The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I NCAA college athletic conference. The Big Ten Conference was conceived on January 11, 1895. On that day, the Chancellors of the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Lake Forest College, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University and University of Wisconsin met in Chicago to discuss the regulation of intercollegiate athletics. The eligibility of student athletes that attended the universities was one of the main topics of discussion. The following year, the predecessor to the Big Ten, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was founded.  Lake Forest was not at the 1896 meeting that established the conference and was replaced by the University of Michigan.

The University of Iowa and the University of Indiana joined the conference in 1899, followed by Ohio State University in 1912.  The first reference to this organization of institutions as the Big Ten Conference was in 1917. The University of Chicago discontinued its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten Conference in 1946. Chicago still continues its relationship with the conference as a member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.

In 1950, Michigan State University joined and the conference was again known as the Big Ten. The Big Ten Conference's membership would remain unchanged for the next 40 years.  In 1990, the Big Ten Conference voted to expand the conference to 11 teams, and an invitation was extended to Penn State University. With Penn State joining, it was decided that the conference would continue to be called the Big Ten, but its logo was modified to reflect the change. The number eleven is disguised in the areas around the blue Big Ten lettering.

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined Big Ten	Enrollment	Nickname	Big Ten Football Championships(Last)	NCAA Football Championships(Last)
University of Illinois	Champaign, IL	1867	1896	42,728	Fighting Illini	15 (2001)	3 (1927)
Indiana University	Bloomington, IN	1820	1899	43,247	Hoosiers	2 (1967)	0
University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	1847	1899	30,409	Hawkeyes	11 (2004)	0
University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	1817	1896	40,025	Wolverines	42 (2004)	9 (1997)
Michigan State University	East Lansing, MI	1855	1950	45,520	Spartans	6 (1990)	3 (1966)
University of Minnesota	Minneapolis/St Paul, MN	1851	1896	51,194	Golden Gophers	18 (1967)	6 (1960)
Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	1851	1896	13,407	Wildcats	8 (2000)	0
Ohio State University	Columbus, OH	1870	1912	52,568	Buckeyes	32 (2007)	7 (2002)
Penn State University	State College, PA	1855	1990	42,914	Nittany Lions	3 (2008)	4 (1986)
Purdue University	West Lafayette, IN	1869	1896	39,333	Boilermakers	8 (2000)	0
University of Wisconsin	Madison, WI	1848	1896	41,466	Badgers	11 (1999)	0

As is well known throughout the midwest, the members of the Big Ten have longstanding rivalries with each other. Each school has at least one traveling trophy at stake. Some Big Ten rivalries with their respective traveling trophy include:

Rivalry	Trophy
Illinois-Northwestern	Sweet Sioux Tomahawk
Indiana-Purdue	Old Oaken Bucket
Indiana-Michigan State	Old Brass Spittoon
Iowa-Minnesota	Floyd of Rosedale
Iowa-Wisconsin	Heartland Trophy
Minnesota-Wisconsin	Slab of Bacon
Michigan-Michigan State	Paul Bunyan Trophy
Michigan-Minnesota	Little Brown Jug
Illinois-Ohio State	Illibuck
Illinois-Purdue	Purdue Cannon
Minnesota-Penn State	Governor's Victory Bell
Michigan State-Penn State	Land Grant Trophy

Permanent Big Ten Football Rivalries by Team	Big Ten Football Teams that do not play in 2009
Illinois: Indiana, Northwestern Indiana: Illinois, Purdue Iowa: Minnesota, Wisconsin Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State Michigan State: Michigan, Penn State Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State Penn State: Michigan State, Ohio State Purdue: Indiana, Northwestern Wisconsin: Iowa, Minnesota	Illinois: Michigan State, Purdue Indiana: Michigan, Ohio State Iowa: Michigan, Ohio State Michigan: Indiana, Iowa Michigan State: Illinois, Minnesota Minnesota: Michigan State, Penn State Northwestern:Penn State, Wisconsin Ohio State: Indiana, Iowa Penn State: Minnesota, Northwestern Purdue: Illinois, Wisconsin Wisconsin: Northwestern, Purdue

