Big Ten

The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA; it is the oldest NCAA Division I conference in the country. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of ten prominent universities, which accounts for its name. On August 2, 2024, the conference expanded to 18 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and 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.

Big Ten member institutions are major research universities with large financial endowments and strong academic reputations. A large student body is a hallmark of its universities, as 15 of the 18 members enroll more than 30,000 students. They are all public universities except Northwestern University and the University of Southern California, both private universities. Collectively, Big Ten universities educate more than 520,000 total students and have 5.7 million living alumni. The members engage in $9.3 billion in funded research each year; 17 out of 18 are members of the Association of American Universities (except Nebraska) and the Universities Research Association (except USC). All Big Ten universities are also members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, formerly the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.

Although the Big Ten was primarily a Midwestern conference for nearly a century, the conference's geographic footprint has extended from the Mid-Atlantic to the Great Plains since 2014. In 2024, the conference gained a presence in the West Coast with the addition of four former Pac-12 Conference schools.

Member universities

Full members

Notes:

Membership map

Affiliate members

Notes

Former member

The University of Chicago is the only full member to have permanently left the Big Ten Conference.

;Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1896 till:2044
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors = id:barcolor
id:line value:pink
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.78,0.391,0.654) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)
id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:Full from:1896 till:end text:Illinois (1896–present)

bar:2 color:Full from:1896 till:end text:Minnesota (1896–present)

bar:3 color:Full from:1896 till:end text: Northwestern (1896–present)

bar:4 color:Full from:1896 till:end text: Purdue (1896–present)

bar:5 color:Full from:1896 till:end text:Wisconsin (1896–present)

bar:6 color:Full from:1896 till:1907 text:Michigan (1896–1907)
bar:6 shift:(45) color:OtherC1 from:1907 till:1917 text:Ind.
bar:6 color:Full from:1917 till:end text:(1917–present)

bar:7 color:Full from:1896 till:1940 text:Chicago (1896–1946)
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1940 till:1946 text:
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1946 till:1976 text:Independent
bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1986 text: MWC
bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1986 till:end text: UAA

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1899 text:Ind.
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1899 till:1900 text:Indiana (1899–present)
bar:8 color:Full from:1900 till:end

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1899 text:Ind.
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1899 till:1900 text:Iowa (1899–present)
bar:9 color:Full from:1900 till:end

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1912 text:Independent
bar:10 color:Full from:1912 till:end text: Ohio State (1912–present)

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1907 text: MIAA
bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1907 till:1950 text:Independent
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1950 till:1953 text: Michigan State (1950–present)
bar:11 color:Full from:1953 till:end

bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1976 text:Independent
bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1979 text: A-10
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1982 text: Ind.
bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1982 till:1990 text: A-10
bar:12 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1993 text:Penn State (1990–present)
bar:12 color:Full from:1993 till:end

bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1907 text:Independent
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1907 till:1918 text: Big Eight
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1918 till:1921 text:Ind.
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1921 till:1996 text: Big Eight
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:2011 text:Big 12
bar:13 color:Full from:2011 till:end text:Nebraska (2011–present)

bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1921 text:Independent
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1921 till:1953 text: SoCon
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:2014 text: ACC
bar:14 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Maryland (2014–present)

bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1958 text:Independent
bar:15 shift:(-5) color:OtherC2 from:1958 till:1961 text: MAC
bar:15 shift:(5) color:OtherC1 from:1961 till:1976 text:Independent
bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1995 text: A-10
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1995 till:2013 text: Big East
bar:15 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2014 text: AAC
bar:15 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Rutgers (2014–present)

bar:16 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:end text:Johns Hopkins (2014–present)

bar:17 color:AssocOS from:2017 till:end text: Notre Dame (2017–present)

bar:18 shift:(-10) color:OtherC1 from:1919 till:1920 text:Ind.
bar:18 shift:(5) color:OtherC2 from:1920 till:1928 text: SCIAC
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1928 till:1959 text: PCC
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1959 till:1968 text: AAWU
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1968 till:1978 text: Pac-8
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text: Pac-10
bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2024 text: Pac-12
bar:18 color:Full from:2024 till:end text:UCLA (2024–present)

bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:1896 till:1922 text:Independent
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1922 till:1959 text: PCC
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1959 till:1968 text: AAWU
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1968 till:1978 text: Pac-8
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text: Pac-10
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2024 text: Pac-12
bar:19 color:Full from:2024 till:end text:USC (2024–present)

bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1908 text:Independent
bar:20 shift:(-15) color:OtherC2 from:1908 till:1909 text: NIAA
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1909 till:1912 text:Ind.
bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1912 till:1915 text: NIAA
bar:20 shift:(15) color:OtherC1 from:1915 till:1959 text: PCC
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1959 till:1968 text: AAWU
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1968 till:1978 text: Pac-8
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text: Pac-10
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2024 text: Pac-12
bar:20 color:Full from:2024 till:end text:Oregon (2024–present)

bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1896 till:1905 text:Independent
bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1905 till:1915 text: NIAA
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1915 till:1959 text: PCC
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1959 till:1968 text: AAWU
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1968 till:1978 text: Pac-8
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:2011 text: Pac-10
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:2024 text: Pac-12
bar:21 color:Full from:2024 till:end text: Washington (2024–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1900
TextData =

fontsize:L

textcolor:black

pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"Big Ten Conference membership history"
#> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

History

Early history

As intercollegiate football rapidly increased during the 1890s, so did the ruthless nature of the game. Tempers flared, fights erupted, and injuries soared. Between 1880 and 1905, college football players suffered more than 325 deaths and 1,149 injuries. To deal with mounting criticism of the game, Purdue University president James Henry Smart invited the presidents of the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Lake Forest College, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and University of Wisconsin to a meeting in Chicago on January 11, 1895, to create policies aimed at regulating intercollegiate athletics. The eligibility of student-athletes was one of the main topics of discussion. The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was founded at a second meeting on February 8, 1896. Lake Forest was not at the 1896 meeting and was replaced by the University of Michigan. At the time, the organization was more commonly known as the Western Conference, consisting of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Chicago, Purdue, and Northwestern. These schools were the original seven members.

The conference is one of the nation's oldest, predating the founding of the NCAA by a decade and was one of the first collegiate conferences to sponsor men's basketball.

The first reference to the conference as the Big Nine was in 1899 after Iowa and Indiana had joined. Nebraska first petitioned to join the league in 1900 and again in 1911, but was turned away both times.

In 1905, the conference was officially incorporated as the "Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives".

In April 1907, Michigan was voted out of the conference for refusing to adhere to league rules limiting football teams to no more than five games and players to three years of eligibility. Ohio State joined in 1912. The first known references to the conference as the Big Ten were in December 1916, when Michigan rejoined the conference after a nine-year absence.

1940s: Chicago leaves and Michigan State joins

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. In 1939 UChicago President Robert Maynard Hutchins made the decision to abolish the football program, based on his negative views of big-time college football's excesses and associated problems of the time. Chicago withdrew from the conference in 1946 after struggling to obtain victories in many conference matchups. It was believed that one of several schools, notably Iowa State, Marquette, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh would replace Chicago at the time. On May 20, 1949, Michigan State ended the speculation by joining 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.

1990 expansion: Penn State

In 1990, the Big Ten universities voted to expand the conference to 11 teams and extended an invitation to Atlantic 10 Conference member and football independent Pennsylvania State University, which accepted it. When Penn State joined in 1990, it was decided the conference would continue to be called the Big Ten, but its logo was modified to reflect the change; the number 11 was disguised in the negative space of the traditionally blue "Big Ten" lettering.

Missouri showed interest in Big Ten membership after Penn State joined. Around 1993, the league explored adding Kansas, Missouri and Rutgers or other potential schools, to create a 14-team league with two football divisions. These talks died when the Big Eight Conference merged with former Southwest Conference members to create the Big 12.

Following the addition of Penn State, efforts were made to encourage the University of Notre Dame, at that time the last remaining non- service academy independent, to join the league. In 1999, Notre Dame and the Big Ten entered into private negotiations concerning a possible membership that would include Notre Dame. Although Notre Dame's faculty senate endorsed the idea with a near-unanimous vote, the school's board of trustees decided against joining the conference. (In 1926, Notre Dame had briefly considered official entry into the Big Ten but chose to retain its independent status.) Notre Dame subsequently joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football (and hockey), in which Notre Dame maintains its independent status as long as it plays at least five games per season against ACC opponents. This was believed to be the major stumbling block to Notre Dame joining the Big Ten, as Notre Dame wanted to retain its independent home game broadcasting contract with NBC Sports, while the Big Ten insisted upon a full membership with no special exemptions.

2010–2014 expansion: Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers

In December 2009, Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany announced that the league was looking to expand in what would later be part of a nationwide trend as part of the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment. On June 11, 2010, the University of Nebraska applied for membership in the Big Ten and was unanimously approved as the conference's 12th school, which became effective July 1, 2011. The conference retained the name "Big Ten". This briefly led to the interesting and ironic result of the Big Ten consisting of twelve teams, and the Big 12 consisting of ten teams (with fellow former Big 12 member Colorado's move to the Pac-12 Conference). As part of the agreement to join the Big Ten, Nebraska would not receive a full share of the media revenue for the first six years of its membership, until fall 2017.

Legends and Leaders divisions

On September 1, 2010, Delany revealed the conference's football divisional split, but noted that the division names would be announced later. Those division names, as well as the conference's new logo, were made public on December 13, 2010. For its new logo, the conference replaced the "hidden 11" logo with one that uses the "B1G" character combination in its branding. Delany did not comment on the logo that day, but it was immediately evident that the new logo would "allow fans to see 'BIG' and '10' in a single word."

For the new football division names, the Big Ten was unable to use geographic names, because they had rejected a geographic arrangement. Delany announced that the new divisions would be known as the "Legends Division" and "Leaders Division". In the Legends division were Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. The Leaders division was composed of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Conference officials stated they had focused on creating competitive fairness rather than splitting by geographical location. However, the new "Legends" and "Leaders" divisions were not met with enthusiasm. Some traditional rivals, including Ohio State and Michigan, were placed in separate divisions.

For the football season, each team played the others in its division, one "cross-over" rivalry game, and two rotating cross-divisional games. At the end of the regular season the two division winners met in a new Big Ten Football Championship Game. The Legends and Leaders divisional alignment was in effect for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 football seasons.

Maryland and Rutgers join

On November 19, 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC and join the Big Ten as its 13th member effective on July 1, 2014. The Big Ten's Council of Presidents approved the move later that day. One day later, Rutgers University of the Big East also accepted an offer for membership from the Big Ten as its 14th member school. Like Nebraska, both schools would not receive full shares of the media revenue until six years after they joined. However, both schools took loans from the conference, thus pushing back the date they would receive full shares.

West and East divisions

On April 28, 2013, the Big Ten presidents and chancellors unanimously approved a football divisional realignment that went into effect when Maryland and Rutgers joined in 2014. Under the new plan, the Legends and Leaders divisions were replaced with geographic divisions. The West Division included Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin (of which all but Purdue are in the Central Time Zone), while the East Division included Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers (all of which are in the Eastern Time Zone). The final issue in determining the new divisions was which of the two Indiana schools would be sent to the West; Purdue was chosen because its West Lafayette campus is geographically west of Indiana's home city of Bloomington. The divisional alignment permanently protected the cross-divisional football rivalry Indiana–Purdue. As before, the two division winners played each other in the Big Ten Football Championship Game. The West and East divisional alignment was in effect for ten football seasons, from 2014 through 2023.

Affiliate members join

On June 3, 2013, the Big Ten announced the sponsorship of men's and women's lacrosse. For any conference to qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, at least six member schools must play the sport. In women's lacrosse, the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten brought the conference up to the requisite six participants, joining programs at Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State. In men's lacrosse, Ohio State and Penn State were the only existing participants. Coincident with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, Michigan agreed to upgrade its successful club team to varsity status, giving the Big Ten five sponsoring schools, one short of the minimum six for an automatic bid. Johns Hopkins University opted to join the conference as its first affiliate member beginning in 2014. Johns Hopkins had been independent in men's lacrosse for 130 years, claiming 44 national championships. As long-time independents joined conferences (for example, Syracuse joining the Atlantic Coast Conference), other schools competing as independents in some cases concluded that the inability to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament was becoming a more serious competitive disadvantage in scheduling and recruiting.

On March 23, 2016, the Big Ten Conference and Notre Dame announced the Fighting Irish would become a men's ice hockey affiliate beginning with the 2017–18 season. Notre Dame had been a member of Hockey East, and the move would save travel time and renew rivalries with former CCHA and WCHA members.

In 2013, the conference moved its headquarters from its location in Park Ridge, Illinois to neighboring Rosemont. The office building is situated within Rosemont's Parkway Bank Park Entertainment District (then named MB Financial Park Entertainment District), alongside Interstate 294.

2021–2024 Pacific expansion

On June 30, 2022, UCLA and USC announced that they would be joining the Big Ten Conference effective August 2, 2024, enabling both schools to remain in the Pac-12 Conference for the duration of the Pac-12's existing media rights agreements. Unlike the prior expansion with Nebraska, Rutgers, and Maryland, USC and UCLA would join with a full share of the media revenue from the start of their Big Ten tenure.

In August 2022, the conference reached new media rights deals with CBS, Fox, and NBC totaled at an estimated $7 billion.

On August 4, 2023, Oregon and Washington announced that they would join the Big Ten Conference alongside UCLA and USC. Unlike UCLA and USC, the two schools would receive a reduced media revenue share of $30 million each, with the share increasing by $1 million for each school each year, through the 2029–30 season. Rather than reducing the other conference members' revenue shares, Fox would contribute the necessary money. The schools will receive a full share with the next media deal.

Football: the return of no divisions

In June 2023 – after UCLA and USC were confirmed as incoming members but before Oregon and Washington were added – the conference announced that starting in 2024, the East and West divisions for football would be eliminated. Each team would play nine conference games and three non-conference games, as before. Within a four-year period, each team would play at least two games against every other team – one at home and one away. This plan called for 11 protected matchups to take place every year; these included Michigan–Ohio State and ten other regional rivalries. At the end of each season, the top two teams in the conference standings would oppose each other in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.

The addition of Oregon and Washington added one more protected matchup to this count, bringing the total to 12 protected matchups: Illinois–Northwestern, Illinois–Purdue, Indiana–Purdue, Iowa–Minnesota, Iowa–Nebraska, Iowa–Wisconsin, Maryland–Rutgers, Michigan–Michigan State, Michigan–Ohio State, Minnesota–Wisconsin, Oregon–Washington and UCLA–USC, leaving Penn State as the lone school with no protected matchups. The schedule was also updated so that teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – and will play rotating opponents no more than three times in a five-year period.

Academics

All current members of the Big Ten are doctorate-granting universities.

Former conference commissioner Jim Delany said in 2010 that membership in the Association of American Universities is "an important part of who we are." All current members of the Big Ten, other than the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, are members of the AAU. Nebraska was a member of the AAU when it was admitted to the Big Ten, but lost this status shortly afterwards.

The following table shows National University rank by '' U.S. News & World Report'' .

Also indicated is membership in the Association of American Universities.

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."

All Big Ten members are members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, formerly known as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. The University of Chicago, a former Big Ten Conference member, was a member of the CIC from 1958 to June 29, 2016.

Athletic department revenue by school

Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties.

Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.

The following table shows institutional reporting to the United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2022–23 academic year.

The following table shows revenue specifically from NCAA / Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football reported by the Knight Commission for the 2021–22 academic year.

Key personnel

Broadcasting and media rights

Fall 2007–Spring 2017

Commissioner Jim Delany began to explore the formation of a Big Ten-specific channel in 2004 after a failed attempt to seek a significantly larger rights fee from ESPN to renew its existing agreements. This came to fruition in 2006, when the conference announced the formation of a dedicated cable network, Big Ten Network, in a 20-year partnership with Fox Sports, which would officially launch in 2007. The network carries coverage of Big Ten athletics (including events not carried by the Big Ten's other media partners), studio shows, as well as other original programs and documentaries profiling the conference and its members. The impact of Big Ten Network influenced the conference's expansion in the 2010s, with some of its newer members being located in proximity to major media markets such as Baltimore and Washington, D.C. (Maryland), and the New York metropolitan area (Rutgers).

Accompanying the new network announcement was a new ten-year media rights agreement beginning with the 2007–08 season and ending with the 2016–17 season that would split Big Ten coverage among the ESPN networks, CBS Sports, and Big Ten Network, thus ending Comcast Chicago's regional coverage of the conference.

*ABC Sports:
** 17 football games per season
*ESPN/ESPN2:
** 24 football games per season
**43 men's basketball games per season
*** Rights to the first three rounds of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, to be shared with Big Ten Network
**5 women's basketball games per season
*ESPN Other (U,360):
**13 men's basketball games per season
*CBS Sports:
** 15 men's basketball games per-season
*** Rights to the semi-finals and championship game of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament
** 2 women's basketball games per-season
*Big Ten Network:
** 35 football games per season
** 105 men's basketball games per season
*** Rights to the first three rounds of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, to be shared with ESPN/ESPN2
** 55 women's basketball games per season
** Coverage of Olympic sports events

In 2010, the Big Ten announced the creation of the Big Ten Football Championship game starting with the 2011 season and signed a broadcast deal with Fox to broadcast the game from 2011 through 2016.

Fall 2017–Spring 2023

In 2016, the conference announced a new six-year media rights deal worth $2.64 billion with Fox Sports, CBS Sports, and ESPN to take effect with the start of the 2017–18 season and ending with the 2022–23 season. The size of the deal translated to a near tripling of the per-school media revenue share.

The new deal would see regular season Big Ten football games airing on Fox and Fox Sports 1 for the first time. As part of the deal, Fox would retain its coverage of the Big Ten Championship as well as obtain priority over ESPN when drafting regular season football games prior to each season. It would also put an end to ESPN's coverage of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament.

Fall 2023–Spring 2030

On August 18, 2022, the Big Ten announced that it had reached seven-year broadcast rights deals with Fox, CBS, and for the first time, NBC Sports, beginning in the 2023–24 academic year, ending an association between the conference and ESPN dating back to the 1980s. A major goal for the new contracts was to establish specific broadcast windows for Big Ten football games across its three partners, with Fox, CBS, and NBC primarily holding rights to Noon ET, 3:30 p.m. ET, and primetime games, respectively, and the three broadcasters alternating first pick of games. The contracts were estimated to be worth at least $7 billion, but also reportedly includes an "escalator clause" that will raise the value of the contracts if the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were to specifically join the Big Ten.
*Fox Sports:
** 24 to 32 football games per season:
*** Will primarily air in a Noon ET window (''Big Noon Saturday''), but with the option for games in other windows after the West Coast schools join in 2024.
*** Rights to the Big Ten championship game in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029.
** At least 45 men's basketball games per-season on Fox and FS1.
** Selected women's basketball games and Olympic sport events.
*CBS Sports:
** 14 to 15 football games per season on CBS and Paramount+:
*** Will primarily air in a 3:30 p.m. ET window beginning in 2024, once CBS's contract with the SEC expires (CBS will air seven games in other timeslots during the 2023 season).
*** Includes one Friday afternoon game on Thanksgiving weekend.
*** Rights to the Big Ten championship game in 2024 and 2028.
** Up to 15 men's basketball games per-season:
*** Rights to the semi-finals and championship game of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament
*** Rights to the championship game of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament
*NBC Sports:
** 14 to 16 football games per season on NBC and Peacock:
*** Games will primarily air in a primetime window on NBC
*** Eight games will stream exclusively on Peacock, including four intraconference games.
*** Rights to the Big Ten championship game in 2026
** Up to 77 basketball games per-season on Peacock (NBC games added in 2024–25):
*** Up to 47 men's basketball games, including 32 intraconference games.
*** Up to 30 women's basketball games, including 20 intraconference games.
*** Rights to the opening night doubleheaders of the men's and women's basketball tournaments.
** Up to 40 live Olympic sports events per-season on Peacock.
*Big Ten Network:
** Up to 50 football games per season
** At least 126 men's basketball games per season
*** Second round and quarter-final games of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament
** At least 40 women's basketball games per season
*** Coverage of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament (outside of the first round and championship game)
** Coverage of Olympic sports events

