Big Ten – Page 9 – North Platte Post Archive

University of Maryland and Rutgers University Become Official Members of Big Ten Conference

Posted on July 1, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The University of Maryland and Rutgers University became official members of the Big Ten Conference today, increasing the Big Ten’s membership to 14 institutions. In addition, Johns Hopkins University officially became a sport affiliate member for men’s lacrosse.

The Big Ten now boasts more than 520,000 total students and 5.7 million living alumni. The conference’s broad-based athletic programs will feature almost 9,500 student-athletes for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports, including 28 official Big Ten sports. Maryland and Rutgers are already members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), an academic consortium of Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago that is a highly regarded model for effective and voluntary collaboration among top research universities. In 2012, CIC institutions produced over $10 billion in research expenditures.

Maryland and Rutgers will take part in their first Big Ten event as official members of the conference at the 2014 Football Media Days and 43^rd annual Kickoff Luncheon. This year’s event will be held on Monday and Tuesday, July 28 and 29, at the Hilton Chicago. The Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon feature all 14 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players.

The Terrapins and Scarlet Knights will each take part in their first athletic competition as members of the Big Ten Conference with a pair of women’s soccer games onAugust 22, when Maryland visits UCLA and Rutgers hosts Stony Brook. The two institutions open Big Ten competition on September 12 when Maryland hosts Rutgers in women’s soccer. That same day in men’s soccer, Maryland visits Michigan and Rutgers travels to Wisconsin. The 2014 cross country, field hockey, golf, tennis and volleyball seasons will begin in late August and early September.

The Rutgers football team begins its first season as a Big Ten program on August 28 at Washington State. Two days later, Maryland’s football squad will do the same with a home game against James Madison. The Scarlet Knights will make their debut in Big Ten action at home against Penn State on September 13. The Terrapins will open conference play at Indiana on Sept. 27, before hosting Ohio State in their first Big Ten home game on Oct. 4. The conference’s two newest members will meet on November 29 at Maryland in the final week of the regular season.

The 2014 football season will feature new division alignments, with Maryland and Rutgers joined by Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State in the East Division. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin will play in the West Division. A representative from each division will play in the Big Ten Football Championship Game on Dec. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the winner earning the Big Ten Championship.

The cross country teams from Maryland and Rutgers will have the first opportunity to compete in a Big Ten Championship, with both schools taking part in the 2014 Big Ten Cross Country Championships to be hosted by Iowa on Nov. 2.

The inaugural season of Big Ten men’s and women’s lacrosse will begin in 2015, with Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers playing both sports, Johns Hopkins participating in men’s lacrosse and Northwestern competing in women’s lacrosse. The Terrapins and Scarlet Knights will host their first Big Ten Tournaments beginning in April, with the inaugural men’s tournament held from April 30 to May 2 at Maryland and the first women’s event hosted by Rutgers from April 30 to May 3.

Since the announcement to add Maryland and Rutgers in November 2012, the Big Ten has made a series of announcements highlighting the conference’s increased presence on the East Coast. Last June, the Big Ten announced an agreement to take part in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, sending conference football teams to play at Yankee Stadium on an annual basis. In April, the Big Ten announced that it would open a second office in New York City while securing access to satellite office space in Washington, D.C. In May, the conference unveiled plans to take part in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, an annual early-season men’s basketball series with the Big East named in honor of Dave Gavitt, and announced that the 2017 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Also in May, BTN confirmed that the network had reached deals with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision for broad distribution to their subscribers in the New York/New Jersey television markets. In June, BTN confirmed that a similar agreement was reached with Comcast for broad distribution in Maryland and New Jersey.

Seven Big Ten Student-Athletes Selected in Annual NBA Draft

Posted on June 28, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Seven former Big Ten standouts were selected in the 2014 NBA Draft on Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, including five first-round choices for the first time since 1990. The five Big Ten student-athletes were selected among the first 21 picks, the most of any conference, and it marked the second straight year that multiple players were picked among the top 10. The seven total selections were the most since eight Big Ten standouts were drafted in 2000.

