Network represents a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten and Fox. It will be majority-owned by the Big Ten Conference, with Fox holding a minority interest. The official network name and logo were announced on October 12, 2006.[3] The conference announced previously that it is continuing its relationship with CBS and ESPN for network broadcasts in basketball.
Commissioners
The office of the commissioner of athletics was created in 1922 "to study athletic problems of the various member universities and assist in enforcing the eligibility rules which govern Big Ten athletics."[14]
Name | Years | Notes |
---|---|---|
Major John L. Griffith | 1922-1944 | died in office |
Kenneth L. "Tug" Wilson | 1945-1961 | retired |
Bill Reed | 1961-1971 | died in office |
Wayne Duke | 1971-1989 | retired |
James Delany | 1989- | present |
Football
Bowl games
Since 1946, the Big Ten champion has had a tie-in with the Rose Bowl game, now a BCS bowl. The Big Ten also has tie-ins with six non-BCS bowls. Picks are made after BCS selections; if two Big Ten teams participate in BCS bowls, the bowl with the #2 pick will have the first pick of the remaining teams in the conference:
- Capital One Bowl: Orlando, Florida (Big Ten #2 pick against SEC #2 pick)
- Outback Bowl: Tampa, Florida (Big Ten #3 pick against SEC #3/4 pick)
- Alamo Bowl: San Antonio, Texas (Big Ten #4/5 pick against Big 12 #4 pick)
- Champs Sports Bowl: Orlando, Florida (Big Ten #4/5 pick against ACC #4 pick)
The Alamo Bowl has the 4th pick in 2007 and 2008, while the Champs Sports Bowl has the 4th pick in 2009.
- Insight Bowl: Tempe, Arizona (Big Ten #6 pick against Big 12 #5 pick)
- Motor City Bowl: Detroit, Michigan (Big Ten #7 pick against MAC)
Michigan appeared in the first bowl game, the 1902 Rose Bowl. Ohio State appeared in the 1921 Rose Bowl. The Big Ten did not allow their schools to participate in bowl games until the agreement struck with the Pacific Coast Conference for the 1947 Rose Bowl. From 1946 through 1971, the Big Ten did not allow the same team to represent the conference in consecutive years in the Rose Bowl with an exception made after the 1961 season in which Minnesota played in the 1962 Rose Bowl after playing in the 1961 Rose Bowl due to Ohio State declining the bid. It was not until the 1975 season that the Big Ten allowed teams to play in bowl games other than the Rose Bowl. Due to those rules, Big Ten powers such as Michigan and Ohio State have lower numbers of all-time bowl appearances than powerhouse teams from the Big 12 Conference (formerly the Big 8 Conference and Southwest Conference) and Southeastern Conference, which always placed multiple teams in bowl games every year.
Although the pick order usually corresponds to the conference standings, the bowls are not required to make their choices strictly according to the won-lost records; many factors influence bowl selections, especially the turnout of the fans for past bowl games.
Men's basketball
The Big Ten has participated in basketball since 1904, and has led the nation in attendance every season since 1978.[17] It has been a national powerhouse in men's basketball, having multiple championship winners and often sending four or more teams to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Previous NCAA champions include Indiana with five titles, Michigan State with two, and Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State with one each.[18] Ohio State played in the first NCAA tournament national championship game in 1939, losing to Oregon. Despite this, Jimmy Hull of Ohio State was the first NCAA tournament MVP. The first three tournament MVP's came from the Big Ten (Marv Huffman of Indiana in 1940 and John Katz of Wisconsin in 1941).
Big Ten teams have also experienced success in the postseason NIT. Since 1974, 12 Big Ten teams have made it to the championship game, winning seven championships. NIT champions from the Big Ten include Michigan and Ohio State with two, and Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue with one each.
Since 1999, the Big Ten has taken part in the ACC - Big Ten Challenge with the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC holds an 9-0 record against the Big Ten, and Michigan State is the only Big Ten school with a winning record in the challenge.
NCAA tournament champions, runners-up and locations
† denotes overtime games. Multiple †'s indicate more than one overtime.
