2015 Women's Gymnastics Media Guide | Page 98

This is Nebraska History Review Opponents 2015 Huskers Staff & Coaches INtro 2015 Nebraska Women’s Gymnastics 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. • 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 (19) and Minnesota (3). • In 2014, Nebraska captured a share of the Big Ten regular-season title along with Minnesota. It was NU’s first Big Ten regular-season crown. • 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-the-Year honors. In 2013, Emily Wong won her second straight Big Ten all-around title, before being named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year in 2014. • In its fourth season in the the Big Ten, Nebraska will be one of nine conference schools competing in women’s gymnastics, including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers. • 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 20 team crowns, while Minnesota (5), Ohio State (5), Nebraska (2) 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 22 consecutive seasons (since 1992). Michigan owns 20 top 10 NCAA finishes over the past 21 years, including a Big Ten-best tie for second in 1995. Penn State has added six top 10 showings over the past 21 years, including a fourth-place finish in 1992. Nebraska advanced to the NCAA Super Six in 2014. • Nebraska joins Michigan in leading the Big Ten with 22 all-time NCAA Championship appearances. Penn State (8), Ohio State (7), Illinois (5), Iowa (3), Michigan State (2) and Minnesota (2), have also represented the Big Ten at the NCAA Championships. • The Big Ten leads all conferences with more than 5.7 million living alumni and 520,000 students. ////////////// 98 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\