Michigan’s Nik Stauskas was the first conference student-athlete chosen, going to the Sacramento Kings at No. 8. Indiana’s Noah Vonleh was selected ninth overall by the Charlotte Hornets, joining former Hoosier Cody Zeller, a first-round selection by the team last year. Stauskas was the 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year, while Vonleh collected Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

Michigan State’s Adreian Payne was the 15th overall selection by the Atlanta Hawks. Payne’s teammate Gary Harris was selected No. 19 overall by the Chicago Bulls, who were picking for the Denver Nuggets as part of an earlier trade. Michigan’s Mitch McGary was selected No. 21 by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Wolverines’ Glenn Robinson III was the first Big Ten player picked in the second round after being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 40 overall. Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble was picked by the Denver Nuggets at No. 56 overall before being traded to the Orlando Magic, which drafted former Indiana standout Victor Oladipo in the first round last year.

The Big Ten has had nine players taken in the first round in the last two years, while five different schools have seen student-athletes selected in either the first or second round – Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. For the second straight year, two Big Ten teams – Michigan and Michigan State – had multiple players selected in the first round. Every starter from the Wolverines’ team that advanced to the 2013 national championship game has been drafted in the NBA.

Statement by Big Ten Presidents and Chancellors on O’Bannon Trial

Posted on June 24, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – While testifying last week in the O’Bannon trial in Oakland, Calif., Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany spoke to the importance of the inextricable link between academics and athletics as part of the collegiate model, and to the value of establishing a 21st century system to meet the educational needs of current and future student-athletes. During his testimony, Delany conveyed sentiments long supported by the conference and its member institutions. Today, the presidents and chancellors of the Big Ten schools issue the following statement signed by the leaders of each institution:

As another NCAA season concludes with baseball and softball championships, college athletics is under fire. While football players at Northwestern fight for collective bargaining, former athletes are suing to be compensated for the use of their images.

Football and men’s basketball are at issue. Compensating the student-athletes who compete in these sports will skew the overall academic endeavor – for all students, not just those wearing a school’s colors.

The best solutions rest not with the courts, but with us – presidents of the very universities that promote and respect the values of intercollegiate competition. Writing on behalf of all presidents of the Big Ten Conference, we must address the conflicts that have led us to a moment where the conversation about college sports is about compensation rather than academics.

The tradition and spirit of intercollegiate athletics is unique to our nation. Students play as part of their overall academic experience, not for a paycheck or end-of-season bonus. Many also compete in hopes of a professional career, just as our biology majors serve internships and musical theater students perform in summer stock. These opportunities – sports, marching band, campus newspaper, and more – are facets of the larger college experience and prepare students for life. And that, in its purest form, is the mission of higher education.

The reality of intercollegiate athletics is that only a miniscule number of students go on to professional sports careers. In the sports that generate the greatest revenue and attention, football sees 13 percent of Big Ten players drafted by the NFL and basketball sees 6 percent from our conference drafted for NBA play.

For those student-athletes who are drafted, their professional careers average fewer than five years. They still have several decades and, potentially, several careers ahead of them in which to succeed. And their college experience – their overall academic experience – should be what carries them forward.

This is why we propose working within the NCAA to provide greater academic security and success for our student-athletes:

• We must guarantee the four-year scholarships that we offer. If a student-athlete is no longer able to compete, for whatever reason, there should be zero impact on our commitment as universities to deliver an undergraduate education. We want our students to graduate.

• If a student-athlete leaves for a pro career before graduating, the guarantee of a scholarship remains firm. Whether a professional career materializes, and regardless of its length, we will honor a student’s scholarship when his or her playing days are over. Again, we want students to graduate.

• We must review our rules and provide improved, consistent medical insurance for student-athletes. We have an obligation to protect their health and well-being in return for the physical demands placed upon them.

• We must do whatever it takes to ensure that student-athlete scholarships cover the full cost of a college education, as defined by the federal government. That definition is intended to cover what it actually costs to attend college.

