# Big Ten Universities

Big Ten Universities is a Division 1-A college rugby conference founded in summer 2012 by ten of the twelve schools that then made up the Big Ten Conference (which has since expanded to 18 members). The Big Ten Universities was formed to improve rugby among the Big Ten schools by capitalizing on traditional Big Ten rivalries, increasing the number of fans, attracting talented high school rugby players, and playing other regional schools, which would create more competitive matchups with traditional rivals.
Prior to 2012, most of these schools had played in the now defunct Division 1-AA Midwest conference (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin) and the Division 1-AA Mid-Eastern conference (Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue). Ohio State had played in Division 1-A in the East conference.
Organization of college rugby has been evolving since 2009, with many schools organizing into conferences similar to the traditional NCAA conferences. In November 2010, USA Rugby's college management committee set out a plan for transitioning universities to NCAA-style conferences. The purpose of the realignment is for college rugby to capitalize on the marketability of major college conference rivalries.

## Members

| Institution | Location | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Rugby since | Head coach |
| University of Illinois | Urbana-Champaign, Illinois | 41,918 | Fighting Illini | Orange & Navy | 1963 | Joseph Rasmus |
| Indiana University | Bloomington, Indiana | 42,464 | Hoosiers | Cream & Crimson | 1962 | Eddie Abel |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 37,197 | Wolverines | Maize & Blue | 1959 (1890) | Christian Mentzer |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan | 43,159 | Spartans | Green & White | 1964 | Tim Britain |
| University of Notre Dame | South Bend, Indiana | 12,809 | Fighting Irish | Blue & Gold | 1961 | Justin Hickey |
| Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | 66,444 (2017) | Buckeyes | Scarlet & Gray | 1966 | Ron Bowers |
| Purdue University | West Lafayette, Indiana | 39,637 | Boilermakers | Old Gold & Black | 1970 | Casey Doten |
| University of Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin | 42,595 | Badgers | Cardinal & White | 1962 | Kurtis Shepherd |
Notes:
* Four Big Ten members do not play rugby in Big Ten Universities:
** Conference charter members University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and University of Nebraska compete in the D1AA Heart of America Conference.
** Conference charter member Northwestern compete in NCR D2.
** Penn State, a Big Ten member since 1990, plays in the Rugby East conference of Division 1-A. Having competed in the 2011 Big Ten 7s, in 2022 Penn State rejoined the conference as a 7s member.
** The two schools that joined the Big Ten in 2014, Maryland and Rutgers, respectively play in the NCR Chesapeake Rugby Conference and the Liberty Rugby Conference.
** Notre Dame joined as a full member for the 2022 season after taking part in the Spring 2022 Big Ten 7s Championship.

## Results

| Season | Champion | Score | Runner Up | East Champ | West Champ | Player of the Year | Top Try Scorer | Top Points Scorer | Ref. |
| Spring 2013 | Wisconsin | 30–10 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Wisconsin | | Martin Gianetti (Illinois) 12 | Lewis Shaw (Indiana) 83 | |
| Fall 2013 | Indiana* | 58–38 | Michigan | Indiana | Michigan | Isaac Hall (Indiana) | Isaac Hall (Indiana) 7 | J. Heginbottom (Wisconsin) 64 | |
| 2014 | Wisconsin | 34–20 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Wisconsin | | | | |
| 2015 | Indiana | 34–14 | Ohio State | Indiana | Wisconsin | | | | |
| 2016 | Indiana | 72–19 | Ohio State | Indiana | Wisconsin | | | | |
| 2017 | Indiana | 38–26 | Ohio State | | | | | | |
| 2018 | Wisconsin | 20–13 | Indiana | | | | | | |
| 2019 | Indiana | 34–7 | Ohio State | | | Ben Richards (Ohio State) Case Fleck (Indiana) | Vince Carso (Ohio State) Russell Lemaster (Indiana) 12 | Connor Forrestal (Ohio State) 89 | |
| 2020 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 | No competition held due to Covid-19 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | 33–29 | Indiana | Ohio State | Indiana | Vince Carso (Ohio State) | | | |
| 2022 | Indiana | 22–20 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Indiana | Peyton Wall (Indiana) | | | |
| 2023 | Indiana | 55-21 | Michigan State | Michigan State | Indiana | Peyton Wall (Indiana) | | | |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 21–17 | Notre Dame | Ohio State | Indiana | Maximus Clark (Ohio State) | | | |

