Editing Big Ten Conference (section)

==History==

===Early history===

As intercollegiate football rapidly increased during the 1890s, so did the ruthless nature of the game. Tempers flared, fights erupted, and injuries soared. Between 1880 and 1905, college football players suffered more than 325 deaths and 1,149 injuries.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}  To deal with mounting criticism of the game, [[Purdue University]] president [[James Henry Smart]]<ref name="bigten-2013">{{cite web |title=Big Ten History |url=http://www.bigten.org/trads/big10-trads.html |work=Big Ten Conference |date=2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114224308/http://www.bigten.org/trads/big10-trads.html|url-status=dead |archive-date=November 14, 2013}}</ref> invited the presidents of the [[University of Chicago]], [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois]], [[Lake Forest College]], [[University of Minnesota]], [[Northwestern University]], and [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]] to a meeting in [[Chicago]] on January 11, 1895, to create policies aimed at regulating intercollegiate athletics. The eligibility of student-athletes was one of the main topics of discussion.<ref name="traditions">{{cite web | title = Big Ten History | publisher = Big Ten Conference | url = http://bigten.cstv.com/trads/big10-trads.html | access-date = January 14, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070113080920/http://bigten.cstv.com/trads/big10-trads.html | archive-date = January 13, 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The '''Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives''' was founded at a second meeting on February 8, 1896.<ref name="Western Conference">{{cite book|title=From The Inside: A Half Century of Michigan Athletics|first=Don|last=Canham|publisher=Olympia Sports Press|year=1996|isbn=0-9654263-0-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/frominside00donc/page/281 281]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/frominside00donc/page/281}}</ref> Lake Forest was not at the 1896 meeting and was replaced by the [[University of Michigan]]. At the time, the organization was more commonly known as the '''Western Conference''', consisting of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Chicago, Purdue, and Northwestern. These schools were the original seven members.

The conference is one of the nation's oldest, predating the founding of the NCAA by a decade and was one of the first collegiate conferences to sponsor men's basketball.

The first reference to the conference as the '''Big Nine''' was in 1899 after [[University of Iowa|Iowa]] and [[Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana]] had joined. [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln|Nebraska]] first petitioned to join the league in 1900 and again in 1911,<ref name="huskerextra.com">{{cite web|author=STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star |url=http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_5bc8f4f4-7fc1-5511-a7f8-cb76f02e65d6.html |title=Latest Husker News |publisher=HuskerExtra.com |access-date=November 7, 2012}}</ref> but was turned away both times.

In 1905, the conference was officially incorporated as the "Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives".<ref name="bigten-2013"/>

In April 1907, [[University of Michigan|Michigan]] was voted out of the conference for refusing to adhere to league rules limiting football teams to no more than five games and players to three years of eligibility.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/04/14/106748007.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=CONFERENCE OUSTS MICHIGAN; Severs Relations with University for Non-Observance of Rules | date=April 14, 1907}}</ref> [[Ohio State University|Ohio State]] joined in 1912. The first known references to the conference as the '''Big Ten''' were in December 1916, when Michigan rejoined the conference after a nine-year absence.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26053184/alumni_working_for_michigans_return/ |title=Alumni Working for Michigan's Return |newspaper=[[The Oregon Journal|The Oregon Daily Journal]] |page=9 |date=December 11, 1916 |access-date=December 8, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26053211/live_tips_and_topics/ |title=Live Tips and Topics |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=7 |date=December 16, 1916 |access-date=December 8, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

