Big 10 Championship History
The Big Ten Conference was formed in 1896 as the Western Conference. The original seven members were the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, Purdue University, and the University of Wisconsin.
Football was one of the original sports that the conference sponsored. The first Big Ten football game was played on October 14, 1896, between the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan. Chicago won the game 14-0.
The Big Ten has been a major force in college football ever since. The conference has produced some of the greatest teams and players in the history of the sport. The Big Ten has also won more national championships than any other conference in the NCAA.
The Big Ten is currently one of the six "Power Five" conferences in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The other five Power Five conferences are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Pac-12 Conference, the Big 12 Conference, and the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
The Big Ten is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference's current commissioner is Kevin Warren, who was appointed in 2020.
The Big Ten's 14 member institutions are:
- The Ohio State University (Ohio State Buckeyes)
- The University of Michigan (Michigan Wolverines)
- The University of Michigan State (Michigan State Spartans)
- The University of Wisconsin–Madison (Wisconsin Badgers)
- The University of Minnesota (Minnesota Golden Gophers)
- The University of Iowa (Iowa Hawkeyes)
- The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (Illinois Fighting Illini)
- The Purdue University (Purdue Boilermakers)
- The Indiana University Bloomington (Indiana Hoosiers)
- The Northwestern University (Northwestern Wildcats)
- The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska Cornhuskers)
- The Rutgers University-New Brunswick (Rutgers Scarlet Knights)
- The University of Maryland, College Park (Maryland Terrapins)
- The Penn State University (Penn State Nittany Lions)
Big 10 Football Championship History
Year | Champion
------- | --------
2000 | Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue
2001 | Illinois
2002 | Ohio State, Iowa
2003 | Michigan
2004 | Iowa, Michigan
2005 | Ohio State & Penn State
2006 | Ohio State
2007 | Ohio State
2008 | Penn State & Ohio State
2009 | Ohio State
2010 | Wisconsin
2011 | Wisconsin
The 2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game was the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, played on December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the Legends Division champion Michigan State Spartans against the Leaders Division champion Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin won the game 42–39.
The game was a close one throughout, with the lead changing hands several times. Michigan State led 14–10 at halftime, but Wisconsin took a 24–17 lead in the third quarter. Michigan State tied the game at 24–24 early in the fourth quarter, but Wisconsin scored 18 unanswered points to take a 42–24 lead with 2:56 remaining in the game. Michigan State scored a touchdown with 1:03 remaining to cut the lead to 42–31, but Wisconsin recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Montee Ball was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Russell Wilson threw for 246 yards and one touchdown on 22 of 33 passing.
2012 | Wisconsin
The 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 1, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to determine the 2012 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the Wisconsin Badgers of the Leaders Division and the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Legends Division. Wisconsin defeated Nebraska, 70–31.
Montee Ball took over as the record holder for Football Bowl Subdivision's "career rushing touchdowns record" from Travis Prentice with 76 touchdowns (Ball scored one touchdown in the 2013 Rose Bowl thus extending the record). Wisconsin set multiple school records in the game; first by scoring eight rushing touchdowns during the game. The second school record for Wisconsin was having two 200-yard rushers in one game. Nebraska set a record for the most rushing touchdowns allowed in a game. Wisconsin's redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon ran for a career-high of 216 yards on just nine possessions, averaging 24 yards per carry.
Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions.
2013 | Michigan State
The 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 7, 2013, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to determine the 2013 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the Legends Division champion Michigan State Spartans and the Leaders Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Michigan State defeated Ohio State, 34–24.
The game was a close one throughout, with the lead changing hands several times. Ohio State led 17–14 at halftime, but Michigan State took a 21–17 lead in the third quarter. Ohio State tied the game at 21–21 early in the fourth quarter, but Michigan State scored 13 unanswered points to take a 34–21 lead with 2:52 remaining in the game. Ohio State scored a touchdown with 1:49 remaining to cut the lead to 34–24, but Michigan State recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Dantonio was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown. Connor Cook threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns on 26 of 44 passing.
2014 | Ohio State
The 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 6, 2014, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to determine the 2014 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the East Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the West Division champion Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin, 59–0. It was the first (and only) shutout in Big Ten Football Championship Game game history.
The game was a blowout from the start, with Ohio State scoring 21 points in the first quarter and 28 points in the second quarter to take a 49–0 lead at halftime. Ohio State added 10 more points in the third quarter to complete the shutout.
Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 18 of 25 passing. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
2015 | Michigan State
The 2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 5, 2015, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to determine the 2015 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the East Division champion Michigan State Spartans and the West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan State defeated Iowa, 16–13.
The game was a close one throughout, with the lead changing hands several times. Iowa led 13–9 at halftime, but Michigan State scored a touchdown with 27 seconds remaining to take a 16–13 lead. Iowa had a chance to tie the game on their final drive, but they turned the ball over on downs at the Michigan State 30-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.
Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 243 yards and one touchdown on 23 of 39 passing. LJ Scott ran for 111 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries.
2016 | Penn State
The 2016 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2016, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana to determine the 2016 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the East Division champion Penn State Nittany Lions and the West Division champion Wisconsin Badgers. Penn State defeated Wisconsin, 38–31.
The game was a close one throughout, with the lead changing hands several times. Wisconsin led 14–7 at halftime, but Penn State scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 28–14 lead. Wisconsin scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 28–31, but Penn State recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Trace McSorley was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns on 22 of 38 passing. Saquon Barkley ran for 182 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.
2017 | Ohio State
The 2017 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played on December 2, 2017, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the East Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the West Division champion Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin, 27–21.
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 22 of 33 passing. J.K. Dobbins ran for 114 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries.
2018 | Ohio State
The 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played on December 1, 2018, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the East Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the West Division champion Northwestern Wildcats. Ohio State defeated Northwestern, 45–24.
Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns on 34 of 41 passing. J.K. Dobbins ran for 121 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries.
2019 | Ohio State
The 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played on December 7, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the East Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the West Division champion Wisconsin Badgers. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin, 34–21.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns on 21 of 30 passing. J.K. Dobbins ran for 137 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries.
2020 | Ohio State
The 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played on December 19, 2020, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the East Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes and the West Division champion Northwestern Wildcats. Ohio State defeated Northwestern, 22–10.
Ohio State quarterback Trey Sermon was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He ran for a school-record 331 yards and two second-half touchdowns.
2021 | Michigan Wolverines
The 2021 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played on December 4, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game featured the East Division champion Michigan Wolverines and the West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan defeated Iowa, 42-3, to win their first Big Ten Championship since 2004.
Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He threw for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 17 of 24 passing. Hassan Haskins ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
2022 | Michigan Wolverines
Michigan won the game 45–23, outscoring the Buckeyes 28–3 in the second half, and clinched the division title for the second consecutive season.