30 | NEBRASKA MEN’S TENNIS | 2014-15
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 joined the conference in June of 1990. The nation’s
oldest conference continued to grow with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in
the summer of 2014. The Big Ten Conference is a union of 14 world-class 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 Conference Highlights
• Big Ten universities provide approximately $200 million in direct financial aid to
nearly 9,500 student-athletes on 350 teams across 42 sports.
• The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men 14 for women,
including the debut of lacrosse this academic year.
• Over the past 10 years, current Big Ten institutions have won national
championships in 18 sports.
• The Big Ten leads the nation in total student-athletes and participation
opportunities, while sponsoring more official sports than all conferences other
than the Ivy League.
• Nearly 1,400 Big Ten student-athletes and coaches have participated in the
Olympics, winning at least 480 medals, including nearly 250 gold.
• 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 2013-14. During 2013-14, the Big Ten led the
nation in men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, hockey and wrestling attendance,
while ranking second nationally in football and women’s basketball attendance.
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• The Big Ten leads all conferences with more than 5.7 million living alumni and
520,000 students.
Big Ten Men’s Tennis Facts
• The Big Ten Conference features 12
men’s tennis teams, as newcomers
Maryland and Rutgers do not
sponsor the sport. Each school is
assigned a travel partner when
playing on the road. Nebraska’s
travel partner is Iowa.
• In 2013-14, the Big Ten sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament for the second
straight season. Nine Big Ten teams finished among the top 75 in the final
ITA national rankings, including Ohio State (5), Illinois (11), Penn State (24),
Northwestern (33), Michigan (39), Purdue (42), Minnesota (54), Michigan State
(62), Indiana (64).
• Ohio State captured the 2014 Big Ten regular-season title an unbeaten 11-0
conference record for the second straight year. The Buckeyes also claimed the
Big Ten Tournament crown for the second consecutive season. Illinois, Michigan,
Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue all earned trips to the 2014
NCAA Tournament, with Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State winning matches in
the team tournament. The Ohio State doubles team of Peter Kobelt and Kevin
Metka finished as the NCAA runner-up.
• Michigan leads all Big Ten schools with 23 all-time NCAA Tournament
appearances. Minnesota has made 19 appearances, while Illinois has added 19
and Ohio State 15. Nebraska made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances
in 2010 and 2011 as members of the Big 12 Conference.
• Illinois has made 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances dating back
to 1996.
• The Big Ten men’s tennis championship has been held every year since 1910. The
first tournament was held in Chicago. The championship is held at campus sites.
The 2015 championship will be held April 23-26 in Urbana, Ill. The 2015 NCAA
Championships will be held in Waco, Texas, May 15-24.