===1940s: Chicago leaves and Michigan State joins===
The conference was again known as the Big Nine after the University of Chicago decided to de-emphasize varsity athletics just after World War II. In 1939 UChicago President [[Robert Maynard Hutchins]] made the decision to abolish the football program, based on his negative views of big-time college football's excesses and associated problems of the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7Q8mAAAAIBAJ&dq=chicago%20big%20ten%20conference%20football&pg=3870%2C351905|title=Chicago gives up Football as major sport|date=December 22, 1939|publisher=Gettysburg Times|access-date=November 25, 2013}}</ref> Chicago withdrew from the conference in 1946 after struggling to obtain victories in many conference matchups. It was believed that one of several schools, notably [[Iowa State Cyclones|Iowa State]], [[Marquette Golden Eagles|Marquette]], [[Michigan State Spartans|Michigan State]], [[Nebraska Cornhuskers|Nebraska]], [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish|Notre Dame]], and [[Pittsburgh Panthers|Pittsburgh]] would replace Chicago at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PwMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2580,3858021&dq=chicago+big+ten+conference&hl=en|title=Chicago U. Withdraws From Big Ten|access-date=October 17, 2009}}</ref> On May 20, 1949,<ref name="Western Conference"/> Michigan State ended the speculation by joining and the conference was again known as the Big Ten.{{clarification needed|reason=The table under Current Full Members says MSU joined in 1948. Is it 1948 or 1949? Could the former be the date of the decision and the latter the date of joining? |date=August 2023}}  The Big Ten's membership would remain unchanged for the next 40 years. The conference's official name throughout this period remained the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives. It did not formally adopt the name ''Big Ten'' until 1987, when it was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation.

===1990 expansion: Penn State===
[[File:Big Ten Conference former logo.svg|thumb|Big Ten logo (1990–2011). To reflect the addition of the 11th school, Penn State, the number 11 was placed in the negative space of the "Big Ten" lettering.]]
In 1990, the Big Ten universities voted to expand the conference to 11 teams and extended an invitation to [[Atlantic 10 Conference]] member and [[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|football independent]] [[Pennsylvania State University]], which accepted it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/wchamp25/spec-rel/091106aaa.html|title=An Ingenious Inception: Penn State Joins the Big Ten Conference|access-date=February 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328195006/http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/wchamp25/spec-rel/091106aaa.html|archive-date=March 28, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> When Penn State joined in 1990, it was decided the conference would continue to be called the Big Ten, but its [[logo]] was modified to reflect the change; the number 11 was disguised in the [[negative space]] of the traditionally blue "Big Ten" lettering.

Missouri showed interest in Big Ten membership after Penn State joined.<ref>{{cite news | title = Missouri Interested In Jumping To The Big Ten | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=DSNB&d_place=DSNB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F3608419978C745&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| access-date = June 14, 2010 | date=January 16, 1993}}</ref> Around 1993, the league explored adding [[University of Kansas|Kansas]], [[University of Missouri|Missouri]] and Rutgers or other potential schools, to create a 14-team league with two football divisions.<ref>{{cite news | title = Kansas, Big 10 a good fit? | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/10/kansas-big-10-a-good-fit/ | access-date = November 10, 2009 | work=Chicago Tribune | first=Ed | last=Sherman | date=December 10, 1993}}</ref> These talks died when the [[Big Eight Conference]] merged with former [[Southwest Conference]] members to create the [[Big 12]].

Following the addition of Penn State, efforts were made to encourage the [[University of Notre Dame]], at that time the last remaining non-[[United States service academies|service academy]] independent, to join the league. In 1999, Notre Dame and the Big Ten entered into private negotiations concerning a possible membership that would include Notre Dame. Although Notre Dame's faculty senate endorsed the idea with a near-unanimous vote, the school's board of trustees decided against joining the conference.<ref>{{cite web| title=MDO – Irish say 'no thanks' to joining Big Ten – 02/08/1999 | website=mndaily.com | date=2007-12-20 | url=http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1999/02/08/sports/irish/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220054555/http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1999/02/08/sports/irish/ | archive-date=2007-12-20 | url-status=dead | access-date=2019-02-02}}</ref> (In 1926, Notre Dame had briefly considered official entry into the Big Ten but chose to retain its independent status.<ref>{{cite news | title = Notre Dame shuns Big Ten, fears losing 'distinctiveness' | newspaper = National Catholic Reporter | date=February 19, 1999 | author=Pamela Schaeffer | url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_16_35/ai_80680415 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050826112727/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_16_35/ai_80680415 | url-status=dead | archive-date = August 26, 2005 | access-date = January 14, 2007}}</ref>) Notre Dame subsequently joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football (and hockey), in which Notre Dame maintains its independent status as long as it plays at least five games per season against ACC opponents. This was believed to be the major stumbling block to Notre Dame joining the Big Ten, as Notre Dame wanted to retain its independent [[Notre Dame Football on NBC|home game broadcasting contract]] with [[NBC Sports]], while the Big Ten insisted upon a full membership with no special exemptions.