Following the deal's signing, it was later revealed that several schools had issues with playing football games at night in November, with some having formal clauses allowing them to veto games in that timeslot. The conference would also have to compensate Fox $40 million for the 2026 Big Ten championship game, as the conference did not actually have the right to offer the game to NBC. Instead, under the terms of the agreement regarding the operation of Big Ten Network, the channel officially owns the conference's media rights and then sublicenses them out to other channels, thus Fox has a stake in any content BTN sublicenses.

Sports

The Big Ten Conference sponsors championship competition in 14 men's and 14 women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Men's sponsored sports by school

Notes:

* Notre Dame joined the Big Ten in the 2017–18 school year as an affiliate member in men's ice hockey. It continues to field its other sports in the ACC except in football where it will continue to compete as an independent.

° Johns Hopkins joined the Big Ten in 2014 as an affiliate member in men's lacrosse, with women's lacrosse following in 2016. It continues to field its other sports in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference.Big Ten Announces Institution of Men's and Women's Lacrosse and Addition of Johns Hopkins as Men's Lacrosse Sport Affiliate Member – BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site
. Bigten.org (June 3, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.

Women's sponsored sports by school

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big Ten Conference that are played by Big Ten schools

Rivalries

Intra-conference football rivalries

The members of the Big Ten have longstanding rivalries with each other, especially on the football field. Each school, except Maryland and Rutgers, has at least one traveling trophy at stake. The following is a list of active rivalries in the Big Ten Conference with totals & records through the completion of the 2024 season.

Extra-conference football rivalries

Protected matchups

Beginning in 2024, the conference will eliminate divisions but will protect certain matchups. The following are the conference's 12 protected matchups.

* Illinois: Northwestern, Purdue
* Indiana: Purdue
* Iowa: Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
* Maryland: Rutgers
* Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State
* Michigan State: Michigan
* Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin
* Nebraska: Iowa
* Northwestern: Illinois
* Ohio State: Michigan
* Oregon: Washington
* Purdue: Illinois, Indiana
* Rutgers: Maryland
* UCLA: USC
* USC: UCLA
* Washington: Oregon
* Wisconsin: Minnesota, Iowa

From 1993 through 2010, the Big Ten football schedule was set up with each team having two permanent matches within the conference, with the other eight teams in the conference rotating out of the schedule in pairs for two-year stints. Permanent matches were 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

This system was discontinued after the 2010 season, as teams became grouped into two divisions, and would play all teams in their division once, with one protected cross-over game, and two games rotating against the other five opponents from the opposing division.

Most of the above permanent rivalries were maintained. By virtue of the new alignment, a handful of new permanent divisional opponents were created, as all pairs of teams within the same division would face off each season. Furthermore, three new permanent inter-divisional matches resulted from the realignment: Purdue–Iowa, Michigan State–Indiana, and Penn State–Nebraska. The following past permanent matches were maintained across divisions: Minnesota–Wisconsin, Michigan–Ohio State, and Illinois–Northwestern.

The new alignment, however, caused some of the above permanent rivalries to be discontinued. These were: Iowa–Wisconsin, Northwestern–Purdue, and Michigan State–Penn State. These matchups would continue to be played, but only twice every five years on average. More rivalries were disrupted, and some resumed on a yearly basis, when the league realigned into East and West Divisions for the 2014 season with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers. The two new schools were placed in the new East Division with Penn State, and the two Indiana schools were divided (Indiana to the East and Purdue to the West). With the move to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016, all cross-division games will be held at least once in a four-year cycle except for Indiana–Purdue, which is the only protected cross-division game. The conference later announced that once the new scheduling format takes effect in 2016, members will be prohibited from playing FCS teams, and required to play at least one non-conference game against a team in the Power Five conferences ( ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC; presumably, this would also allow for non-conference games against Big Ten opponents that are not on the conference schedule). Games against independents Notre Dame (an ACC member in non-football sports) also count toward the Power Five requirement, as did games against BYU before it joined the Big 12 in 2023.

Intra-conference basketball rivalries

* Illinois: Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern
* Indiana: Illinois, Purdue
* Iowa: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin
* Maryland: Penn State
* Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State
* Michigan State: Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin
* Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin
* Northwestern: Illinois
* Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State
* Oregon: Washington
* Penn State: Maryland, Ohio State
* Purdue: Indiana
* UCLA: USC
* USC: UCLA
* Washington: Oregon
* Wisconsin: Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota

Extra-conference basketball rivalries

* Illinois: Missouri
* Indiana: Kentucky
* Iowa: Iowa State, Iowa Big Four
* Maryland: Duke, Georgetown, Virginia
* Michigan: Duke
*Michigan State: Duke, Oakland
* Nebraska: Creighton
* Penn State: Bucknell, Pittsburgh
* Oregon: Oregon State
* Rutgers: Princeton, Seton Hall
* UCLA: Arizona, Notre Dame
* Washington: Gonzaga, Washington State
* Wisconsin: Green Bay, Marquette, Milwaukee

Other sports

Men's ice hockey

* Michigan-Michigan State
* Minnesota-Wisconsin
* Minnesota-North Dakota
* Minnesota-Minnesota Duluth
* Minnesota-St. Cloud State
* Michigan-Notre Dame

Men's lacrosse

* Maryland-Johns Hopkins
* Penn State-Bucknell
* Rutgers-Princeton

Men's soccer

* Michigan-Michigan State ( Big Bear Trophy)

Wrestling

* Penn State–Lehigh
* Iowa-Penn State
* Iowa–Iowa State
* Iowa-Oklahoma State
* Rutgers-Princeton

Extra-conference rivalries

Four Big Ten teams-Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State and Michigan-had rivalries in football with Notre Dame. After the University of Southern California with 35 wins (including a vacated 2005 win), the Michigan State Spartans have the most wins against the Irish, with 28. The Purdue Boilermakers follow with 26, and Michigan ranks fourth all-time with 24. 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 1960s and is now solely an element of college football's storied past.

Penn State has a longstanding rivalry with Pittsburgh of the ACC, but the two schools did not meet from 2000 until renewing the rivalry with an alternating home-and-home series from 2016 to 2019. Penn State also has long histories with independent Notre Dame; Temple of The American; Syracuse, and Boston College of the ACC; and West Virginia, of the Big 12 Conference. Additionally, Penn State maintains strong intrastate rivalries with Patriot League universities Bucknell in men's basketball and men's lacrosse, 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 of the Big 12, with the winner getting the Cy-Hawk Trophy in football. Iowa and Iowa State also compete annually in the Cy-Hawk Series sponsored by Hy-Vee (as of 2011 this series is now sponsored by The Iowa Corngrowers Association), the competition includes all head-to-head regular season competitions in all sports. Iowa also holds rivalries in basketball with the state's other two Division I programs, Drake and Northern Iowa.

Indiana has an out-of-conference rivalry with Kentucky of the SEC (see Indiana–Kentucky rivalry). While the two schools played in football for many years, the rivalry was rooted in their decades of national success in men's basketball. The two no longer play one another in football, but their basketball rivalry continued until a dispute about game sites ended the series after 2011. In the last season of the rivalry (2011–12), the teams played twice. During the regular season, then-unranked Indiana defeated then-#1 ranked Kentucky 73–72 at Assembly Hall. The Wildcats avenged the loss in the NCAA tournament, defeating Indiana 102–90 in the South Regional final in Atlanta on their way to a national title. The teams next played in the 2016 NCAA tournament, with Indiana winning.

Illinois has a longstanding basketball rivalry with the SEC's Missouri Tigers, with the two men's teams squaring off annually in the " Braggin' Rights" game. It has been held in St. Louis since 1980, first at the St. Louis Arena and since 1994 at the Enterprise Center. 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 in 2007 through 201


Wisconsin has a long-standing in-state basketball rivalry with Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball, 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. The school also has minor rivalries in basketball with the two other Division I members of the University of Wisconsin System, which include the Milwaukee Panthers, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Green Bay Phoenix, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.

Similarly, Nebraska has an in-state rivalry with another Big East school in Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, Creighton, mostly in basketball and baseball.

Minnesota men's ice hockey has a prolific and fierce border rivalry with the University of North Dakota. The two teams played annually between 1948 and 2013 as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association prior to the inception of the Big Ten Conference. The rivalry resumed in 2016 in non-conference action.

Maryland has many rivalries outside of the conference, most notably Duke Blue Devils, Duke, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia, West Virginia Mountaineers, West Virginia, and Navy Midshipmen, Navy. Maryland left the Duke and Virginia rivalries behind in the ACC when it joined the Big Ten.

In the early days of the Big Ten, the Chicago–Michigan football rivalry, Chicago–Michigan game was played on Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving, usually with conference championship implications. It was considered one of the first major rivalries of the conference.

Facilities

Three Big Ten football stadiums seat over 100,000 spectators: Michigan Stadium (Michigan), Beaver Stadium (Penn State), and Ohio Stadium (Ohio State). Only five other college football stadiums have a capacity over 100,000 (as of the 2024 season, all in the Southeastern Conference (SEC)). Michigan Stadium and Beaver Stadium, respectively, are the two List of American football stadiums by capacity, largest American football stadiums by capacity in the United States, and all three of the Big Ten's largest venues rank among the ten List of stadiums by capacity, largest sports stadiums in the world. UCLA plays in the Rose Bowl Stadium, Rose Bowl as its home stadium, which is the location of the Rose Bowl Game for the Big Ten champion. USC plays in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a publicly owned stadium that is managed and operated by the university, which has hosted two summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984, and will again in 2028.

Big Ten schools also play in two of the 10 largest on-campus basketball arenas in the country: Ohio State's Value City Arena and Maryland's Xfinity Center (College Park, Maryland), Xfinity Center. Additionally, arenas at Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Penn State rank among the 20 largest on-campus basketball facilities in the United States. As of the upcoming 2024–25 season, the Big Ten Conference has the most on-campus basketball arenas with seating capacities of 15,000 or more of any NCAA conference, with seven. (Of the other conferences considered "power conferences" in men's basketball, the ACC has two such arenas, the Big East none, the Big 12 four, and the SEC five. Outside of these conferences, the Mountain West Conference has four such arenas.)

Football, basketball, baseball, and soccer facilities

Ice hockey arenas

Apparel

Football

When Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, the division names were changed to "East" and "West", with Purdue and the six schools in the Central Time Zone in the West and Indiana joining the remaining six Eastern Time Zone schools in the East. The only protected cross-division game is Indiana–Purdue. Beginning in 2016, the Big Ten adopted a nine-game conference schedule. All teams have one cross-division opponent they play annually that changes every six years except for Indiana and Purdue, whose crossover is permanent. The other six opponents are played every three years during that cycle. For 2016–2021, the pairings are Maryland–Minnesota, Michigan-Wisconsin, Michigan State–Northwestern, Ohio State-Nebraska, Penn State–Iowa, and Rutgers–Illinois, and for 2022–2023 the pairings are Maryland–Northwestern, Michigan–Nebraska, Michigan State–Minnesota, Ohio State–Wisconsin, Penn State–Illinois, and Rutgers–Iowa. In 2016, the Big Ten no longer allowed its members to play Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams and also requires at least one non-conference game against a school in the Power Five conferences ( ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC). Contracts for future games already scheduled against FCS teams would be honored. However, in 2017, the Big Ten started to allow teams to schedule an FCS opponent during years in which they only have four conference home games (odd-numbered years for East division teams, even-numbered years for West division teams). At the time this policy was first announced, games against NCAA Division I FBS independent schools, FBS independents Notre Dame and BYU would count toward the Power Five requirement. ESPN, citing a Big Ten executive, reported in 2015 that the Big Ten would allow exceptions to the Power Five rule on a case-by-case basis, and also that the other FBS independent at that time, Army Black Knights football, Army, had been added to the list of non-Power Five schools that would be counted as Power Five opponents.

