Query: Northwestern University is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference starting in 1893.

Relevant passages:
Northwestern University <=SEP=> Northwestern University ( NU ) is a private research university based in Evanston , Illinois , with campuses in Chicago , Illinois , and Doha , Qatar , and academic programs/facilities in Washington , D.C. , and San Francisco , California . Composed of twelve schools and colleges , Northwestern offers 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees . It is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the United States , notably in social sciences where it ranks 11th worldwide .   Northwestern was founded in 1851 by John Evans , for whom the City of Evanston is named , and eight other lawyers , businessmen and Methodist leaders . Its founding purpose was to serve the Northwest Territory , an area that today includes the states of Ohio , Indiana , Illinois , Michigan , Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota . Instruction began in 1855 ; women were admitted in 1869 . Today , the main campus is a 240 acre parcel in Evanston , along the shores of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of downtown Chicago . The university 's law , medical , and professional schools are located on a 25 acre campus in Chicago 's Streeterville neighborhood . In 2008 , the university opened a campus in Education City , Doha , Qatar with programs in journalism and communication . In 2016 , Northwestern opened its San Francisco space at 44 Montgomery St. , which hosts journalism , engineering , and marketing programs .   Northwestern is a large research university with a comprehensive doctoral program and it attracts over $ 650 million in sponsored research each year . Northwestern has the tenth largest university endowment in the United States , currently valued at $ 9.6 billion . In 2017 , the university accepted 9.0 % of undergraduate applicants from a pool of 37,255 .   Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and remains the only private university in the conference . The Northwestern Wildcats compete in 19 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA 's Division I Big Ten Conference .

Big Ten Conference <=SEP=> The Big Ten Conference ( B1G ) , formerly Western Conference and Big Nine Conference , is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States . The conference , consisting of 14 members as of 2016 , competes in the NCAA Division I ; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , formerly known as Division I-A , the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport . The conference includes the flagship public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska , as well as two additional public land grant schools and a private university .   The Big Ten Conference was established in 1895 when Purdue University president James H. Smart and representatives from the University of Chicago , University of Illinois , University of Michigan , University of Minnesota , Northwestern University , and University of Wisconsin gathered at Chicago 's Palmer House Hotel to set policies aimed at regulating intercollegiate athletics . In 1905 , the conference was officially incorporated as the `` Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association '' .   Big Ten member institutions are predominantly major flagship research universities with large financial endowments and strong academic reputations . Large student enrollment is also a hallmark of Big Ten universities , as 12 of the 14 members feature enrollments of 30,000 or more students . Northwestern University , one of just two full members with a total enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students ( the other is the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln ) , is the lone private university among Big Ten membership ( the University of Chicago , a private university , left the conference in 1946 ) . Collectively , Big Ten universities educate more than 520,000 total students and have 5.7 million living alumni . Big Ten universities engage in $ 9.3 billion in funded research each year . Though the Big Ten existed for nearly a century as an assemblage of universities located primarily in the Midwest , the conference 's geographic footprint now spans from the state of Nebraska in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east .   Big Ten universities are also members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance , an academic consortium . In 2014 -- 2015 , members generated more than $ 10 billion in research expenditures . Despite the conference 's name , the Big Ten has grown to fourteen members , with the following universities accepting invitations to join : Pennsylvania State University in 1990 , the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln in 2011 , and both the University of Maryland and Rutgers University in 2014 . Johns Hopkins University was invited in 2012 to join the Big Ten as an associate member participating in men 's lacrosse only . In 2015 , it was also accepted as an associate member in women 's lacrosse . Notre Dame is scheduled to join the Big Ten in 2017 as an associate member in men 's ice hockey .