2014 Men's Gymnastics Media Guide | Page 76

74 | nebraska men’s Gymnastics | 2013-14 BIG TEN CONTINUES TO EXPAND NATIONAL REACH On July 1, 2011, the University of Nebraska became an official member of the Big Ten Conference, increasing the Big Ten’s membership to 12 institutions for the first time in conference history. The addition of Nebraska marked the Big Ten’s first expansion since Penn State University joined the conference in June of 1990. The nation’s oldest conference will continue to grow with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014-15. Currently, the Big Ten Conference is a union of 12 worldclass academic institutions – who share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. The conference’s 100-plus years of history, strong tradition of competitive intercollegiate athletic programs, vast and passionate alumni base, and consistent leadership in innovations position the Big Ten and its entire community firmly on the Big Stage. The Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics [