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 and emphasize the values of integrity,
fairness and competitiveness in all aspects of its student-athletes’ lives, with the
ultimate goal of ensuring that each individual has the opportunity to live a Big Life.
Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Facts
• Nebraska won back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013. In its first season of
conference competition in 2012, the Huskers snapped Michigan’s streak of five straight
Big Ten women’s gymnastics crowns. Nebraska became just the third school since 1991
to win a Big Ten women’s gymnastics team title, joining Michigan (18) and Minnesota (3).
Big Ten Conference Highlights
• In 2012, Nebraska’s Dan Kendig was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in the Huskers’
inaugural conference season, while Jessie DeZiel captured Big Ten Freshman-of-theYear honors. In the 2013 season Emily Wong captured her second consecutive Big Ten
all-around title at the conference championships to lead the Huskers to another team
crown.
• Big Ten universities provide approximately $136 million in direct financial
aid to nearly 10,000 men and women student-athletes who compete for 25
championships. Hockey will become the Big Ten’s 26th official conference
championship sport in 2013-14.
• Conference institutions sponsor broad-based athletic programs with 299 teams.
Other than the Ivy League, the Big Ten has the most broad-based athletic programs
in the United States.
• Big Ten fans are some of the nation’s most supportive, with nearly 10 million
patrons attending conference home contests for football, men’s and women’s
basketball and volleyball during 2012-13. In 2012, the Big Ten set new records
for overall football attendance and surpassed the six-million mark for all games
for the second straight year. During 2012-13, the Big Ten led the nation in men’s
basketball and women’s volleyball attendance, while ranking second nationally in
football and women’s basketball attendance.
• Over the last 34 seasons, the conference has ranked either No. 1 or No. 2
nationally in football, men’s basketball and wrestling attendance.
• The Big Ten leads all conferences with more than 4.5 million living alumni and
320,000 undergraduate students.
HUSKERS.COM | THIS IS NEBRASKA
• In its third season in the Big Ten, Nebraska gives the conference eight schools that
compete in women’s gymnastics, including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State,
Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State.
• Iowa, Michigan State and Penn State have never won Big Ten women’s gymnastics titles.
Michigan leads the league all-time (dating back to 1982) with 19 team crowns, while
Minnesota (5), Ohio State (5), Nebraska (1) and Illinois (1) have also claimed top honors.
• At least one Big Ten Conference team has finished among the top 10 teams at the NCAA
Championships for 21 consecutive seasons (since 1992). Michigan owns 19 top 10 NCAA
finishes over the past 20 years, including a Big Ten-best tie for second in 1995. Penn
State has added six top 10 showings over the past 20 years, including a fourth-place
finish in 1992.
• Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 21 all-time NCAA Championship appearances, while
Michigan isn’t far behind with 21. Penn State (7), Ohio State (7), Iowa (3), Illinois (4)
Michigan State (2) and Minnesota (2), have also represented the Big Ten at the NCAA
Championships.
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