In 2024, the addition of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington expanded the Big Ten to 18 teams, resulting in the elimination of football divisions. A schedule consisting of nine conference games and three non-conference games was maintained. At the end of the season, the top two teams in the conference standings will play each other in the Big Ten Football Championship Game. For at least 2024 and 2025, the conference was to adopt what it called the "Flex Protect Plus" model, which called for each conference member to play all the others at home and away at least once during a four-year cycle. Initially, the 11 "protected" matchups were to be played each season. The announcement was made before Oregon and Washington were announced as incoming members. After the expansion to 18 teams was announced, the scheduling model was tweaked into the "Flex Protect XVIII" model, which will maintain the original 11 protected rivalries while adding Oregon–Washington. This model is planned to operate from 2024 to 2028.
* Illinois–Northwestern
* Illinois–Purdue
* Indiana–Purdue
* Iowa–Minnesota
* Iowa–Nebraska
* Iowa–Wisconsin
* Maryland–Rutgers
* Michigan–Michigan State
* Michigan–Ohio State
* Minnesota–Wisconsin
* Oregon–Washington
* UCLA–USC rivalry, UCLA–USC

All-time school records

This list goes through January 20, 2025.

† Ohio State vacated 12 wins and its Big Ten title in 2010 due to NCAA sanctions.

†† Numbers of division and conference championships shown reflect Big Ten history only and do not include division and conference championships in former conferences. Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA join the Big Ten in 2024, Maryland and Rutgers joined in 2014, and Nebraska joined in 2011.

Number of Claimed National Championships, as well as win–loss–tie records, include all seasons played, regardless of conference membership.

Conference record in the College Football Playoff

† Does not include record prior to joining the conference in 2024.

Big Ten Conference champions

Bowl games

Since 1946, the Big Ten champion has had a tie-in with the Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl game. Michigan appeared in the first bowl game, the 1902 Rose Bowl. After that, the Big Ten only allowed one other team to participate in the Rose Bowl (the 1920 Ohio State Buckeyes football team), until the agreement struck with the Pacific Coast Conference for the 1947 Rose Bowl. The spread of civilian air travel plus the fact that the US military had publicly encouraged college football during World War II were primary causes of the Big Ten finally allowing the 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 because of Ohio State faculty concerns about academics.

It was not until the 1975 season that the Big Ten allowed teams to play in bowl games other than the Rose Bowl. Michigan, which had been shut out of the postseason the previous three years, was the first beneficiary of the new rule when it played in the Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma. Due to the pre-1975 rules, Big Ten teams such as Michigan and Ohio State have lower numbers of all-time bowl appearances than powerhouse teams from the Big 12 Conference (previously Big Eight and Southwest Conferences) and Southeastern Conference, which always placed multiple teams in bowl games every year.

2025 Bowl Tie-ins

Bowl selection procedures

Although the pick order usually corresponds to the conference standings, the bowls are not required to make their choices strictly according to the win–loss records; many factors influence bowl selections, especially the likely turnout of the team's fans. Picks are made after CFP selections; the bowl with the #2 pick will have the first pick of the remaining teams in the conference.

For all non-College Football Playoff partners, the bowl partner will request a Big Ten team. The Big Ten will approve or assign another team based on internal selection parameters.

When not hosting a semifinal, the Orange Bowl will select the highest-ranked team from the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame to face an ACC opponent. (However, in an 8-game cycle [12 years due to not counting when the Orange Bowl is a semifinal], the Big Ten must be selected at least three times and no more than four times; the SEC similarly will be selected between three and four times while Notre Dame may be selected up to two times.) The Big Ten Champion cannot play in the Orange Bowl. If a Big Ten team is not selected by the Orange Bowl, the Citrus Bowl will submit a request for a Big Ten team.

Head Coach Compensation

Guaranteed compensation is due to the coaches regardless of performance. Though most of the pay is directed from the university, some also comes in the form of guaranteed endorsements and other income streams. Most coaches also have performance-based bonuses that can significantly raise their salaries.

In 2024, three Big Ten member schools—Northwestern and USC, private institutions, and Penn State, exempt from most open records laws due to its status as what Pennsylvania calls a "Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related" institution—are not obligated to provide salary information for their head coaches. Both Penn State and Northwestern typically choose to provide this information, although Northwestern has not announced the salary of its current coach.

Marching bands

All Big Ten member schools have marching bands which perform regularly during the football season. Eleven of the member schools have won the Sudler Trophy, generally considered the most prestigious honor a collegiate marching band can receive.
* The first three Sudler trophies were awarded to Big Ten marching bands—Michigan Marching Band, Michigan (1982), Marching Illini, Illinois (1983) and Ohio State University Marching Band, Ohio State (1984). The Big Ten has more Sudler Trophy recipients than any other collegiate athletic conference.

Conference individual honors

Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award individual honors at the end of each football season.

Men's basketball

The Big Ten has participated in basketball since 1904, and has led the nation in attendance every season since 1978. Although, they have slightly higher average capacity basketball venues, the attendance edge is largely because Big Ten Conference fans fill a higher percentage of seats than other conferences. It has been a national powerhouse in College basketball, men's basketball, having multiple championship winners and often sending four or more teams to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 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. Maryland, which joined the Big Ten in 2014, won one NCAA championship as a member of the ACC. 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 MVPs 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 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Since 1974, 13 Big Ten teams have played in the championship game, winning nine championships. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Minnesota have won two NIT championships, while Indiana and Purdue have won one each. Two other members, Maryland and Nebraska, won NIT titles before they joined the Big Ten. In addition, in 1943 the defunct Helms Athletic Foundation retrospectively awarded national titles to Northwestern for 1931 and Purdue for 1932; then in 1957, it selected Illinois for 1915, Minnesota for 1902 and 1919, and Wisconsin for 1912, 1914 and 1916. Former member Chicago won a post-season national championship series in 1908.

Conference Challenges

From 1999 to 2022, the Big Ten took part in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge with the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC held a 13–8–3 record against the Big Ten; Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin are the only Big Ten schools without losing records in the challenge.

From 2015 to 2023, the Big Ten took part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games with the Big East Conference. The Big Ten did well in the challenge, holding a 3–1–4 record against the Big East, only losing the challenge in 2021.

All-time school records

This list is updated through March 1, 2022 and is listed by win percentage in NCAA Division I men's college basketball.

† Minnesota vacated its 1997 Big Ten Conference regular season title, Michigan vacated its 1998 Big Ten tournament title, and Ohio State vacated its 2002 Big Ten tournament, as well as 2000 and 2002 regular season titles, due to NCAA sanctions. Minnesota was the champion for both the Premo-Porretta Power Poll and the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1902, but was only the Premo-Porretta champion in 1903 and only the Helms champion in 1919.

National championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Big Ten Conference basketball programs have combined to win 10 NCAA men's basketball championships as Big Ten members, with another current member having won a national championship before joining the conference. UCLA has won eleven, Indiana has won five, Michigan State has won two, while Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin have won one national championship each as Big Ten members. Maryland won one national championship while a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Oregon won the first NCAA tournament in 1939. Fifteen teams have advanced to the Final Four at least once in their history. Ten Big Ten schools (Indiana, Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and UCLA) are among the national top 50 in all-time NCAA tournament appearances.