===2010–2014 expansion: Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers===
{{Main|2010–2014 Big Ten Conference realignment}}
In December 2009, Big Ten Conference commissioner [[Jim Delany]] announced that the league was looking to expand in what would later be part of a nationwide trend as part of the [[2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment]].<ref name="Expansion 101">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=5268212 |title=Expansion 101: What's at stake? |first=Mark |last=Schlabach |author-link=Mark Schlabach |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=June 9, 2010 |access-date=June 11, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100612152453/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=5268212| archive-date= June 12, 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> On June 11, 2010, the [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln|University of Nebraska]] applied for membership in the Big Ten and was unanimously approved as the conference's 12th school, which became effective July 1, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigten.org/genrel/061110aab.html|title=University of Nebraska Approved to Join Big Ten Conference by Council of Presidents/Chancellors|publisher=Big Ten Conference|date=June 11, 2010|access-date=June 11, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222184204/http://www.bigten.org/genrel/061110aab.html|archive-date=December 22, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The conference retained the name "Big Ten". This briefly led to the interesting and ironic result of the Big Ten consisting of twelve teams, and the Big 12 consisting of ten teams (with fellow former Big 12 member [[University of Colorado Boulder|Colorado]]'s move to the [[Pac-12 Conference]]). As part of the agreement to join the Big Ten, Nebraska would not receive a full share of the media revenue for the first six years of its membership, until fall 2017.<ref name="nj.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/2022/07/usc-ucla-will-receive-full-big-ten-revenue-share-before-rutgers-heres-why.html|title=USC, UCLA will receive full Big Ten revenue share before Rutgers: Here's why|date=July 28, 2022 }}</ref>

====Legends and Leaders divisions====
{{Location map+  
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On September 1, 2010, Delany revealed the conference's football divisional split, but noted that the division names would be announced later. Those division names, as well as the conference's new logo, were made public on December 13, 2010. For its new logo, the conference replaced the "hidden 11" logo with one that uses the "B1G" character combination in its branding. Delany did not comment on the logo that day, but it was immediately evident that the new logo would "allow fans to see 'BIG' and '10' in a single word."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigten.org/newlogo/|title=Big Ten Conference Reveals New Logo and Honors Football History with Division Names and Trophies|publisher=Big Ten Conference|access-date=April 2, 2014|quote="The new Big Ten logo was developed to symbolize the conference's future, as well as its rich heritage, strong tradition of competition, academic leadership, and passionate alumni," said Gericke. "Its contemporary collegiate lettering includes an embedded numeral "10" in the word "BIG", which allows fans to see "BIG" and "10" in a single word. Memorable and distinctive, the new logo evolved from the previous logo's use of negative space and is built on the conference's iconic name, without reference to the number of member institutions. The new logo also provides the flexibility of multiple versions which can be used horizontally, vertically and within new media."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070609/http://www.bigten.org/newlogo/|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For the new football division names, the Big Ten was unable to use geographic names, because they had rejected a geographic arrangement. Delany announced that the new divisions would be known as the "Legends Division" and "Leaders Division". In the Legends division were Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern. The Leaders division was composed of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Conference officials stated they had focused on creating competitive fairness rather than splitting by geographical location.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Ten sets new divisions; splits up Illinois-NU|last=Ryan|first=Shannon|url=http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/09/big-ten-divisions-to-be-revealed-on-6-pm-tv-show.html|work=Chicago Tribune|date=September 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904033515/http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/09/big-ten-divisions-to-be-revealed-on-6-pm-tv-show.html |archive-date=September 4, 2010 |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> However, the new "Legends" and "Leaders" divisions were not met with enthusiasm. Some traditional rivals, including Ohio State and Michigan, were placed in separate divisions.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=5930029 | title=Big Ten may rethink Legends, Leaders | work=ESPN.com | agency=Associated Press | date=December 17, 2010 | access-date=August 6, 2023}}</ref>

