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The Big Ten Is Thriving In the NIL Era

Originally posted on College Sports Only
By Spencer Rozell | Last updated Apr 6, 2026 3:37 PM ET

The Big Ten has a serious case for the best conference in all of college sports.

is the big ten the best conference in the country right now?

– National Championship in Football (Indiana)
– National Championship in NCAAW (UCLA)
– Pending National Championship in NCAAM (Michigan)
– Two Teams in Frozen Four (Michigan/Wisconsin) pic.twitter.com/41hHVPLkea

— Paige (@paigeotto_) April 6, 2026

The Big Ten currently holds a National Championship in football, men’s soccer, men’s wrestling, field hockey, women’s basketball, women’s ice hockey (4x in a row), and is competing for men’s basketball and men’s ice hockey.

It’s safe to say the NIL era has treated the conference well.

NIL changed the game.

— College Sports Only (@CSOonX) April 6, 2026

So, basically, the Big Ten is going to win every football and men’s basketball national title for the rest of our lives.

— Pete Fiutak (@PeteFiutak) April 5, 2026

With no shortage of NIL funds (yet), it seems like the Big Ten is in a prime position for each of its programs to continue their dominance.

Specific teams like Indiana football and Michigan basketball (M) show no signs of slowing down or regressing.

The Big Ten has had five teams make the national title game since 2010.

Three of them have been Michigan.

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) April 5, 2026

The historically dominant SEC struggled to compete with the Big Ten in big moments, both in football and basketball.