Ever since sports started to become a main stay amongst the college ranks in the late 19th century, sports betting enthusiasts have been betting on each conference. Today we look at the history of one of the most legendary conferences in not only college sports, but sports in general, the Big Ten.
Over its illustrious history, the Big Ten has gone by many different names. When it was first created in 1895, there were only seven teams. In 1896 Michigan University replaced Lake Forest in the conference and name was the Western Conference. However after a disagreement, Michigan left the conference in 1908, switching the name to the Big Nine. The Big Ten was first deemed the Big Ten in November of 1917, during World War 1. Michigan along with Indiana and Purdue had all come to the conference making it the Big Ten.
By the beginning of the Second World War however, Chicago University withdrew from the conference after failing to win any championships. Not only did it withdraw from the conference, it got rid of its football program all together. By 1949, Michigan State stepped in to replace Chicago and return the Big Ten conference to a 10 team conference. In the 1990s, Penn State joined the conference to put it at 11 teams.
Now in 2010, the Big Ten remains as one of the oldest conferences in the NCAA and appears to once again be looking at expansion. Over the past few months, expansion in the NCAA has been a hot topic as commissioners for the Big Ten and Pac Ten look at making super conferences, via merging with the Big 12. As a result of merging, the Big Ten would be able to get a bigger television deal and more revenue sharing. This appeared as an enticing offer for Nebraska as they left the Big 12 to come join the Big Ten.