Ranking Big Ten football teams by division titles won

In case you missed the news yesterday, according to a piece in The Athletic, it appears the Big Ten is pondering the question of whether having two divisions in football is still worth all the hubbub. Citing the new Alliance with the Pac-12 and ACC, eliminating divisions and moving from a nine to eight-game conference schedule might be better for the conference.

So, as we hop in the football time machine, let’s take a look at the history of having two divisions in the big, bad, Big Ten. The two-division thing first started in 2011, except it was a little bonkers when things rolled off the press for the first time. In a nod to having competitive balance (good move), the conference suits decided to not go geographical and named the divisions the Leaders and Legends divisions (just weird, man).

After dodging all kinds of jokes about the division names like a front-row participant at a stand-up comedy show, the Big Ten moved on to the East and West divisions and aligned teams based more or less on location. And that, my friends, is where things still stand today.

But it may not last much longer. If the Big Ten decides to pull the rip chord on having divisions, the change to a more linear alignment could come as early as 2023. Welp, it got us thinking about how well each team did with winning a division, so we decided to go back and do the very easy math (that’s how I like my problems) and figure it all out.

Here is each Big Ten team ranked by how many division titles it has won since the two-division format started in 2011. As mostly usual, we go from worst to first.

Teams tied with no division titles

Oct 30, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights placeholder Adam Korsak (94) pats teammate and placekicker Valentino Ambrosio (1) on the helmet after a field goal in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium. Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Teams still hunting for a division title

Illinois Fighting Illini
Indiana Hoosiers
Maryland Terrapins (joined Big Ten in 2014)
Purdue Boilermakers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (joined Big Ten in 2014)

No. 8 (tie) - Nebraska Cornhuskers (1 division title)

Oct 6, 2018; Madison, WI, USA; A Nebraska Cornhuskers helmet sits on the sidelines during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2012 | Legends Division

No. 8 (tie) - Minnesota Golden Gophers (1 division title)

Oct 26, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view of Minnesota Golden Gophers helmet before a game against the Maryland Terrapins at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2019 | Tie for the West Division with Wisconsin*

*Wisconsin won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

No. 4 (tie) - Penn State Nittany Lions (2 division titles)

Nov 16, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; General view of a Penn State Nittany Lions helmet prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Beaver Stadium.Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2011 | Tie for the Legends Division with Wisconsin*
2016 | Tie for the East Division with Ohio State^

*Wisconsin won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship
^Penn State won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

No. 4 (tie) - Northwestern Wildcats (2 division titles)

Sep 30, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Northwestern Wildcats helmets on the field prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2018 | Outright West Division Title
2020 | Outright West Division Title

No. 4 (tie) - Michigan Wolverines (2 division titles)

Nov 18, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; An Michigan Wolverines helmet during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2018 | Tie for the East Division title with Ohio State*
2021 | Tie for the East Division title with Ohio State^

*Ohio State won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship
^Michigan won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

No. 4 (tie) - Iowa Hawkeyes (2 division titles)

The helmet Drew Ott wore during his playing days at Iowa sits on a cupboard in him and his wife Kali’s home in Trumbull, NE on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Year(s) won

2015 | Outright West Division Title
2021 | Outright West Division Title

No. 3 - Michigan State Spartans (3 division titles)

Michigan State’s Jalen Nailor wears the “S” logo on his helmet along with the rest of the Spartans for the game against Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

2011 | Outright Legends Division Title
2013 | Outright Legends Division Title
2015 | Tie for the East Division title with Ohio State^

^Michigan State won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

No. 2 - Wisconsin Badgers (5 division titles)

Nov 9, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; A Wisconsin Badgers helmet during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

2011 | Tie for the Leaders Division title with Penn State^
2014 | Outright West Division title
2016 | Outright West Division title
2017 | Outright West Division title
2019 | Tie for the West Division title with Minnesota^

^Wisconsin won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

No. 1 - Ohio State Buckeyes (10 division titles)

Sat., Jan. 1, 2022; Pasadena, California, USA; A special rose helmet stripe adorns Thayer Munford’s helmet before the start of the 108th Rose Bowl Game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes at the Rose Bowl. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

2012 | Outright Leaders Division title
2013 | Outright Leaders Division title
2014 | Outright East Division title
2015 | Tie for the East Division title with Michigan State*
2016 | Tie for the East Division title with Penn State*
2017 | Outright East Division title
2018 | Tie for the East Division title with Michigan^
2019 | Outright East Division title
2020 | Outright East Division title
2021 | Tie for the East Division title with Michigan*

*Opponent won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship
^Ohio State won head-to-head tiebreaker to play in B1G Championship

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