| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 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 |
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]