Big Ten Conference - History

History

Initiated and led by Purdue University president James Smart, the presidents of University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Purdue University and Lake Forest College met in Chicago on January 11, 1895 to discuss the regulation and control of 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 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, consisting of Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Chicago, and Northwestern.

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 January 1908, Michigan was voted out of the conference for failing to adhere to league rules. Ohio State was added to the conference in 1912. The first reference to the conference as the Big Ten was in November 1917 after Michigan rejoined following a nine-year absence.

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 after struggling to gain victories in many conference matchups. It was believed that one of several schools, notably Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Michigan State, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Iowa State 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. In 1990, the Big Ten universities voted to expand the conference to 11 teams, and extended an invitation to Pennsylvania State University, which accepted it. When Pennsylvania 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 negative space of the traditionally blue "Big Ten" lettering.

Missouri had shown interest in Big Ten membership after Pennsylvania State joined. Around 1993, the league explored adding Kansas, Missouri, and Rutgers, or other potential schools, to create a 14-team league with two divisions. These talks died when the Big 8 Conference merged with former Southwest Conference members to create the Big 12.

Following the addition of previously independent Pennsylvania State, efforts were made to encourage the University of Notre Dame, the last remaining non-service academy independent, to join the league. Early in the 20th century, Notre Dame briefly considered official entry into the Big Ten but chose to maintain its independence instead. 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.

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 2010–12 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".

On September 1, Delany revealed the conference's divisional split and announced the new division names on December 13, 2010: Legends and Leaders. The new "Legends" and "Leaders" names were not met with enthusiasm. Some traditional rivals, including Ohio State and Michigan, were placed in separate divisions. For the football season, each team plays the others in its division, one "cross-over" game, and two rotating cross-divisional games.

On November 19, 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC and to 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.