Gauging the Most Success in the B1G Ten

We are in unprecedented times.

Yeah, yeah pandemic, no fall sports, virtual classes, mass stupidity blah blah… I don’t mean any of that. I mean success rates.

Let me back up.

The Big Ten is a venerable institution. It’s the oldest Division 1 collegiate athletic conference in the U.S. In 1895, Purdue University president James H. Smart gathered luminaries from the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and the University of Wisconsin.

The group got together to figure out how to regulate intercollegiate athletics. And thus, the B1G was born. By the way, our august conference predates the NCAA by a decade.

Later, the group begrudgingly began to add schools. Indiana and Iowa joined in 1899. They regrettably extended an invitation to future SEC mid-tier Ohio State in 1912. The University of Chicago bowed out in 1946 and the conference added Michigan State in 1950.

It took another 40 years before the B1G began to expand again, adding Penn State in 1990, Nebraska in 2011, Maryland and Rutgers in 2014.

Throughout that time, schools achieved various levels of success in sports. Over the course of 124 years of play, even the least competitive managed to pull in a badminton or rhythmic gymnastics championship. The list below illustrates that success (mostly).

Now, before the buckeye fans begin to riot, we need to look at this through a different lens. As you will see, time in conference matters…except for Rutgers. They suck. Why did we add them again?

Lets review the conference again by success rate. We define that as conference championships per year of membership. In other words, Nebraska fans, what you did elsewhere don’t mean shit. Only what you did since you got here.

That way, we can compare apples to apples (honeycrisps obviously…) in conference play. The table below bestows the bragging rights for the B1G. Hold on to your cheese curds.

Some observations here.

• Congratulations to Maryland fans. That’s impressive, 22 titles in just 6 years. (For the rest of us, get ready for some insufferable TT homers taking a victory lap.)

• It’s interesting that for all the posturing around football, OSU mustered just 4th in total success rate.

• Look at you Illinois! This is a unique opportunity to look down on the bulk of the B1G.

• I had to break out the scores below 1.0, because I didn’t want virtual fisticuffs between Northwestern and Purdue.

• And shame on you, Rutgers. Shame. On. You.

Your friend,

Townie