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.
Cael Norman Sanderson is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic gold medal and was undefeated in four years of college wrestling at Iowa State (159–0), becoming a four-time NCAA Division I champion (1999–2002).
The Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded each year to the United States of America’s best college wrestler. The trophy is presented at the end of the season by WIN magazine and Culture House. It is the collegiate wrestling equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in college football. Its high school wrestling equivalent is the Junior Hodge Trophy, which has been awarded annually since 1998.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
Stephen Matthew Neal is an American former professional football guard who played his entire career for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former world champion in freestyle wrestling and two-time NCAA national champion wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield. He was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and won three Super Bowl rings with the team. He is one of a handful of NFL players who did not play college football.
Chris Pendleton is a former American wrestler who competed collegiately for Oklahoma State University. Pendleton won NCAA Division I wrestling titles at 174 pounds in 2004 and 2005 and was a three-time All-American.
The history of collegiate wrestling can be traced to the many indigenous styles of folk wrestling found in Europe, particularly in Great Britain. Those folk wrestling styles soon gained popularity in what would become the United States, and by the mid-to-late 19th century those styles, especially freestyle wrestling, emerged in gymnasiums and athletic clubs throughout the country. From then on, tournaments were sponsored and a professional circuit of wrestlers helped promote wrestling in the United States and throughout the world.
Marcus LeVesseur is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, he competed for the UFC and Adrenaline MMA. As a collegiate wrestler, LeVesseur was the only four-time undefeated NCAA Division III National Champion in history, and one of the three to do so across all three NCAA divisions. Only Cael Sanderson of Division I - Iowa State University (159-0), Joey Davis of Division II - Notre Dame College (133-0), and Marcus LeVesseur of Division III - Augsburg University (155-0) have completed their collegiate careers as undefeated, four-time NCAA champions.
Jacob Stephen "Jake" Varner is an American wrestler. Varner won the gold medal in the 96 kg category at the 2012 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling.
The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is the collegiate wrestling team at Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Nittany Lions compete at Bryce Jordan Center, a 15,261 capacity indoor stadium on the university's campus. Since the program's founding in 1909, the team has claimed 13 team National Championship titles and 55 individual NCAA National Championship titles, making it one of the most successful collegiate wrestling programs in the nation.
The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1954 college football season.
The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1953 college football season.
Bo Dean Nickal is an American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In freestyle wrestling, he claimed the 2019 U23 World Championship and the US Open national championship, and was a finalist at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials and a Final X contestant in 2019. As a collegiate wrestler, Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and a three-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Pennsylvania State University.
Jaydin Selsor Eierman is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competed internationally at 65 kilograms and collegiately at 141 pounds. In freestyle, Eierman won the US Open Nationals in 2021, medaled at the 2019 Pan American Games, earned runner–up honors at the 2018 US Open Nationals and was the 2019 US U23 National Champion. In folkstyle, he was the 2021 NCAA DI National runner-up and won a Big Ten championship in 2021 for the University of Iowa. He was a three–time NCAA All-American and a three–time MAC champion for the Missouri Tigers, before transferring to Iowa.
Zain Allen Retherford is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 70 kilograms. In freestyle, he is a gold and silver medalist at the World Championships, as well as a Pan-American champion.
Jordan Michael Oliver is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter and former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes in the featherweight division of Bellator MMA.
The 2020 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen as All-Big Ten Conference players for the 2020 Big Ten Conference football season. The conference recognizes two official All-Big Ten selectors: (1) the Big Ten conference coaches selected separate offensive and defensive units and named first-, second- and third-team players ; and (2) a panel of sports writers and broadcasters covering the Big Ten also selected offensive and defensive units and named first-, second- and third-team players.
Nicholas Boone Lee is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. In freestyle, he is a Pan American champion and a US National champion. Lee represented the United States at 65 kg at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships.
Daniel Gregory Clifton Kerkvliet Jr. is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 125 kilograms and collegiately at 285 pounds. In folkstyle, Kerkvliet wrestles for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was the 2024 NCAA champion at 285 pounds. In freestyle, Kerkvliet is a Cadet World Champion at 100 kg.