Post-season NIT championships
Year | Champion | Runner-up | MVP | Venue and city | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Purdue | 87 | Utah | 81 | Mike Sojourner, Utah | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1979 | Indiana | 53 | Purdue | 52 | Butch Carter and Ray Tolbert, Indiana | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1980 | Virginia | 58 | Minnesota | 55 | Ralph Sampson, Virginia | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1982 | Bradley | 68 | Purdue | 61 | Mitchell Anderson, Bradley | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1984 | Michigan | 83 | Notre Dame | 63 | Tim McCormick, Michigan | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1985 | UCLA | 65 | Indiana | 62 | Reggie Miller, UCLA | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1986 | Ohio State | 73 | Wyoming | 63 | Brad Sellers, Ohio State | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1988 | Connecticut | 72 | Ohio State | 67 | Phil Gamble, UConn | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
1993 | Minnesota | 62 | Georgetown | 61 | Voshon Lenard, Minnesota | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
2004 | Michigan | 62 | Rutgers | 55 | Daniel Horton, Michigan | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
2006 | South Carolina | 76 | Michigan | 64 | Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
2008 | Ohio State | 92 | Massachusetts | 85 | Kosta Koufos, Ohio State | Madison Square Garden | New York City |
Women's basketball
Women's basketball teams have played a total of nine times in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship (since 1982) and Women's National Invitation Tournament (since 1998). Big Ten women's teams have also led conference attendance from 1993-1999.[19]
NCAA tournament champions, runners-up and locations
Year | Champion | Runner-up | Venue and city | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Texas Tech | 84 | Ohio State | 74 | The Omni | Atlanta, Georgia |
1999 | Purdue | 62 | Duke | 45 | San Jose Arena | San Jose, California |
2001 | Notre Dame | 68 | Purdue | 66 | Savvis Center | St. Louis, Missouri |
2005 | Baylor | 84 | Michigan State | 62 | RCA Dome | Indianapolis, Indiana |
Women's National Invitation Tournament championship games
Year | Champion | Runner-up | Venue and city | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Penn State | 59 | Baylor | 56 | Ferrell Center | Waco, Texas |
1999 | Arkansas | 67 | Wisconsin | 64 | Bud Walton Arena | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
2000 | Wisconsin | 75 | Florida | 74 | Kohl Center | Madison, Wisconsin |
2001 | Ohio State | 62 | New Mexico | 61 | University Arena | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
2007 | Wyoming | 72 | Wisconsin | 56 | Arena-Auditorium | Laramie, Wyoming |
2008 | Marquette | 81 | Michigan State | 66 | Breslin Center | East Lansing, Michigan |
Rivalries
Big Ten football
The members of the Big Ten have longstanding rivalries with each other, especially on the football field. Each school has at least one traveling trophy at stake. Some Big Ten rivalries include (with their respective traveling trophy in parentheses):
- Illinois-Northwestern (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)
- Indiana-Purdue (Old Oaken Bucket)
- Indiana-Michigan State (Old Brass Spittoon)
- Iowa-Minnesota (Floyd of Rosedale)
- Iowa-Wisconsin (Heartland Trophy)
- Minnesota-Wisconsin (Slab of Bacon/Paul Bunyan's Axe)
- Michigan-Michigan State (Paul Bunyan Trophy)
- Michigan-Minnesota (Little Brown Jug)
- Illinois-Ohio State (Illibuck)
- Illinois-Purdue (Purdue Cannon)
- Minnesota-Penn State (Governor's Victory Bell)
- Michigan State-Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)
- Michigan-Ohio State (No trophy)
Furthermore, the Big Ten football schedule is set up with each team having two permanent rivalries within the conference, with the other eight teams in the conference rotating out of the schedule in pairs for two-year stints. Permanent rivalries are as follows:
- Illinois: Indiana, Northwestern
- Indiana: Illinois, Purdue
- Iowa: Minnesota, Wisconsin
- Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State
- Michigan State: Michigan, Penn State
- Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin
- Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue
- Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State
- Penn State: Michigan State, Ohio State
- Purdue: Indiana, Northwestern
- Wisconsin: Iowa, Minnesota
The pair of Big Ten teams that conference teams will not play during the 2007 and 2008 seasons are as follows:
- Illinois: Michigan State, Purdue
- Indiana: Michigan, Ohio State
- Iowa: Michigan, Ohio State
- Michigan: Indiana, Iowa
- Michigan State: Illinois, Minnesota
- Minnesota: Michigan State, Penn State
- Northwestern:Penn State, Wisconsin
- Ohio State: Indiana, Iowa
- Penn State: Minnesota, Northwestern
- Purdue: Illinois, Wisconsin
- Wisconsin: Northwestern, Purdue
Big Ten Basketball
Indiana and Purdue have a heated rivalry in college basketball between the two schools with the most Big Ten basketball championships. Michigan and Michigan State have an in-state rivalry. Due to their recent successes and familiarity between their players and coaching staffs, Illinois and Michigan State have developed a basketball rivalry based more on competitive matches and mutual respect, rather than animosity, which could characterize Illinois' rivalry with Indiana. These schools share a rivalry which has intensified at times, most recently due to Eric Gordon's de-committal from Illinois in order to attend and play for Indiana.