### Regular season

| Team | Record |
| Wisconsin (W) | 5 — 0 |
| Illinois | 4 — 1 |
| Ohio State (E) | 3–1–1 |
| Indiana | 3 — 2 |
| Michigan | 3 — 2 |
| Michigan State | 2–2–1 |
| Iowa | 2 — 3 |
| Minnesota | 2 — 3 |
| Nebraska | 0 — 5 |
| Purdue | 0 — 5 |
| Team | Record |
| Indiana (E) | 6 — 0 |
| Michigan (W) | 5 — 1 |
| Wisconsin | 5 — 1 |
| Ohio State | 3 — 3 |
| Minnesota | 3 — 3 |
| Illinois | 3 — 3 |
| Michigan State | 2 — 4 |
| Iowa | 0 — 6 |
| Purdue | 0 — 6 |
| Team | Record |
| Indiana | 6 — 0 |
| Wisconsin (W) | 5 — 1 |
| Ohio State (E) | 4 — 2 |
| Michigan | 4 — 2 |
| Iowa | 4 — 2 |
| Minnesota | 3 — 3 |
| Michigan State | 2 — 4 |
| Illinois | 1 — 5 |
| Purdue | 1 — 5 |
| Nebraska | 0 — 6 |
| Team | Record |
| Indiana (W) | 6 — 0 |
| Ohio State (E) | 5 — 1 |
| Michigan State | 4 — 2 |
| Illinois | 3 — 3 |
| Michigan | 2 — 4 |
| Purdue | 1 — 5 |
| Wisconsin | 0 — 6 |
| Team | Record |
| Indiana (W) | 5 — 0 |
| Ohio State (E) | 4 — 1 |
| Notre Dame | 4 — 1 |
| Illinois | 3 — 2 |
| Wisconsin | 3 — 2 |
| Michigan State | 2 — 3 |
| Michigan | 1 — 4 |
| Purdue | 0 — 5 |
| Team | Record |
| Indiana (W) | 4 — 0 |
| Ohio State (E) | 3 — 1 |
| Michigan State | 2 — 0 |
| Michigan | 1 — 4 |
| Illinois | 1 — 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1 — 1 |
| Purdue | 1 — 2 |
| Notre Dame | 0 — 3 |
2024
| Team | Record |
| Notre Dame (E) | 3 — 0 |
| Indiana (W) | 3 — 0 |
| Ohio State | 2 — 1 |
| Wisconsin | 2 — 1 |
| Illinois | 1 — 2 |
| Michigan State | 1 — 1 |
| Michigan | 0 — 3 |
| Purdue | 0 — 3 |

## Big Ten 7s

The Big Ten schools have formed the Big Ten 7s tournament. The Big Ten tournament features a round of pool play, followed by knockout play. The winner of the Big Ten 7s earns an automatic berth to the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships and to the Collegiate Rugby Championship.
The inaugural Big Ten tournament was held August 2011, and hosted by Wisconsin. Wisconsin and Penn State dominated, each winning its respective pool and advancing in knockout play to the finals, where Wisconsin defeated Penn State 21-14. Wisconsin's victory at the 2011 Big Ten 7s earned it the right to compete for the national championship at the 2011 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.
| Year | Location | Champion | Final score | Runner Up | Third | Tournament MVP | Leading Try Scorer |
| Aug 27, 2011 | Madison, WI | Wisconsin | 21–14 | Penn State | Iowa | Ben Knight (Wisconsin) | — |
| Nov 10, 2012 | Columbus, OH | Wisconsin | 33–14 | Penn State | Ohio State | Tom Hemmings (Wisconsin) | Blaze Feury (Penn St) John Ryberg (Iowa) 7 |
| Apr 14, 2013 | | Wisconsin | — | | | Tom Hemmings (Wisconsin) | |
| Apr 19, 2014 | Columbus, IN | Ohio State | 29–12 | Iowa | | Taylor Young (Iowa) | |
| Apr 18, 2015 | Ann Arbor, MI | Indiana | | Illinois | | Bryce Campbell (Indiana) | |
| Apr 2–16, 2016 | Columbus, OH | Wisconsin | — | Michigan | | | |
| 2017 | Columbus, OH | Ohio State | | Wisconsin | Michigan | | |
| Apr 28, 2018 | Madison, WI | Wisconsin | 26–5 | Ohio State | | | |
| 2019 | | Ohio State | 31–17 | Minnesota | | | |
| Apr 2–16, 2022 | Champaign, IL West Lafayette, IN Ann Arbor, MI | Indiana | — | | Notre Dame | Will Chevalier (Indiana) | |
| Apr 15, 2023 | South Bend, IN | Penn State | 19–14 | Indiana | Notre Dame | Ian Roudybush (Penn State) | |
| Apr 13–14, 2024 | South Bend, IN | Penn State | 40–0 | Michigan | Indiana | | |