For the football season, each team played the others in its division, one "cross-over" rivalry game, and two rotating cross-divisional games. At the end of the regular season the two division winners met in a new [[Big Ten Football Championship Game]].<ref>Garcia, Marlen (December 13, 2010). [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/12/big-ten-divisions-legends-leaders-new-logo/1 "Big Ten Unveils Logo, Names Football Divisions 'Legends' and 'Leaders'"], ''USA Today''. Retrieved November 22, 2015.</ref> The Legends and Leaders divisional alignment was in effect for the [[2011 Big Ten Conference football season|2011]], [[2012 Big Ten Conference football season|2012]] and [[2013 Big Ten Conference football season|2013]] football seasons.

====Maryland and Rutgers join====

On November 19, 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the [[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]] and join the Big Ten as its 13th member effective on July 1, 2014.<ref>{{cite news|last=Prewitt|first=Alex|title=Maryland moving to Big Ten|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/wp/2012/11/19/maryland-approves-move-to-big-ten-reports-say/|access-date=November 19, 2012|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 19, 2012}}</ref> The Big Ten's Council of Presidents approved the move later that day.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barker|first1=Jeff|last2=Korman|first2=Chris|title=Maryland's application for Big Ten admission approved|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/bal-maryland-to-seek-admission-into-big-ten-conference-1119,0,7212065.story|access-date=November 19, 2012|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=November 19, 2012}}</ref> One day later, Rutgers University of the [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]] also accepted an offer for membership from the Big Ten as its 14th member school.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rutgers University To Join The Big Ten Conference|url=http://www.bigten.org/genrel/112012aaf.html|access-date=November 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127180040/http://www.bigten.org/genrel/112012aaf.html|archive-date=November 27, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Like Nebraska, both schools would not receive full shares of the media revenue until six years after they joined. However, both schools took loans from the conference, thus pushing back the date they would receive full shares.<ref name="nj.com"/>

====West and East divisions====
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On April 28, 2013, the Big Ten presidents and chancellors unanimously approved a football divisional realignment that went into effect when Maryland and Rutgers joined in 2014.<ref name="2014 realignment approved">{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/9220734 |title=Big Ten's divisional overhaul OK'd |first=Adam |last=Rittenberg |work=ESPN.com |date=April 28, 2013 |access-date=April 28, 2013}}</ref> Under the new plan, the Legends and Leaders divisions were replaced with geographic divisions.<ref name="2014 realignment approved" /> The West Division included Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin (of which all but Purdue are in the [[Central Time Zone]]), while the East Division included Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers (all of which are in the [[Eastern Time Zone]]). The final issue in determining the new divisions was which of the two Indiana schools would be sent to the West; Purdue was chosen because its [[West Lafayette, Indiana|West Lafayette]] campus is geographically west of Indiana's home city of [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]].<ref name="2014 divisions">{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/9191768 |title=Sources: Big Ten to realign divisions |first1=Brett |last1=McMurphy |first2=Adam |last2=Rittenberg |work=ESPN.com |date=April 19, 2013 |access-date=April 19, 2013}}</ref> The divisional alignment permanently protected the cross-divisional football rivalry [[Old Oaken Bucket|Indiana–Purdue]].<ref name="2014 realignment approved" /> As before, the two division winners played each other in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.  The West and East divisional alignment was in effect for ten football seasons, from 2014 through 2023.

