As Michigan wrapped up its 69-63 win over Connecticut on April 6 in Indianapolis, CBS Sports announcer Ian Eagle made the final call of the men’s basketball season.
“And it’s over,” Eagle said. “Hail to the champions. Hail to Michigan.”
He could have added, “Hail to the Big Ten,” too.
With Michigan’s national championship victory, the Big Ten didn’t just end its 26-year men’s basketball title drought.
It also became the first conference to have three different schools win a national title in football and men’s and women’s basketball in the same school year since the NCAA started a women’s basketball tournament in 1982. The SEC is the only other conference to win all three titles in the same school year, with Florida winning in football and men’s basketball and Tennessee in women’s basketball in 2006-07.
The Big Ten is reveling in the success.
On its website, the conference sells a T-shirt for $39.99 that declares “Big Ten Dominance” and spells out the details of the national championships for Indiana football, Michigan men’s basketball and UCLA women’s basketball.
And that’s not all. Across social media after Michigan’s win, the conference touted that Big Ten institutions had won nine national championships this school year, though two of those — Wisconsin women’s ice hockey and UCLA men’s water polo — were in sports the Big Ten doesn’t sponsor and another, Ohio State pistol, was in a non-NCAA-sanctioned sport. USC women’s water polo, another sport not sponsored by the conference, has since won a 10th national championship by a Big Ten school.
The current conditions of college sports in the transfer portal era undoubtedly have a hand in the success. This is the second year of the 18-team Big Ten with the addition of four West Coast schools, three of which have won four of the national titles. It’s also the first year of revenue sharing with athletes, and many of the massive Big Ten schools with passionate alumni bases and big athletic department staffs are set up to succeed in these circumstances.
With spring sports championships ahead, the conference has the opportunity to add to its haul. UCLA baseball is ranked No. 1, Nebraska softball is No. 2 and Northwestern and Maryland women’s lacrosse are Nos. 1 and 3 in rankings through April 27.
In the middle of a banner school year, here’s a look at the NCAA championships that Big Ten schools have won and how they fit within conference history.
Indiana football
Championship recap: The Hoosiers beat Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff championship game Jan. 19 to win the program’s first national title. Indiana became just the third team — along with Yale in 1894 and FCS North Dakota State in 2019 — to finish 16-0 and win a Division I football championship. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the offensive MVP after completing 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards and rushing for an iconic 12-yard touchdown. Coach Curt Cignetti completed the turnaround just two years after taking over a program that had won a combined nine games in the previous three seasons and had 713 losses in school history.
Big Ten notes: Indiana’s win marked the third straight national title for a Big Ten team. Ohio State beat Notre Dame for the championship in the 2024 season, and Michigan beat Washington the year before. This streak started after the SEC won four straight titles from 2019-22.
Michigan men’s basketball
Championship recap: The win over UConn gave Michigan its first national championship in men’s basketball since 1989. Using a transfer-heavy roster — led by Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Elliot Cadeau — the Wolverines finished the season 37-3. Like Cignetti and Indiana football, they won the title in coach Dusty May’s second season at the helm, just two years after winning eight games in the 2023-24 season.
Big Ten notes: Michigan’s championship gave the Big Ten its first men’s basketball title in 26 years. Michigan State was the last conference team to win it all in 2000 under coach Tom Izzo. The ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC all won multiple championships during the Big Ten’s drought. The conference was strong beyond Michigan in 2025-26, with four teams making the Elite Eight and Illinois joining the Wolverines in the Final Four.
UCLA women’s basketball
Championship recap: The Bruins dominated South Carolina 79-51 on April 5 to win their first women’s basketball NCAA championship, though UCLA had won an AIAW title in 1978. Led by first-team All-America center Lauren Betts — one of five first-round WNBA draft picks this month — the Bruins finished 37-1, their only loss to Texas on Nov. 26. It was coach Cori Close’s first title after 15 seasons at UCLA.
Big Ten notes: A lot was made of the Big Ten men’s basketball title drought, but the women’s was actually longer. UCLA’s championship was the conference’s first since Purdue won in 1999. Those are the only two national championships in the sport for the Big Ten. Maryland and USC won titles before they were in the conference.