Across the Big Ten, and in every major athletic conference, football and men’s basketball are the principal revenue sports. That money supports the men and women competing in all other sports. No one is demanding paychecks for our gymnasts or wrestlers. And yet it is those athletes – in swimming, track, lacrosse, and other so-called Olympic sports – who will suffer the most under a pay-to-play system.

The revenue creates more opportunities for more students to attend college and all that provides, and to improve the athletic experiences through improved facilities, coaching, training and support.

If universities are mandated to instead use those dollars to pay football and basketball players, it will be at the expense of all other teams. We would be forced to eliminate or reduce those programs. Paying only some athletes will create inequities that are intolerable and potentially illegal in the face of Title IX.

The amateur model is not broken, but it does require adjusting for the 21st century. Whether we pay student-athletes is not the true issue here. Rather, it is how we as universities provide a safe, rewarding and equitable environment for our student-athletes as they pursue their education.

We believe that the intercollegiate athletics experience and the educational mission are inextricably linked. Professionalizing specific sports or specific participants will bring about intended as well as likely unintended consequences in undermining the educational foundation of these programs, on Big Ten campuses and others throughout the country

Higher education provides young people with options in life to thrive in the future. For a tiny minority, that future will be a professional sports career and all of its rewards. For all graduates – athletes and non-athletes – it is the overall academic experience that is a lifetime source of compensation in the form of a well-rounded education.

Signed:

Sally Mason, chair, Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors and president, University of Iowa

Phyllis Wise, chancellor, University of Illinois

Michael McRobbie, president, Indiana University

Wallace Loh, president, University of Maryland

Mary Sue Coleman, president, University of Michigan

Lou Anna K. Simon, president, Michigan State University

Eric Kaler, president, University of Minnesota

Harvey Perlman, chancellor, University of Nebraska

Morton Schapiro, president, Northwestern University

Joseph A. Alutto, interim president, Ohio State University

Eric J. Barron, president, Penn State University

Mitch Daniels, president, Purdue University

Robert L. Barchi, president, Rutgers University

Rebecca Blank, chancellor, University of Wisconsin

Penn State’s Taylor and Purdue’s Bunch Named Big Ten Athletes of the Year

Posted on June 23, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State wrestler David Taylor was named the Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year and Purdue track and field athlete Dani Bunch was tabbed the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year, the conference announced on Monday. The pair of standouts have combined to record two individual national championships, four NCAA team titles, 13 All-America honors, nine individual Big Ten Championships and 10 individual postseason conference awards during their illustrious careers.

Taylor is the second Penn State student-athlete to win Male Athlete of the Year accolades, following gymnast Luis Vargas in 2005. Taylor received the 2014 Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top wrestler and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year for the third time in his career. He became Penn State’s first-ever four-time NCAA finalist and won his second NCAA individual title at 165, leading Penn State to its fourth-straight NCAA Championship in March. He also was named an All-American for the fourth time in his career and earned the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler Award and the NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler laurel in 2014. Taylor leaves Penn State as a member of four NCAA and Big Ten Championship teams. He went 34-0 this season to end the year as the nation’s lone unbeaten Division I wrestler and closed out his career with a 134-3 record. His 97.8 career win percentage included an all-time Penn State best 53 pins, 42 technical falls and 30 majors. Taylor never lost in a dual meet and was a perfect 56-0 all-time against Big Ten competition. A four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Taylor was a first-team Capital One Academic All-American in 2014.

Bunch becomes the sixth Purdue student-athlete to be voted the conference’s Female Athlete of the Year and first since golfer Maria Hernandez claimed the honor in 2009. During the 2013-14 school year, Bunch was a three-time first-team All-American, with a third-place finish in the weight throw and fifth in the shot put during the NCAA Indoor Championships and a fifth-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Bunch won the Big Ten Championship in the weight throw in March, the third of her career, to become the first Big Ten woman to win three weight throw titles. The fifth-year senior was runner-up in the Big Ten in the shot put and also scored in the hammer throw with a second-place finish. She was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year for the indoor season and swept the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Championships awards for the outdoor campaign. Bunch broke the school records in the indoor and outdoor shot put, as well as in the weight throw. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Bunch leaves Purdue as a nine-time All-American.

Bunch and Taylor were among a field of heralded nominees for the annual conference honors that included nine individual national champions and three team national champions. The field included 22 All-Americans in 2013-14 that claimed a total of 36 All-America honors this season.

The Big Ten Conference has recognized a Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year since 1982 when Indiana’s Jim Spivey earned the inaugural award. The conference first honored a Female Athlete of the Year in 1983, with Michigan State’s Judi Brown collecting the initial award. The Big Ten Athletes of the Year are selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submitted by each institution.

The complete list of 2014 Athlete of the Year nominations, as well as the list of all-time winners for each award, can be found below.

2014 BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

School Male Nominee Female Nominee

Illinois Jesse Delgado (wrestling) Jannelle Flaws (soccer)

Indiana Joey DeNato (baseball) Brooklynn Snodgrass (swimming & diving)

Iowa Tony Ramos (wrestling) Natalie Cafone (field hockey)

Michigan Connor Jaeger (swimming & diving) Joanna Sampson (gymnastics)

Michigan State Darqueze Dennard (football) Allyssa Ferrell (golf)

Minnesota Ellis Mannon (gymnastics) Lindsay Mable (gymnastics)

Nebraska Miles Ukaoma (track & field) Emily Wong (gymnastics)

Northwestern Jason Tsirtsis (wrestling) Alyssa Leonard (lacrosse)

Ohio State Logan Stieber (wrestling) Catherine Shields (rowing)

Penn State David Taylor (wrestling) Deja McClendon (volleyball)

Purdue Raheem Mostert (track & field/football) Dani Bunch (track & field)

Wisconsin Michael Lihrman (track & field) Alex Rigsby (ice hockey)

BIG TEN JESSE OWENS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1982 – Jim Spivey, Indiana, track and field/cross country

1983 – Ed Banach, Iowa, wrestling

1984 – Sunder Nix, Indiana, track and field

1985 – Barry Davis, Iowa, wrestling

1986 – Chuck Long, Iowa, football

1987 – Steve Alford, Indiana, basketball

1988 – Jim Abbott, Michigan, baseball

1989 – Glen Rice, Michigan, basketball

1990 – Anthony Thompson, Indiana, football

1991 – Mike Barrowman, Michigan, swimming

1992 – Desmond Howard, Michigan, football

1993 – John Roethlisberger, Minnesota, gymnastics

1994 – Glenn Robinson, Purdue, basketball

1995 – Tom Dolan, Michigan, swimming

1996 – Eddie George, Ohio State, football

1997 – Blaine Wilson, Ohio State, gymnastics

1998 – Charles Woodson, Michigan, football

1999 – Luke Donald, Northwestern, golf

2000 – Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, football

2001 – Ryan Miller, Michigan State, ice hockey

2002 – Jordan Leopold, Minnesota, ice hockey

2003 – Amer Delic, Illinois, tennis (co)

2003 – Matt Lackey, Illinois, wrestling (co)

2004 – Damion Hahn, Minnesota, wrestling

2005 – Luis Vargas, Penn State, gymnastics

2006 – Peter Vanderkaay, Michigan, swimming

2007 – Cole Konrad, Minnesota, wrestling

2008 – Brent Metcalf, Iowa, wrestling

2009 – Jake Herbert, Northwestern, wrestling

2010 – Evan Turner, Ohio State, basketball

2011 – David Boudia, Purdue, diving

2012 – Draymond Green, Michigan State, basketball

2013 – Derek Drouin, Indiana, track and field

2014 – David Taylor, Penn State, wrestling

BIG TEN FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1983 – Judi Brown, Michigan State, track and field