====Affiliate members join====
On June 3, 2013, the Big Ten announced the sponsorship of men's and women's lacrosse. For any conference to qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, at least six member schools must play the sport. In women's lacrosse, the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten brought the conference up to the requisite six participants, joining programs at Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State.<ref name="Lacrosse and JHU">{{cite web|title=Big Ten Announces Institution of Men's and Women's Lacrosse and Addition of Johns Hopkins as Men's Lacrosse Sport Affiliate Member|url=http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/060313aah.html|work=Big Ten Conference|access-date=June 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710234815/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/060313aah.html|archive-date=July 10, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In men's lacrosse, Ohio State and Penn State were the only existing participants. Coincident with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, Michigan agreed to upgrade its successful club team to varsity status, giving the Big Ten five sponsoring schools, one short of the minimum six for an automatic bid. [[Johns Hopkins University]] opted to join the conference as its first affiliate member beginning in 2014. Johns Hopkins had been independent in men's lacrosse for 130 years, claiming 44 national championships.<ref name="JHU-hub">{{cite web|title=Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team to join Big Ten Conference|url=http://hub.jhu.edu/2013/06/03/johns-hopkins-lacrosse-big-ten|work=Hub |publisher=Johns Hopkins University |access-date=June 3, 2013|date=June 3, 2013}}</ref> As long-time independents joined conferences (for example, Syracuse joining the Atlantic Coast Conference), other schools competing as independents in some cases concluded that the inability to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament was becoming a more serious competitive disadvantage in scheduling and recruiting.

On March 23, 2016, the Big Ten Conference and Notre Dame announced the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey|Fighting Irish]] would become a men's ice hockey affiliate beginning with the 2017–18 season.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/032316aaa.html |title=Big Ten Announces Addition of Notre Dame Men's Ice Hockey as Sport Affiliate Member Beginning with 2017–18 Season |date=March 23, 2016 |work=Big Ten Conference|access-date=June 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528202809/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/032316aaa.html |archive-date=May 28, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Notre Dame had been a member of [[Hockey East]], and the move would save travel time and renew rivalries with former [[Central Collegiate Hockey Association|CCHA]] and [[Western Collegiate Hockey Association|WCHA]] members.

[[File:Big 10 HQ (21617731102).jpg|thumb|right|The conference's headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois]]
In 2013, the conference moved its headquarters from its location in [[Park Ridge, Illinois]] to neighboring [[Rosemont, Illinois|Rosemont]]. The office building is situated within Rosemont's Parkway Bank Park Entertainment District (then named [[MB Financial]] Park Entertainment District), alongside [[Interstate 294]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20131013/news/710139913/ |title=Big Ten Conference moves into Rosemont headquarters |publisher=DailyHerald.com |date=October 13, 2013 |access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120716/business/707169849/ |title=Big Ten relocating headquarters to Rosemont |publisher=DailyHerald.com |date=July 17, 2012 |access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ratioarchitects.com/assets/uploads/Big_Ten_Headquarters.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185348/http://www.ratioarchitects.com/assets/uploads/Big_Ten_Headquarters.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Big Ten Headquarters|archivedate=October 29, 2013}}</ref>

