The Big Ten Conference is the oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of ten prominent universities, which accounts for its name. On August 2, 2024, the conference expanded to 18 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.
The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis, in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference. Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences, the Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players.
The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University are two closely related private, Benedictine liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. The College of Saint Benedict is a college for women in St. Joseph and Saint John's University is a university for men in Collegeville. Students at the institutions have a shared curriculum and access to the resources of both campuses. Together, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University offer over 70 areas of study to undergraduate students, plus graduate programs in nursing and theology.
John Gagliardi was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1953 until 2012. From 1949 to 1952, he was the head football coach at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. With a career record of 489–138–11, Gagliardi has the most wins of any coach in college football history. His Saint John's Johnnies teams won four national titles: the NAIA Football National Championship in 1963 and 1965, and the NCAA Division III Football Championship in 1976 and 2003. Gagliardi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
The Boise State Broncos football program represents Boise State University in college football and competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos play their home games on campus at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, and their head coach is Spencer Danielson. The program has the longest current streak of winning seasons in college football with 27 and is 3–0 in the Fiesta Bowl with wins in 2007, 2010, and 2014. As of the end of the 2023 season, the Broncos' all-time winning percentage of .725 is the sixth highest among NCAA FBS football teams, while their 491 total wins ranks 105th.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
The 2010 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach K. C. Keeler, the Fightin' Blue Hens compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the CAA title with William & Mary. Delaware advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Fightin' Blue Hens received a first round bye. They beat Lehigh in the second round, New Hampshire in the quarterfinals, and Georgia Southern in the semifinals before losing to Eastern Washington in the NCAA Division I Championship Game, after leading by 19 points late in the third quarter. The team played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
The Saint John's Johnnies football program represents Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. They compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the (MIAC) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. From 1953 through November 19, 2012, collegiate hall-of-fame coach John Gagliardi coached the Johnnies, posting a 489–138–11 record over 59 years. Gagliardi's 489 wins are the most all-time for any football coach across all divisions. The current coach is Gary Fasching, who was named to the position on December 28, 2012.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Abilene Christian University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team was a member of the Southland Conference through the 2020–21 season, but joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport. After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of the ASUN Conference, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference, and ACU accordingly moved its football team to the new league. The school's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the on-campus Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
The Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Mavericks compete in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Their home arena is the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center located in downtown Mankato, Minnesota.
The St. Thomas Tommies football program represents University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Football began at the university in the late 1890s and the first official varsity intercollegiate games were played in 1904. St. Thomas was a charter member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, formed in 1920. The Tommies also appeared at the 1949 Cigar Bowl. In 2019, the MIAC announced that St. Thomas would be "involuntarily removed" from the conference at the end of the spring 2021 athletic season citing "athletic competitive parity" concerns. St. Thomas received approval from the NCAA to begin competing at the NCAA Division I FCS level as a member of the Pioneer Football League starting with the 2021 season and became the first program to jump from NCAA Division III to Division I FCS.
The 2019 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University in the 2019 NCAA Division III football season. The Johnnies, led by seventh-year head coach Gary Fasching, were members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and played their home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The 2018 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University in the 2018 NCAA Division III football season. The Johnnies, led by sixth-year head coach Gary Fasching, were members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and played their home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The 2021 St. Thomas Tommies football team represented the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Glenn Caruso, the Tommies compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for third place in the PFL. St. Thomas played home games at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The 2021 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division III football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Gary Fasching, the Johnnies compiled an overall record of 11–1 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play. They finished first the MIAC's Northwoods Division and beat the Bethel Royals, winners of the MIAC's Skyline Division in the MIAC Championship Game. As MIAC champion, Saint John's received and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs, where the defeated Lake Forest in the first round before losing to Linfield in the second round. The Johnnies played home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Jackson Marcus Erdmann is a former American football quarterback for the Vienna Vikings in the European League of Football. He played college football at Saint John's, a Division III program in Collegeville, Minnesota. After going undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft, Erdmann joined Fan Controlled Football as a member of the Wild Aces, with whom he won the FCF championship in its inaugural season.
The 1976 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 1976 NCAA Division III football season. In their 24th season under head coach John Gagliardi, the Johnnies compiled a 10–0–1 record and won the NCAA Division III national championship.
The 2022 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division III football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Gary Fasching, the Johnnies compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the MIAC Northwoods Division title. Saint John's beat the Bethel Royal in the MIAC Championship Game to win the conference title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs. There, the Johnnies defeated the Northwestern Eagles in the first round before losing to the Wartburg Knights in the second round. The team played home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
The 2023 Saint John's Johnnies football team represented Saint John's University as a member of the Northwoods Division of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division III football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Gary Fasching, the Johnnies compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second the MIAC's Northwoods Division. Saint John's failed to advanced to the NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs for the first time since 2013. The team played home games at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, Minnesota.