1984 – Lisa Ishikawa, Northwestern, softball

1985 – Cathy Branta, Wisconsin, cross country/track

1986 – Stephanie Herbst, Wisconsin, cross country/track

1987 – Jennifer Averill, Northwestern, field hockey/lacrosse

1988 – Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country

1989 – Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country

1990 – Suzy Favor, Wisconsin, track and field/cross country

1991 – Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse, Michigan State, diving (co)

1991 – Joy Holmes, Purdue, basketball (co)

1992 – MaChelle Joseph, Purdue, basketball

1993 – Lara Hooiveld, Michigan, swimming

1994 – Kristy Gleason, Iowa, field hockey

1995 – Laura Davis, Ohio State, volleyball

1996 – Olga Kalinovskaya, Penn State, fencing

1997 – Kathy Butler, Wisconsin, track and field (co)

1997 – Gretchen Hegener, Minnesota, swimming (co)

1998 – Sara Griffin, Michigan, softball

1999 – Stephanie White-McCarty, Purdue, basketball

2000 – Lauren Cacciamani, Penn State, volleyball

2001 – Katie Douglas, Purdue, basketball

2002 – Christie Welsh, Penn State, soccer

2003 – Perdita Felicien, Illinois, track and field

2004 – Kelly Mazzante, Penn State, basketball

2005 – Jennie Ritter, Michigan, softball

2006 – Tiffany Weimer, Penn State, soccer
2007 – Jessica Davenport, Ohio State, basketball

2008 – Hannah Nielsen, Northwestern, lacrosse

2009 – Maria Hernandez, Purdue, golf

2010 – Megan Hodge, Penn State, volleyball

2011 – Shannon Smith, Northwestern, lacrosse

2012 – Christina Manning, Ohio State, track and field

2013 – Amanda Kessel, Minnesota, ice hockey

2014 – Dani Bunch, Purdue, track and field

Big Ten Head Paints Dire Picture of Paying Players

Posted on June 20, 2014

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The head of the Big Ten is painting a dire picture of what college sports would look like if players were allowed to be paid. He says his conference likely would cease to exist and the Rose Bowl probably would not be played.

Jim Delany says the idea of paying players goes against the entire college experience and he couldn’t see league members agreeing to it. He adds that if some did they likely would be kicked out of the conference because such a move would create an imbalance among schools that could not be resolved.

Delany followed NCAA President Mark Emmert to the witness stand Friday in a landmark antitrust suit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and others.

Big Ten Basketball Leads Nation in Attendance for 38th Straight Year

Posted on June 18, 2014

Rosemont, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference led the nation in men’s basketball attendance for the 38th consecutive season according to figures recently released by the NCAA. The Big Ten set a conference record with an average attendance of 13,534 per game, including regular season home games and all six sessions of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

During the 2013-14 campaign, the Big Ten welcomed 2,896,322 patrons, the 22nd straight year the conference eclipsed the two-million mark. In addition, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament welcomed 111,427 fans over six sessions at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, an average of 18,571 fans per session and the largest total attendance in Indianapolis. Each of the last two tournaments have been sold out, including a conference record of more than 124,000 fans at the United Center in 2013.

For regular season and postseason home games only, the conference saw an increase in average attendance for the fifth consecutive year with 13,389 patrons per contest, the highest average since at least the 1999-2000 season. The Big Ten’s average attendance ranks third since at least 1971-72, trailing only the 1989-90 (13,455) and 1999-2000 (13,443) campaigns. In addition, for the first time since 2000-01 and 2001-02, the Big Ten drew an average of at least 13,000 fans per home game in back-to-back seasons. During Big Ten play, the conference eclipsed 1.5 million fans (1,513,266) for the first time in conference history, and averaged more than 14,000 fans per conference home game (14,012) for just the third time since at least the 1962-63 season.