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate honors earned before the school competed in the Big Ten.

Big Ten NCAA tournament champions, runners-up and locations

''† denotes overtime games. Multiple †'s indicate more than one overtime.''

Teams in bold represented the Big Ten at the time of their appearance. Those in ''bold italics'' made appearances before joining the conference.

Big Ten Post-season NIT championships and runners-up

Head coach compensation

Guaranteed compensation is due to the coaches regardless of performance. Though most of the pay is directed from the university, some also comes in the form of guaranteed endorsements and other income streams. Most coaches also have performance-based bonuses that can significantly raise their salaries.

In 2024, three Big Ten member schools—Northwestern and USC, private institutions, and Penn State, exempt from most open records laws due to its status as what Pennsylvania calls a "Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related" institution—are not obligated to provide salary information for their head coaches. Despite this, both Penn State and Northwestern typically choose to provide this information.

Women's basketball

Big Ten women's basketball teams have played a total of 17 championship games of the three most prominent national postseason tournaments—six in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament (since 1982), one in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (since 2024), and 10 in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (since 1998). Three other championship game appearances (two in the NCAA, one in the WNIT) were made by current Big Ten members before they joined the conference, and the 2024 arrivals have combined for five championship game appearances (three in the NCAA and two in the WNIT). Purdue is the only Big Ten member to have won the NCAA women's basketball national title while a member of the conference. Both schools that joined in 2014, Maryland and Rutgers, won national titles before joining the Big Ten—Rutgers won the final Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, AIAW AIAW women's basketball tournament, championship in 1982, when it was a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Eastern 8, and Maryland won the NCAA title in 2006 as a member of the ACC. Big Ten women's basketball led conference attendance from 1993 to 1999.

Like the men's teams, the women's basketball teams in the Big Ten participated in the Big Ten–ACC Women's Challenge, which was founded in 2007 and ended in 2022. The Big Ten's record in the challenge was 1–11–3, with Indiana, Maryland, and Michigan being the only Big Ten teams without a losing record in the challenge.

National championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate seasons before the school competed in the Big Ten.

Big Ten NCAA tournament champions, runners-up and locations

Bold type indicates teams that competed as Big Ten members. ''Bold italics'' indicates teams that later became Big Ten members.

Big Ten Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament championship games

Big Ten Women's National Invitation Tournament championship games

Bold type indicates teams that competed as Big Ten members. ''Bold italics'' indicates teams that later became Big Ten members.

Volleyball

National championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate seasons before the school competed in the Big Ten.

NCAA volleyball champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Field hockey

Big Ten field hockey programs have won 12 NCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship, NCAA Championships, although only four of these titles were won by schools as Big Ten members. Maryland won eight national championships as a member of the ACC, second most in the sport all-time. Penn State also has two AIAW championships won before it became a Big Ten member and before the NCAA sponsored women's sports.

National championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate seasons before the school competed in the Big Ten.

NCAA field hockey champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Men's gymnastics

The Big Ten fields five of the remaining 13 Division I men's gymnastics teams. In 2014, Michigan edged out Oklahoma for their 6th NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, NCAA men's gymnastics championship, the school's third in five years.

NCAA championships and runners-up

†–Chicago left the Big Ten in 1946.

††–Finishes prior to Penn State and Nebraska joining the Big Ten.

†††–Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota no longer competes in men's gymnastics.

Men's ice hockey

The Big Ten began sponsoring men's College ice hockey, ice hockey in the 2013–14 season, the only Power Five conference to do so. The inaugural season included six schools: Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey, Michigan, Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey, Michigan State and Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey, Ohio State joined from the then disbanded (revived in the 2021–22 season) CCHA; Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey, Minnesota and Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey, Wisconsin joined from the WCHA (men's division disbanded after the 2020–21 season); and Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey, Penn State joined after playing its first NCAA Division I season (2012–13) as an independent. Notre Dame joined the league as an affiliate member beginning with the 2017–18 season. Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey, Arizona State had a scheduling agreement with the conference for the 2020–21 season as an all-away game team, playing all seven Big Ten squads four times, but was not part of the conference and therefore was ineligible for the conference tournament or associated NCAA tournament automatic berth. ASU joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference effective in 2024–25.

Championships, Frozen Fours, and NCAA Tournament Appearances

Conference records

Team's records against conference opponents (as of the end of the 2018–19 season).

Games where one or more of the programs was not a varsity team are not included.

Conference champions

Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions

Big Ten NCAA tournament champions, runners-up and locations

Awards

At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each Big Ten team, as well as a media panel, vote which players they choose to be on the three All-Conference Teams: first team, second team and rookie team. Additionally they vote to award the 5 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time. The Big Ten also awards a Tournament Most Outstanding Player which is voted on after the conclusion of the conference tournament. Each team also names one of their players to be honored for the conference Sportsmanship Award. All of the awards were created for the inaugural season (2013–14 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, 2013–14).

Outdoor ice hockey games

Baseball

Championships, College World Series, and NCAA tournament appearances

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate seasons before the school competed in the Big Ten.

Men's College World Series champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the MCWS while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Softball

Championships, College World Series, and NCAA tournament appearances

Seasons are listed by the calendar years in which they ended. ''Italics'' indicate seasons before the school competed in the Big Ten.

Women's College World Series champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the WCWS while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Men's lacrosse

The Big Ten began sponsoring men's College lacrosse, lacrosse in the 2015 season. The Big Ten lacrosse league includes Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse, Maryland, Michigan Wolverines men's lacrosse, Michigan, Ohio State Buckeyes men's lacrosse, Ohio State, Penn State Nittany Lions men's lacrosse, Penn State, Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse, Rutgers, and Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse, Johns Hopkins, which joined the Big Ten conference as an affiliate member in 2014. The teams that compete in Big Ten men's lacrosse have combined to win 13 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship, NCAA national championships.

With the addition of Johns Hopkins and Maryland to the league, Big Ten men's lacrosse boasts two of the top programs and most heated rivals in the history of the sport. Johns Hopkins (29) and Maryland (29) combine for 58 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship, NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four appearances. The media and both schools have called Johns Hopkins-Maryland rivalry, Johns Hopkins–Maryland rivalry the greatest and most historic rivalry in men's lacrosse. Since 1895, the two teams have matched up more than 100 times.The Rivalry
''Johns Hopkins Magazine'', Johns Hopkins University, retrieved March 25, 2009.
University of Maryland, April 10, 2008.

