Division 1-A college rugby conference
Big Ten Universities Sport Rugby Union Founded 2012 (2012 ) First season 2012 Commissioner Tom Rooney No. of teams 15s: 8 7s: 9 Country United States Most recent champion(s) 15s: Indiana (2023) 7s: Penn State (2024) Most titles 15s: Indiana (7) 7s: Wisconsin (5) Official website www .bigtenrugby .com
Big Ten Universities is a Division 1-A college rugby conference founded in summer 2012 by ten of the twelve schools that then made up the Big Ten Conference (which has since expanded to 18 members ). The Big Ten Universities was formed to improve rugby among the Big Ten schools by capitalizing on traditional Big Ten rivalries, increasing the number of fans, attracting talented high school rugby players, and playing other regional schools, which would create more competitive matchups with traditional rivals.
Prior to 2012, most of these schools had played in the now defunct Division 1-AA Midwest conference (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin) and the Division 1-AA Mid-Eastern conference (Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue).[ 1] Ohio State had played in Division 1-A in the East conference.
Organization of college rugby has been evolving since 2009, with many schools organizing into conferences similar to the traditional NCAA conferences. In November 2010, USA Rugby's college management committee set out a plan for transitioning universities to NCAA-style conferences.[ 2] The purpose of the realignment is for college rugby to capitalize on the marketability of major college conference rivalries.[ 3]
Institution
Location
Enrollment
Nickname
Colors
Rugby since
Head coach
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
41,918[ 4]
Fighting Illini
Orange & Navy
1963
Joseph Rasmus
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
42,464[ 5]
Hoosiers
Cream & Crimson
1962
Eddie Abel
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
37,197[ 6]
Wolverines
Maize & Blue
1959 (1890)
Christian Mentzer
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
43,159[ 7]
Spartans
Green & White
1964
Tim Britain
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, Indiana
12,809[ 8]
Fighting Irish
Blue & Gold
1961[ 9]
Justin Hickey
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
66,444 (2017)[ 10]
Buckeyes
Scarlet & Gray
1966
Ron Bowers
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
39,637[ 11]
Boilermakers
Old Gold & Black
1970
Casey Doten
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
42,595[ 12]
Badgers
Cardinal & White
1962
Kurtis Shepherd
Notes:
Four Big Ten members do not play rugby in Big Ten Universities:
Season
Champion
Score
Runner Up
East Champ
West Champ
Player of the Year
Top Try Scorer
Top Points Scorer
Ref.
Spring 2013
Wisconsin
30–10
Ohio State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Martin Gianetti (Illinois) 12
Lewis Shaw (Indiana) 83
[ 15]
Fall 2013
Indiana*
58–38
Michigan
Indiana
Michigan
Isaac Hall (Indiana)
Isaac Hall (Indiana) 7
J. Heginbottom (Wisconsin) 64
[ 16]
2014
Wisconsin
34–20
Ohio State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
[ 17]
2015
Indiana
34–14
Ohio State
Indiana
Wisconsin
[ 18]
2016
Indiana
72–19
Ohio State
Indiana
Wisconsin
[ 19] [ 20]
2017
Indiana
38–26
Ohio State
[ 21]
2018
Wisconsin
20–13
Indiana
[ 22]
2019
Indiana
34–7
Ohio State
Ben Richards (Ohio State) Case Fleck (Indiana)
Vince Carso (Ohio State) Russell Lemaster (Indiana) 12
Connor Forrestal (Ohio State) 89
[ 23] [ 24] [ 25]
2020
No competition held due to Covid-19
2021
Ohio State
33–29
Indiana
Ohio State
Indiana
Vince Carso (Ohio State)
[ 26] [ 27]
