The Big Ten Conference is an association of 11 world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Intercollegiate athletics has an important place within the mission.
Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes' lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. Big Ten universities provide in excess of $63 million in athletic scholarship aid to 7,500 men and women student-athletes to compete for 25 championships, 12 for men and 13 for women. Conference institutions sponsor more than 250 athletic programs. 1