The Wisconsin vs Minnesota football game is the most played rivalry in Division I-A football, with 115 editions dating back to 1890. The all time team versus team football records of the Big Ten Conference member institutions are as follows:  Read from left to right

 All time win loss records for Big Ten Conference football teams by university:

School	W/L%	Games	Won	Loss	Tie
Illinois	.558	1066	535	482	49
Indiana	.438	938	395	550	38
Iowa	.525	1003	509	460	34
Michigan	.753	1118	816	267	35
Michigan State	.596	804	462	312	30
Minnesota	.588	1057	597	418	42
Northwestern	.425	1056	432	584	40
Ohio State	.736	912	645	231	36
Penn State	.691	1105	738	330	37
Purdue	.538	1040	534	458	48
Wisconsin	.558	1055	560	443	52

Since 1946, the Big Ten Football champion gets a berth in the Rose Bowl game against the Pac 10 champion. The Rose Bowl is now a BCS bowl. The Big Ten also has affiliations with six non-BCS bowls. Picks are made after the BCS selections. If two Big Ten teams participate in BCS bowls, the bowl with the #2 pick will have the first pick of the remaining teams in the conference.

2009 Big Ten Football Tickets

 2009 Big Ten Football Schedule  

September 5, 2009
Missouri vs Illinois (St. Louis)
Eastern Kentucky at Indiana
Northern Iowa at Iowa
Western Michigan at Michigan
Montana State at Michigan State
Minnesota at Syracuse
Miami, Ohio at Northwestern
Navy at Ohio State
Akron at Penn State
Toledo at Purdue
Northern Illinois at Wisconsin

September 12, 2009
Illinois State at Illinois
Western Michigan at Indiana
Iowa at Iowa State
Notre Dame at Michigan
Central Michigan at Michigan State
Air Force at Minnesota
Towson State at Northwestern
USC at Ohio State
Syracuse at Penn State
Purdue at Oregon
Fresno State at Wisconsin

September 19, 2009
Indiana at Akron
Arizona at Iowa
Eastern Michigan at Michigan
Michigan State at Notre Dame
California at Minnesota
Northwestern at Syracuse
Ohio State at Toledo
Temple at Penn State
Northern Illinois at Purdue
Wofford at Wisconsin
OPEN: Illinois

September 26, 2009
Illinois at Ohio State
Indiana at Michigan
Iowa at Penn State
Michigan State at Wisconsin
Minnesota at Northwestern
Notre Dame at Purdue

October 3, 2009
Penn State at Illinois
Ohio State at Indiana
Arkansas State at Iowa
Michigan at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Northwestern at Purdue

October 10, 2009
Michigan State at Illinois
South Florida at Indiana
Michigan at Iowa
Purdue at Minnesota
Eastern Michigan at Northwestern
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Eastern Illinois at Penn State

October 17, 2009
Illinois at Indiana
Iowa at Wisconsin
Delaware State at Michigan
Northwestern at Michigan State
Minnesota at Penn State
Ohio State at Purdue

October 24, 2009
Illinois at Purdue
Indiana at Northwestern
Iowa at Michigan State
Penn State at Michigan
Minnesota at Ohio State
OPEN: Wisconsin

October 31, 2009
Michigan at Illinois
Indiana at Iowa
Michigan State at Minnesota
Penn State at Northwestern
New Mexico State at Ohio State
Purdue at Wisconsin

November 7, 2009
Illinois at Minnesota
Wisconsin at Indiana
Northwestern at Iowa
Purdue at Michigan
Western Michigan at Michigan State
Ohio State at Penn State

November 14, 2009
Northwestern at Illinois
Indiana at Penn State
Iowa at Ohio State
Michigan at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Purdue
South Dakota State at Minnesota

November 21, 2009
Fresno State at Illinois
Purdue at Indiana
Minnesota at Iowa
Ohio State at Michigan
Penn State at Michigan State
Wisconsin at Northwestern

November 28, 2009
Illinois at Cincinnati
Wisconsin at Hawaii