Washington men’s soccer
Championship recap: Harrison Bertos’ overtime goal against NC State on Dec. 15 gave Washington a 3-2 victory and the program’s first national championship. The Huskies entered the tournament unseeded and became the first team to win six road matches on the way to the title. Coach Jamie Clark, whose father, Bobby Clark, won a national title coaching Notre Dame, previously led Washington to the championship game in 2021, when the Huskies lost to Clemson.
Big Ten notes: Maryland had won the conference’s last men’s soccer national title in 2018. Indiana owns eight of the conference’s 13 national championships in the sport.
Penn State men’s wrestling
Championship recap: The Nittany Lions continued their stunning success under coach Cael Sanderson, winning their fifth straight team national title and 13th in the last 15 seasons, not counting the 2020 tournament canceled because of COVID-19. Penn State had four individual national champions and broke its own record with 181.5 points in the tournament in March in Cleveland. Second-place Oklahoma State had 131 points. The Nittany Lions have been following their coach’s lead. Sanderson was a four-time individual national champion at Iowa State, where he went 159-0, before he won an Olympic gold medal in 2004.
Big Ten notes: The Big Ten has won every national championship since 2007, with Iowa winning four and Ohio State and Minnesota one each. The runner-up also was from the Big Ten in 12 of those 19 seasons.
Northwestern field hockey
Championship recap: The Wildcats beat Princeton 2-1 in double overtime Nov. 23 to win their second straight NCAA championship and third in five years under coach Tracey Fuchs. Ilse Tromp scored the winner for Northwestern. Fuchs, a USA Field Hockey Hall of Famer as a player, has turned the Wildcats into a powerhouse in a tenure that started in 2009. They have made the national title game in five straight seasons.
Big Ten notes: In a sport in which success is largely concentrated on the East Coast, Northwestern has made recent waves. But Michigan (2001) and Iowa (1986) also have won national championships. Maryland won its eight national titles in field hockey before moving to the Big Ten in 2014 but was the runner-up in 2017 and 2018, as was Michigan in 2020.
Wisconsin women’s ice hockey
Championship recap: The Big Ten doesn’t sponsor women’s ice hockey but has informally claimed this one because Wisconsin competes in the conference in other sports. The Badgers won their fifth title since 2019 and ninth overall with a 3-2 victory over Ohio State. Kelly Gorbatenko, one of three sisters from Barrington on the Badgers roster, scored the opening goal.
Big Ten notes: Only four Big Ten schools — Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota and Penn State — have Division I women’s hockey programs, and they are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Atlantic Hockey America. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota, all in the WCHA, have been notably dominant at the national level, winning a combined 17 championships since 2004.
UCLA men’s water polo
Championship recap: Like women’s hockey, the Big Ten doesn’t have a conference championship for water polo but unofficially has linked itself to the title. UCLA competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation along with USC. The Bruins beat the Trojans 11-10 on a buzzer-beater Dec. 7 to win their second straight national championship and 14th overall.
Big Ten notes: While many Big Ten schools have club water polo teams, UCLA and USC field NCAA Division I teams in the MPSF. Since 1969, no team from outside California has won a men’s water polo national championship. Cal has 17 titles and USC 10.
USC women’s water polo
Championship recap: The Trojans beat Cal 10-9 on April 26 to win their eighth national championship and their seventh since women’s water polo became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in 2001. Emily Ausmus was the tournament MVP with six goals and three assists during the tournament.
Big Ten notes: USC competes in the MPSF along with fellow Big Ten institutions UCLA and Indiana. As in men’s water polo, no team from outside California has won an NCAA championship in the sport, with UCLA and Stanford owning all of the other titles since 2001.
Division I national titles by non-Big Ten schools in 2025-26
- Women’s bowling: Jacksonville State
- Men’s cross country: Oklahoma State
- Women’s cross country: NC State
- Men’s fencing: Notre Dame
- Women’s fencing: Notre Dame
- FCS football: Montana State
- Men’s gymnastics: Stanford
- Women’s gymnastics: Oklahoma
- Men’s ice hockey: Denver
- Coed rifle: West Virginia
- Coed skiing: Utah
- Women’s soccer: Florida State
- Men’s swimming and diving: Texas
- Women’s swimming and diving: Virginia
- Men’s indoor track and field: Arkansas
- Women’s indoor track and field: Georgia
- Women’s volleyball: Texas A&M
- Women’s wrestling: McKendree (all divisions)
Spring sports championships to come: Baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, men’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball.
