Big Ten

1. A group of prominent midwestern universities known for high academic standards and keen athletic competition. Nine of the ten are state universities: the universities of Illinois (at Urbana), Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (at Madison); Michigan State University; Ohio State University; Indiana University; and Purdue University. Northwestern University is the sole private school.

Example Sentences

The Big Ten Conference, of which Penn State is part of, is mostly filled with public colleges that are in talks to take on $2 billion in investments from a private-capital firm that would disperse the funds to the schools and their athletic departments.

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USC was down to two walk-ons in its battered backfield, when Trojans coach Lincoln Riley decided to dress injured sophomore running back Bryan Jackson for the second half of Saturday’s win over Michigan, despite the fact Jackson was listed by the team as out on the Big Ten’s pregame availability report.

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But on Monday, the Big Ten chose to slap USC with a fine of $5,000 for violating conference rules regarding its availability reports.

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“Although these circumstances were unfortunate, it is critical for availability reports to be accurate,” a Big Ten spokesperson said.

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The Hoosiers have a highly winnable six games left in their regular season and a very decent shot to run the table before the Big Ten title game.

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