2022
Indiana
22–20
Ohio State
Ohio State
Indiana
Peyton Wall (Indiana)
[ 28] [ 29] [ 30]
2023
Indiana
55-21
Michigan State
Michigan State
Indiana
Peyton Wall (Indiana)
[ 31] [ 32]
2024
Ohio State
21–17
Notre Dame
Fall 2012
Team
Record
Wisconsin (W)
5 — 0
Illinois
4 — 1
Ohio State (E)
3–1–1
Indiana
3 — 2
Michigan
3 — 2
Michigan State
2–2–1
Iowa
2 — 3
Minnesota
2 — 3
Nebraska
0 — 5
Purdue
0 — 5
Notes:
Bold means qualified for playoffs
(E) and (W) identify division champions
Indiana's Fall 2014 Team penalized for eligibility misconduct[ 33] [ 34]
Fall 2013
Team
Record
Indiana (E)
6 — 0
Michigan (W)
5 — 1
Wisconsin
5 — 1
Ohio State
3 — 3
Minnesota
3 — 3
Illinois
3 — 3
Michigan State
2 — 4
Iowa
0 — 6
Purdue
0 — 6
2014
Team
Record
Indiana
6 — 0
Wisconsin (W)
5 — 1
Ohio State (E)
4 — 2
Michigan
4 — 2
Iowa
4 — 2
Minnesota
3 — 3
Michigan State
2 — 4
Illinois
1 — 5
Purdue
1 — 5
Nebraska
0 — 6
2021
Team
Record[ 35]
Indiana (W)
6 — 0
Ohio State (E)
5 — 1
Michigan State
4 — 2
Illinois
3 — 3
Michigan
2 — 4
Purdue
1 — 5
Wisconsin
0 — 6
2022
Team
Record[ 36]
Indiana (W)
5 — 0
Ohio State (E)
4 — 1
Notre Dame
4 — 1
Illinois
3 — 2
Wisconsin
3 — 2
Michigan State
2 — 3
Michigan
1 — 4
Purdue
0 — 5
2023
Team
Record[ 37]
Indiana (W)
4 — 0
Ohio State (E)
3 — 1
Michigan State
2 — 0
Michigan
1 — 4
Illinois
1 — 1
Wisconsin
1 — 1
Purdue
1 — 2
Notre Dame
0 — 3
2024
Team
Record[ 38]
Notre Dame (E)
3 — 0
Indiana (W)
3 — 0
Ohio State
2 — 1
Wisconsin
2 — 1
Illinois
1 — 2
Michigan State
1 — 1
Michigan
0 — 3
Purdue
0 — 3
The Big Ten schools have formed the Big Ten 7s tournament. The Big Ten tournament features a round of pool play, followed by knockout play. The winner of the Big Ten 7s earns an automatic berth to the USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships and to the Collegiate Rugby Championship .
The inaugural Big Ten tournament was held August 2011, and hosted by Wisconsin.[ 39] Wisconsin and Penn State dominated, each winning its respective pool and advancing in knockout play to the finals, where Wisconsin defeated Penn State 21-14.[ 39] Wisconsin's victory at the 2011 Big Ten 7s earned it the right to compete for the national championship at the 2011 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships .[ 40]
Year
Location
Champion
Final score
Runner Up
Third
Tournament MVP
Leading Try Scorer
Ref.
Aug 27, 2011
Madison, WI
Wisconsin
21–14
Penn State
Iowa
Ben Knight (Wisconsin)
—
[ 39]
Nov 10, 2012
Columbus, OH
Wisconsin
33–14
Penn State
Ohio State
Tom Hemmings (Wisconsin)
Blaze Feury (Penn St) John Ryberg (Iowa) 7
[ 41]
Apr 14, 2013
Wisconsin
—
Tom Hemmings (Wisconsin)
Apr 19, 2014
Columbus, IN
Ohio State
29–12
Iowa
Taylor Young (Iowa)
Apr 18, 2015
Ann Arbor, MI
Indiana
Illinois
Bryce Campbell (Indiana)
[ 42]
Apr 2–16, 2016
Columbus, OH
Wisconsin
—
Michigan
[ 43] [ 44]
2017
Columbus, OH
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Michigan
[ 45] [ 46]
Apr 28, 2018
Madison, WI
Wisconsin
26–5
Ohio State
[ 47]
2019
Ohio State
31–17
Minnesota
Apr 2–16, 2022
Champaign, IL West Lafayette, IN Ann Arbor, MI
Indiana
—
Notre Dame
Will Chevalier (Indiana)
[ 48]
Apr 15, 2023
South Bend, IN
Penn State
19–14
Indiana
Notre Dame
Ian Roudybush (Penn State)
[ 49] [ 50]
Apr 13–14, 2024
South Bend, IN
Penn State
40–0
Michigan
Indiana
[ 51]
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^ Midwest Rugby, Collegiate Sevens Championships Officially Announced, Sep. 1, 2011, "Collegiate Sevens Championships Officially Announced" (Press release). USA Rugby. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012 .
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