All-time school records

This list goes through the 2024 season.

Championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Big Ten Conference champions

Big Ten men's lacrosse tournament champions

NCAA Men's lacrosse champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship game while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Women's lacrosse

Women's College lacrosse, lacrosse became a Big Ten-sponsored sport in the 2015 season. As of the upcoming 2025 season, the Big Ten women's lacrosse league includes Johns Hopkins Blue Jays women's lacrosse, Johns Hopkins, Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse, Maryland, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan, Oregon, Northwestern Wildcats women's lacrosse, Northwestern, Ohio State Buckeyes, Ohio State, Penn State Nittany Lions, Penn State, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Rutgers, and USC Trojans women's lacrosse, USC. Big Ten women's lacrosse programs have 23 of the 38 all-time NCAA championships, including 12 of the last 15. Maryland has earned one pre-NCAA national title and has won 14 NCAA national championships, including seven straight from 1995 to 2001 and most recently in 2019. Northwestern has claimed seven NCAA titles, including five straight from 2005 to 2009. Penn State has earned three pre-NCAA national titles and two NCAA titles in 1987 and 1989. Johns Hopkins became the seventh women's lacrosse program in the Big Ten as of July 1, 2016, with the roster increasing to nine with the 2024 arrival of Oregon and USC.

All-time school records

This list goes through the 2024 season.

Championships, Final Fours, and NCAA tournament appearances

Big Ten Conference champions

Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament champions

NCAA Women's lacrosse champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship game while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Men's soccer

As of the current 2024 season, the Big Ten men's soccer league includes Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer, Indiana, Maryland Terrapins men's soccer, Maryland, Michigan Wolverines men's soccer, Michigan, Michigan State Spartans men's soccer, Michigan State, Northwestern Wildcats men's soccer, Northwestern, Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer, Ohio State, Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer, Penn State, Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's soccer, Rutgers, UCLA Bruins men's soccer, UCLA, Washington Huskies men's soccer, Washington, and Wisconsin Badgers men's soccer, Wisconsin. Big Ten men's soccer programs have combined to win 19 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, NCAA national championships.

All-time school records

This list goes through the 2013–14 season.

Championships, College Cups, and NCAA tournament appearances

NCAA Men's soccer champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship game while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Women's soccer

Championships, College Cups, and NCAA tournament appearances

NCAA Women's soccer champions, runners-up, and scores

Note: Teams in bold are current Big Ten members who advanced to the championship game while in the conference. Teams in ''bold italics'' are current Big Ten members who were either in another conference or an independent at the time of their appearance.

Golf

Every Big Ten institution sponsors both men's and women's golf. Five NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, national championships in men's golf and two NCAA Women's Golf Championship, national titles in women's golf have been won by Big Ten members while in the conference, led by both of Michigan and Ohio State's men's teams that have won two national titles each. In addition, 10 more team national titles, 3 in men's golf and 7 in women's golf, have been won by current Big Ten members before they joined the conference, led by UCLA (2 men's, 3 women's).

* ''Italics denote championships won before the school joined the Big Ten.''

Tennis

Of the current Big Ten members, 14 sponsor both men's and women's tennis, with Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota and Rutgers only sponsoring women's tennis. Two NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, national championships in men's tennis have been won by Big Ten members while in the conference, led by Illinois and Michigan with one title each. In addition, 41 more team national titles, 37 in men's tennis and 4 in women's tennis, have been won by current Big Ten members before they joined the conference, led by USC (21 men's, 2 women's).

* ''Italics denote championships won before the school joined the Big Ten.''

Awards and honors

Big Ten Athlete of the Year

The Big Ten Athlete of the Year award is given annually to the athletes voted as the top male and female athlete in the Big Ten Conference.

Big Ten Medal of Honor

Big Ten Medal of Honor (annual; at each school; one male student-athlete, scholar-athlete and one female scholar-athlete)
* Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (annual; at each school; one male student-athlete and one female student-athlete)

NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup rankings

The NACDA Directors' Cup, NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup is an annual award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the U.S. colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics. Big Ten universities typically finish ranked in the top-50 of the final Directors' Cup annual rankings.

2023–24 Capital One Cup standings

The Capital One Cup (college sports), Capital One Cup is an award given annually to the best men's and women's Division I college athletics programs in the United States. Points are earned throughout the year based on final standings of NCAA Championships and final coaches' poll rankings.

Conference records

For Big Ten records, by sport (not including football), see footnote

NCAA national titles

Totals are per NCAA annual list published every July and NCAA-published gymnastics history, with subsequent results as of March 31, 2024, obtained from
NCAA.org
', which provides intermittent updates throughout the year.

Excluded from this list are all national championships earned List of college athletics championship game outcomes, outside the scope of NCAA competition, including College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS, Division I FBS football titles, women's Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships, AIAW championships (34), Intercollegiate Rowing Association#Varsity Heavyweight Eights, men's rowing (27), and retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation, Helms Athletic Foundation titles.

See also:
List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships and
List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships

Conference titles

For Big Ten championships, by year, see footnote.Big Ten Championships
(2001–present). Big Ten Conference official website. Retrieved September 9, 2011. Totals do not include Big Ten tournament championships.

# Johns Hopkins was added in 2014 as an affiliate member that competed in men's lacrosse only. Johns Hopkins also began competing as an affiliate member in women's lacrosse in the 2016–17 school year.
# Maryland won 196 conference championships as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), second most in ACC history.
# Nebraska won 80 conference championships as a member of the Big 12 Conference, second most in Big 12 history. Nebraska also won 230 conference championships as a member of the Big Eight Conference, the most in Big Eight history.
# Notre Dame was added in 2017 as an affiliate member that competed in men's ice hockey only.
# Penn State won or shared 70 conference championships as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (1982–91) and earlier when it was known as the Eastern 8 Conference (1976–79).
# Rutgers won six conference championships as a member of the Middle Three Conference, the Middle Atlantic Conferences, Middle Atlantic Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Big East Conference (1979–2013), original Big East Conference, and both of its offshoots, the non-football Big East Conference and the American Athletic Conference.
# Chicago won 73 conference championships as a member of the Big Ten from 1896 to 1946.

2024-25 champions

* (RS) indicates regular-season champion
* (T) indicates tournament champion
* ‡ denotes national champion

See also

* List of Big Ten National Championships
* Big Ten Universities
* Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities

References

External links

*

{{Authority control

Big Ten Conference,
Sports organizations established in 1896
Park Ridge, Illinois
Sports associations based in Chicago
Sports in the Midwestern United States
Sports in the Eastern United States
Articles which contain graphical timelines