Oh my God, the world is crashing. The end is near! A Big Ten team did not advance out of the Sweet Sixteen of this year’s Men’s NCAA Basketball tournament; this somehow has equated into the Big Ten becoming irrelevant in both football and men’s basketball. Nevermind that a member, excuse the fact that it’s the same member, played for the football championship the last two seasons and for the men’s basketball title last season.

I believe it is safe to say that the SEC is currently the kings of college football; the conference has won consecutive national titles, they’ve won the most BCS games, and possess the most BCS titles with four.

 While it is easy to pinpoint the current superpower in football it is less so in regards to men’s basketball. The ACC has won the most championships in the last 10 years, however, the Big East is right on their heals. While the Big Ten hasn’t won a championship in men’s basketball since Michigan State did so in 2000 the conference has played in only one less Final Four and one less championship game than the ACC.

Yet, with all of this said people want to question the relevancy of the biggest revenue generating sports for most (if not all) universities in the Big Ten? Really?!? Yes, really.

Say what you will about the embarrassment of the past two Ohio State blunders in the BCS Championship game. Say what you will that its been since 2002 since the conference has won a championship in either of these sports (Ohio State over Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl). Quite frankly, you can make any assertion you like. The proof, as usual, is in the pudding.

Take into account the past ten years of the men’s basketball tournament:

After looking at these statistics it ought to become quickly evident how relevant the Big Ten remains in NCAA men’s basketball. The fact of the matter is that out of the ‘elite six conferences’ the Big Ten ranks: 2nd in Final Fours, 2nd in title games played in, 2nd in percentage of teams in to play for a title, and 3rd in total bids. That would be in the upper half of all of those categories. The fact of the matter is the Big 12 and the Pac 10 have not won championships in men’s basketball in the past ten years; however, you hear no mention of these leagues no longer being relevant even though they essentially rank even with the Big Ten in football championships over that same time period.

The strength and relevancy of the Big Ten remains evident in football to date as well.  You can make the argument about inferior conference play till you’re blue in the face and perhaps the depth of that argument can stand on some levels. Since this argument is seeking relevancy … I’m not so sure it stands here. In the BCS era the statistics are:

Judging the relevancy of a conference in these two sports is largely an exercise in futility and apparently an exercise I was willing to undertake (one of few I might add). The fact of the matter is this, the Big Ten has won more men’s basketball championships in the past ten years than 2 conferences and has won as many as 3 of the other conferences during that same stretch. The Big Ten has played in more BCS games than any other conference, a clear testament to the conferences pre-conference and conference sustainability. The fact that the Big Ten is nearly on par with the ACC in terms of Final Fours played in and title games contested in men’s basketball the past 10 years screams of their relevancy. This is a conference standing up to another conference with perennial basketball powers Duke and North Carolina.

And if that isn’t good enough for you since 1939 the number of total championships own in both sports (note: multiple winners in football were counted up until 1998).

Yeah, that’s right, I took one straight out of Michigan’s book … historical records baby!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Big Ten. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.