Big 10
The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the United States.
In 1990 Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference, meaning that from that year on there would actually be eleven teams in it.
There is only one college that can claim to be a former member of the Big Ten Conference, that college is the University of Chicago.
Lake Forest College, located just 30 miles from Chicago, actually had representatives of the school attending the meeting in 1895 that led to the forming of the Big Ten Conference, in the end they decided not to join.
The University of Michigan, established in 1817 and a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, is the oldest university in the conference.
Having been founded in 1870, Ohio State is the youngest university in the Big Ten Conference.
In 1899, the conference was known as the Big Nine.
The first time the conference was referred to as the Big Ten was in 1917 when Michigan, which had been a member institution until leaving the conference in 1907, decided to rejoin.
The first four commissioners of the Big Ten Conference served between the years 1922 and 1989. Two of the four died in office.
From 1946 through the 1975 season, the Big Ten Conference champion would be invited to play in the Rose Bowl unless they had played in it the previous season, in which case the second place team would be selected.
The Big Ten Conference was represented in each of the first three NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament championship games. In the first one which took place in 1939, Ohio State would lose to the University of Oregon. The Big Ten would enjoy two straight basketball titles after that when Indiana defeated Kansas in 1940 and Wisconsin defeated Washington State in 1941.
Through the 2007 season, the University of Michigan has won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship one time. They have lost in the final game on four other occasions.
There are a number of rivalry games in the Big Ten Conference during the football season that involve a traveling trophy that is at risk.
* 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)
Through the 2008 seasons, the largest football stadium in the Big Ten Conference is Beaver Stadium which is home to Penn State and holds over 107,000 people, the smallest is Ryan Field which is home to Northwester and holds just 49,000 fans.
As of the 2008 season, the basketball arena in the Big Ten Conference that holds the most people is Ohio State’s Value City Arena with a capacity of 19,500. The smallest basketball arena in the Big Ten Conference is Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena which holds 8.117 people.