Extra-conference rivalries
Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan are among the Big Ten football teams that have rivalries with Notre Dame. After the University of Southern California (USC), the Spartans and Boilermakers share the winningest record against the Irish, with 26 wins apiece.
Penn State had a longstanding rivalry with Pittsburgh of the Big East, but the two schools have not met since 2000. Penn State also had long histories with independent Notre Dame; West Virginia, Syracuse, and Rutgers of the Big East; Maryland and Boston College of the ACC; and Temple, of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Penn State also has strong intrastate rivalries with Patriot League universities Bucknell in men's basketball and Lehigh in wrestling. Most of these rivalries were cultivated while Penn State operated independent of conference affiliation; the constraints of playing a full conference schedule, especially in football, have reduced the number of meetings between Penn State and its non-Big Ten rivals.
Iowa has an in-state rivalry with Iowa State, with the winner getting the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Iowa also holds rivalries in basketball with Drake and Northern Iowa.
Indiana has an out-of conference rivalry with Kentucky, but the rivalry has a much higher profile in basketball than in football.
Illinois has a longstanding basketball rivalry with Missouri, with the two men's teams squaring off annually in the "Braggin' Rights" game in St. Louis. This rivalry has been carried over into football as "The Arch Rivalry" with games played at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis in 2002 and 2003 and four games scheduled from 2007 to 2010.[4]
Wisconsin has a long-standing, in-state basketball rivalry with Marquette. The series has intensified as of late with both teams having made the Final Four in recent years. The schools also played an annual football game before Marquette abandoned its football program in 1961.
In the early days of the Big Ten, the Chicago-Michigan game was played on Thanksgiving, usually with conference championship implications and was considered one of the first major rivalries of the conference. Also in the early days of the conference, and at Knute Rockne's insistence, Northwestern and Notre Dame had a yearly contest, with the winner taking home a shillelagh, much like the winner of the USC-Notre Dame and Purdue-Notre Dame contests now receive. The Northwestern-Notre Dame shillelagh was largely forgotten by the early 1960's and is now solely an element of college football's storied past.
Conference facilities
See also
- Big Ten Network
- List of Big Ten National Championships
- Central Collegiate Hockey Association
- Committee on Institutional Cooperation
- Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities
- Western Collegiate Hockey Association
References
- ^ Greenes' Guides: The Public Ivies (accessed on September 19 2007); see also [1].
- ^ a b "How many NCAA Division I championships has your school won?". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ^ Includes only University Park campus. "Undergraduate Enrollment by Level". Penn State Bursar. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
- ^ "Michigan Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "NW Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "Minnesota Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "OSU Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "Purdue Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "Illinois Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "Wisconsin Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "PSU Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "MSU Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ "Iowa Endowment 2008" (PDF). Sustainable Endowments Institute.
- ^ a b "Big Ten History". Big Ten Conference. Retrieved 2007-01-14. Cite error: The named reference "traditions" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "An Ingenious Inception: Penn State Joins the Big Ten Conference". Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ^ Pamela Schaeffer (1999-02-19). "Notre Dame shuns Big Ten, fears losing `distinctiveness'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
- ^ Official 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. 2006. p. 241. ISBN 978-1572439092. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
- ^ "Big Ten Men's Basketball History". Big Ten Conference. 2004. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
- ^ Official 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. 2006. p. 199. ISSN 1089-5299. Retrieved 2007-02-03.