Nine conference schools ranked in the top 25 in average attendance. Indiana led the Big Ten and ranked sixth nationally with an average of 17,359 fans per game. Wisconsin (17,104) ranked seventh, followed by No. 8 Ohio State (16,474), No. 13 Nebraska (15,419), No. 15 Illinois (15,246), No. 17 Iowa (14,976), No. 18 Michigan State (14,797), No. 23 Purdue (12,738) and No. 24 Michigan (12,698).

Big Ten Announces Extension of Football Championship Games in Indianapolis and Basketball Tournaments in Chicago and Indianapolis

Posted on June 5, 2014

Rosemont, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced today that the Council of Presidents/Chancellors unanimously approved a recommendation from university administrators for future Big Ten Football Championship Games to be held in Indianapolis and for upcoming Big Ten Basketball Tournaments to be hosted by both Chicago and Indianapolis.

The Big Ten Football Championship Game will remain at Lucas Oil Stadium through the 2021 season. The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will rotate between Chicago and Indianapolis, with the United Center hosting the event in 2019 and 2021 and Bankers Life Fieldhouse serving as the tournament’s home in 2020 and 2022. Bankers Life Fieldhouse will also host the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament from 2017 through 2022.

“The Big Ten Conference and member institutions are excited to return to Chicago and Indianapolis for future football championship games and basketball tournaments,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “These two cities have been tremendous hosts and partners with first-class facilities and an outstanding base of Big Ten alumni and fans who support conference events. We are proud of the history that we have developed with these two great cities and look forward to maintaining a significant presence in both locations.”

“To announce today that our community will host the first 11 Big Ten Football Championship Games at Lucas Oil Stadium and consistently bring the premier basketball events of the country’s marquee conference to Bankers Life Fieldhouse is simply incredible,” said Allison Melangton, Indiana Sports Corp President. “We continue to enjoy an amazing partnership with the Big Ten Conference, and we thank Commissioner Delany and the university leadership for placing their trust in Indianapolis once again. Locally, the support we receive from our financial partners, government entities, venues, committee members, and volunteers allows us to continually host the nation’s best events. It is truly a team effort.”

“Hosting the Big Ten Tournament in 2013 was an amazing experience for Chicago and with our hundreds of thousands of Big Ten alumni, the city was buzzing with excitement,” said Chicago Sports Commission Executive Director Kara Bachman. “We eagerly await the tournament’s return to our world-class city in 2015, and with it look forward to seeing an even broader, national fan base with the additions of Rutgers and Maryland, two great institutions with strong alumni networks in Chicago. We applaud Commissioner Delany’s vision and can’t wait to see it further realized in 2019 and 2021 when the tournament returns to the United Center. ”

The inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2011, the start of a five-year agreement with Indianapolis which now extends through 2021. The annual championship game has featured four different teams in the first three years, with two appearances each by Michigan State and Wisconsin and one trip for both Nebraska and Ohio State. The Badgers were victorious in the first two title contests, while the Spartans earned the win last December. The 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game produced the highest attendance yet, with 66,002 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament has been held in either Chicago or Indianapolis through the first 17 years of its existence. The annual event returns to the United Center for the ninth time in 2015 and will be held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the 10th time in 2016, before making its first appearance on the East Coast when the 2017 event is held at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The site of the 2018 tournament will be announced at a later date. Six Big Ten programs have officially won the tournament, including Michigan State claiming a fourth crown in March. Each of the last two tournaments have been sold out, including a conference record of more than 124,000 fans at the United Center in 2013 and over 111,000 fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse earlier this year, the largest attendance in Indianapolis. More than 1.6 million fans have enjoyed the tournament since the inaugural event in 1998.

The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament has been played in Indianapolis in 18 of 20 years since 1995. Bankers Life Fieldhouse has hosted the tournament in 12 of the last 13 seasons, while Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., served as the event’s home in 2013 and will host again in 2015. Seven different Big Ten teams have claimed the tournament title, including Nebraska winning the event for the first time in March. The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament has averaged more than 30,000 fans each year, including each of the last six events held in Indianapolis, with a tournament record attendance of 38,748 in 2012.

