Big Ten Conference Membership Map (2017)

This map of the United States shows the locations of Big Ten Conference members as they stood from the 2017-18 school year, including full members and affiliates in sports such as lacrosse and ice hockey.

In 2017 the conference had 14 full members. Despite its name, the number of members had been above ten since 1990, when Penn State joined, and the conference grew further with Nebraska in 2011 and Maryland and Rutgers in 2014.

The 14 members in 2017

The members were Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin. The conference is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, near Chicago. From 2017-18 Notre Dame joined as an affiliate for men's ice hockey, and Johns Hopkins was an affiliate member in lacrosse.

The map extends from Nebraska in the west to New Jersey and Maryland in the east, a result of the expansions of the 2010s.

A map that has changed

The conference added UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington in August 2024, making 18 members. The 2017 map is therefore a record of an earlier configuration and an example of how college athletics geography shifts.

Why members are far apart

The conference was founded in 1896 in Chicago as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, often called the Western Conference. Its member universities also share an academic consortium, now known as the Big Ten Academic Alliance, which was one reason for the later expansion to Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers. The Big Ten Network, launched in 2007, helped to turn the conference into one of the biggest in American college sport.

Key facts

Questions about this map

Why is it called the Big Ten if there are more teams?

The conference kept its historic name after expanding.

Is the map current?

No. It shows the 2017-18 membership; four western schools joined in 2024.

Where is the headquarters?

Rosemont, Illinois.