===2021–2024 Pacific expansion===
{{Main|2021–2024 NCAA conference realignment}}
On June 30, 2022, [[UCLA Bruins|UCLA]] and [[USC Trojans|USC]] announced that they would be joining the Big Ten Conference effective August 2, 2024, enabling both schools to remain in the [[Pac-12 Conference]] for the duration of the Pac-12's existing media rights agreements.<ref name="ESPN-USC-UCLA">{{cite news |last1=Thamel |first1=Pete |last2=Dinich |first2=Heather |date=June 30, 2022 |title=USC, UCLA Moving from Pac-12 to Big Ten in 2024 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/34173688 |access-date=August 5, 2023 |work=ESPN |authorlink1=Pete Thamel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Myerberg |date=June 30, 2022 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/bigten/2022/06/30/ucla-usc-negotiations-join-big-ten-demolishing-pac-12/7779419001/ |title=Pac-12 Powerhouses UCLA, USC Joining Big Ten Conference in 2024 |work=USA Today |access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> Unlike the prior expansion with Nebraska, Rutgers, and Maryland, USC and UCLA would join with a full share of the media revenue from the start of their Big Ten tenure.<ref name="nj.com"/>

In August 2022, the conference reached new media rights deals with CBS, Fox, and NBC totaled at an estimated $7 billion.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rittenberg |first=Adam |date=August 18, 2022 |title=Big Ten completes 7-year, $7 billion media rights agreement with Fox, CBS, NBC |work=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34417911 |access-date=August 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":1"/><ref name=":3"/><ref name=":2"/>

On August 4, 2023, [[Oregon Ducks|Oregon]] and [[Washington Huskies|Washington]] announced that they would join the Big Ten Conference alongside UCLA and USC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thamel |first=Pete |authorlink=Pete Thamel |date=2023-08-04 |title=Oregon, Washington officially leave Pac-12 for Big Ten |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/38134021 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=ESPN }}</ref> Unlike UCLA and USC, the two schools would receive a reduced media revenue share of $30 million each, with the share increasing by $1 million for each school each year, through the 2029–30 season. Rather than reducing the other conference members' revenue shares, Fox would contribute the necessary money.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/college-football/ohio-state-gene-smith-fox-oregon-washington-big-ten.html|title=Ohio State AD Gene Smith says Fox paid the tab to bring Oregon, Washington to Big Ten|date=August 10, 2023 }}</ref> The schools will receive a full share with the next media deal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/big-ten-adds-oregon-washington-newest-members-blow/story?id=102034722|title=Big Ten adds Oregon, Washington as newest members in blow to Pac-12|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] }}</ref>

====Football: the return of no divisions====
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In June 2023 – after UCLA and USC were confirmed as incoming members but before Oregon and Washington were added – the conference announced that starting in 2024, the East and West divisions for football would be eliminated. Each team would play nine conference games and three non-conference games, as before. Within a four-year period, each team would play at least two games against every other team – one at home and one away. This plan called for 11 [[#Protected matchups|protected matchups]] to take place every year; these included [[Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry|Michigan–Ohio State]] and ten other regional rivalries. At the end of each season, the top two teams in the conference standings would oppose each other in the [[Big Ten Football Championship Game]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Rittenberg |date=June 8, 2023 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37820350 |title=Big Ten to Introduce 'Flex Protect Plus' Football Schedule Model in 2024 |work=ESPN |access-date=June 13, 2023}}</ref>

The addition of Oregon and Washington added one more protected matchup to this count, bringing the total to 12 protected matchups: [[Illinois–Northwestern football rivalry|Illinois–Northwestern]], [[Illinois–Purdue football rivalry|Illinois–Purdue]], [[Old Oaken Bucket|Indiana–Purdue]], [[Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry|Iowa–Minnesota]], [[Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry|Iowa–Nebraska]], [[Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry|Iowa–Wisconsin]], Maryland–Rutgers, [[Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry|Michigan–Michigan State]], [[Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry|Michigan–Ohio State]], [[Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry|Minnesota–Wisconsin]], [[Oregon–Washington football rivalry|Oregon–Washington]] and [[Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)|UCLA–USC]], leaving Penn State as the lone school with no protected matchups. The schedule was also updated so that teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – and will play rotating opponents no more than three times in a five-year period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bigten.org/fb/article/blt39fc5a9dd81251cf/|title=Big Ten Conference Announces Future Football Schedule Formats for 2024–28|date=January 2024 }}</ref>