Big Ten Experience Set to Open at Conference Headquarters in Rosemont on June 7

Posted on June 5, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Experience, an interactive digital museum located at the conference’s headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., will open to the public on Saturday, June 7. The new museum brings the conference’s storied academic and athletic history to life and places it at fans’ fingertips.

Located at the conference’s headquarters at 5440 Park Place in Rosemont, the museum will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Admission to the Big Ten Experience is free‎.

The Big Ten Experience features a collection of 13 interactive exhibits showcasing conference notables dating back to 1896, the year the conference was founded. Highlights include the Big Ten Theater which gives patrons a behind-the-scenes, immersive audio and video experience looking at student-athletes and traditions, along with radio and television features of notable accomplishments on and off the field of play.

In addition, touch-screen monitors allow fans to learn more about individuals making a difference in the world beyond the playing fields. Fans of all Big Ten schools will be able to learn about their favorites from each campus, including bios, prominent speeches and correspondence from notable alumni. The digital format of the Big Ten Experience allows for new content to be added on a regular basis.

A full list of Big Ten Experience displays can be found below:

This is B1G

A compilation of the conference’s “firsts,” “bests,” “icons” and “timelines” including notable speeches, membership and commissioner timelines, NCAA Championship teams, rivalry trophies, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, national awards – including athletic and academic honors – and more.

Game On (Interactive Game)

Attempt to catch a football, stop a soccer ball, or block a hockey puck through an interactive game that promises to test your speed, agility and hand-eye coordination.

University Cubes

Each institution tells its unique story through key statistics, important dates, fun facts and vibrant photos.

Honoring Legends. Building Leaders.

Read letters from notable Big Ten alumni written to Big Ten fans, watch “Faces of the Big Ten” 30-second spots featuring hundreds of Big Ten student-athletes, past and present, and learn more about the conference’s most prestigious honor – the Big Ten Medal of Honor.

Big Ten Connect

View live footage from Big Ten television partners on five screens and interact with the conference’s and schools’ social media pages as well as BTN2Go on one of four iPads.

Basketball Court with Interactive Radio Calls

A tongue-and-groove hardwood court featuring 14 program-changing audio calls from men’s basketball games throughout the years. Each call is located on the court where the actual shot took place.

Football/Basketball Touch Screen

Get your Big Ten football and basketball “fix” here. Fantastic finishes in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball; incredible slam dunks; Heisman Trophy winners; and great Rose Bowl Game moments. Visitors can also view every Rose Bowl Game program cover dating back to 1902.

Heisman Trophy Photo Op

Strike a “Heisman” pose and snap a photo. The perfect keepsake for any Big Ten fan.

Big Ten Vault

Two video monitors stand back-to-back in the space just outside the Big Ten Theater. One contains video vignettes of awe-inspiring performances by student-athletes in a variety of sports. The other contains every Sports Illustrated magazine cover featuring a Big Ten team.

Big Ten Slideshow

A compilation of photos featuring Big Ten campuses, architecture, notable alumni and unique university programs.

Big Ten Impact

View BTN’s inspiring “LiveB1G” programs that shine a light on Big Ten students, faculty and alumni who are making a difference in the world through research innovations, education and local community outreach.

Current Big Ten Champions

Every Big Ten Championship team, NCAA Championship team, and/or individual champion for the current academic year is featured in this interactive touchscreen.

Big Ten Theater

Fans will get a truly unique, behind-the-scenes look at Big Ten student-athletes and Conference traditions in these three-minute films from each of our member institutions. Films include: Illinois Track and Field: A Work of Art; Indiana Basketball: Assembly Hall. Indiana’s 6^th Man; Iowa Wrestling: The Pursuit of Excellence; Michigan Gymnastics: Go Blue. A Game Day Tradition; Michigan State Basketball: The Journey Starts at Midnight; Minnesota Men’s Ice Hockey: A Hockey State of Mind; Nebraska Volleyball: Honor the Past. Invent the Future; Northwestern Women’s Lacrosse: Games Aren’t Won on Gameday; Ohio State Marching Band: TBDBITL; Penn State Men’s Gymnastics: We are Penn State Gymnastics; Purdue Diving: Fear is Not an Option; and Wisconsin Football: Jump Around.

Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors Statement

Posted on June 1, 2014

Rosemont, Ill. — The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) held its annual June meeting today at the Big Ten Conference office and issued the following statement:

The Big Ten COP/C discussed a variety of important topics during its annual June meeting, while taking part in an open house and tour of the new conference office building in Rosemont, honoring outgoing presidents and welcoming new presidents. Key areas of discussion focused on NCAA restructuring, the need for autonomy for the 65 institutions comprising the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, and ensuring accountability for delivering reform. While the NCAA Board of Directors’ Steering Committee on Governance has made good progress in the area of autonomy, more work needs to be done as we seek to implement a 21^st century governance structure that preserves the collegiate model while allowing each school to focus on improved student-athlete welfare.

As such, the COP/C discussed the recent letter shared by the Pac-12 presidents with their colleagues on May 14. The Big Ten has been engaged in substantive discussion over the last year on many of the principal objectives for reform referenced in the Pac-12 document, including concepts presented by Commissioner Delany to media last July in Chicago along with meetings and teleconferences in October, December and February. The majority of these objectives have long been supported by the Big Ten and its member institutions.

The Big Ten continues to strongly support full cost of attendance scholarships, reasonable on-going medical or insurance assistance to student-athletes, continued efforts to reduce the incidence of disabling injury, guaranteed scholarships to complete a bachelor’s degree, decreased time demands and enhanced time to fully engage in campus life, adjusted restrictions on preparing for careers based on advice and counsel of agents and a meaningful role in governance for student-athletes.

The COP/C also examined three other principal objectives for reform proposed by the Pac-12 presidents – strengthening the Academic Progress Rate (APR) requirements for post-season play, the “one and done” culture in men’s basketball and liberalizing current limits on transfer rules. While the concept of increasing APR requirements has not been discussed in the past, the Big Ten has long supported increased academic standards for all institutions. With respect to the issues of the “one and done” culture and transfer rules, the COP/C agrees that these are important issues that should be examined and addressed in cogent ways.

In addition to the substantive concepts raised in the Pac-12 letter, the conference continues to support certain procedural elements of governance restructuring including increased inclusion of faculty representatives, a voting process that does not set a bar so high that it prohibits change, and the ability to interpret and waive autonomous rules. The COP/C looks forward to further discourse on these topics with our colleagues in other conferences and Big Ten faculty, administrators, student-athletes and coaches, as we continue to discuss the best use of autonomy to give more than 9,500 conference student-athletes the support they deserve to best shape their future.

The COP/C also received an update on the traumatic brain injury (TBI) research collaboration between the conference, the Consortium on Intercollegiate Cooperation, and the Ivy League. The collaboration, begun in June 2012, continues to foster multi-institutional, cross-conference research efforts centered on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of TBI and sports concussion. The COP/C also reviewed the recently announced joint initiative for concussion research between the NCAA and Department of Defense, a $30 million initiative that will include research managed at three Big Ten institutions: Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

19,965 at B10 Final Sets Conference-Tourney Mark

Posted on May 25, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The crowd of 19,965 at the Big Ten tournament final between Indiana and Nebraska set an NCAA record for attendance at a conference baseball tournament game.

The tournament was played at TD Ameritrade Park, the home of the College World Series. Nebraska was the host, and its appearance in the championship game Sunday accounted for the big crowd.

Top-seeded Indiana defeated the No. 2-seeded Cornhuskers 8-4 to earn the Big Ten’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten tournament’s five-day attendance was a conference-record 62,020 — 10 times the total for the 2013 event held at Target Field in Minneapolis. The previous NCAA record for single-game attendance at a conference tournament was 17,860 for an Atlantic Coast Conference game between Florida State and North Carolina in 2005.