Big 12 Conference Vs. Big 10 Conference

Based primarily in the south-central U.S., the Big 12 is one of the newer NCAA Division I conferences. The Big Ten, in the upper Midwest, is the oldest. Both were involved in major realignment news in 2010, with the Big 12 ultimately losing two teams: Nebraska to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-10.

  1. Big Ten Membership

    • The Big Ten started out with seven schools in 1896, organized under the less-glamorous name of Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives. Original members were the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin. In 1899, Indiana University and the State University of Iowa joined, followed by Ohio State in 1912. Chicago left in 1946 and was replaced three years later by Michigan State University. Penn State was added in 1990. The conference's 12th member, Nebraska, was slated to join on July 1, 2011.

    Big 12 Membership

    • A merger between the Big Eight Conference and four Texas schools from the Southwest Conference created the Big 12. Members for the inaugural 1996-97 season were Baylor University, University of Colorado, Iowa State University, University of Kansas, Kansas State University, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University.

    2010 Realignment

    • During the Big 12's annual spring meeting in early June 2010, rumors swirled of the possible breakup of the conference. There were reports that the Pac-10 had offered invitations to half the Big 12 schools to create a 16-team, superconference. Ultimately, Colorado was the only school to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-10, followed by an announcement by Nebraska that it was leaving for the Big Ten. Near the end of June, Big 12 officials said there were no plans to expand the conference, which would stick with 10 teams through at least 2020.

    Sports

    • As of 2010, the Big 12 has about 4,600 student athletes in 22 sports. Two of those sports—women's rowing and equestrian—do not feature a postseason conference tournament. In the Big 10, about 8,500 student athletes compete in 25 sports. Four of those sports—football, women's soccer, softball and volleyball—do not include postseason tournaments. In football, the Big Ten has made 21 appearances in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which is the most of any conference. The Big 12 has been represented 17 times in BCS bowls.

    Stadiums

    • The Big Ten is the only conference with three stadiums that can seat more than 100,000—Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania; Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. As of 2010, Michigan Stadium holds 107,501, which is the greatest seating capacity of any professional or college football stadium in the country. The Texas Longhorns' home field—Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, which seats 100,119—is the largest stadium in the Big 12.

    Television

    • The Big Ten Network, which made its debut in 2007, was the first conference-owned TV network in the nation. In its first month, the network was available to 30 million homes. As of 2010, the Big 12 has no television network. It does have a contract with Fox Sports Net through the end of 2011-2012 season, and a deal with ESPN, which ends after the 2015-2016 season.