Michigan men’s basketball won the national championship on Monday night, snapping the Big Ten’s 26-year drought at the Final Four. Michigan State in 2000 was the last Big Ten men’s basketball team to cut down the nets. It happened in Indianapolis. Over a quarter of a century later, Michigan did the same in Indy to complete the circle. The Michigan story is impressive in its own right, but it’s part of a larger story of Big Ten dominance in college sports. Let’s unpack the details:
Indiana football
The Hoosiers gave the Big Ten three straight national championships in college football: Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024, IU in 2025.
Indiana dominance
Indiana won both the Rose Bowl CFP quarterfinal and Peach Bowl semifinal in blowout fashion, beating Alabama by 35 points and Oregon by 34.
Michigan basketball dominance
Before Monday’s grinding, difficult championship game against UConn, Michigan basketball won five straight NCAA Tournament games by double figures, scoring at least 90 points in each game. No team had ever previously done that in March Madness history.
UCLA women’s basketball dominance
The UCLA women added to the Big Ten’s trophy haul by winning the school’s first national championship in women’s hoops. UCLA lost only one game all season. It held both of its Final Four opponents under 52 points. UCLA won 34 of its 37 games (37-1 overall record) by double figures, and it won all 37 of its games by at least seven points. This team was ridiculously great all season long.
Triple championship
How many times has a conference won the national championship in football and both men’s and women’s basketball in the same year? Not many. The only time this happened in the 21st century was in 2007. Tennessee won the women’s basketball championship. LSU won the football title. Florida won in men’s basketball, giving the SEC a triple title.
The Big Ten — with Indiana, Michigan, and UCLA — has won the triple championship in the same college sports cycle (fall for football, the following spring for basketball), not the same calendar year. It’s extraordinarily hard to achieve, but the Big Ten has done it. The SEC in 2006 — Florida football — and 2007 (Florida men’s basketball, Tennessee women’s basketball) is also the previous conference to have pulled off this achievement, the only other time it has happened this century.
Big Ten stars
Fernando Mendoza of Indiana won the Heisman Trophy. UCLA’s Lauren Betts won Most Outstanding Player at the Women’s Final Four and Big Ten Player of the Year. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg was Big Ten Player of the Year. Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau was Most Outstanding Player at the Men’s Final Four.
Big Ten men’s basketball
Beyond Michigan cutting down the nets, the Big Ten ruled college basketball on a broader, deeper level. It was the only conference to put more than one team in both the Final Four and Elite Eight. It was the only conference to put six teams in the Sweet 16. The Big Ten simply swamped everyone else.
College baseball
Yes, the Big Ten is crushing it beyond football and basketball. UCLA is 29-2 and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Big Ten could win the College World Series as well.
Hockey Frozen Four
The Big Ten has two teams in college hockey’s version of the Final Four, the Frozen Four. On Thursday, Wiconsin faces North Dakota and Michigan plays Denver. If Wisconsin and Michigan win their semifinals, the Big Ten will be guaranteed yet another college sports national championship.
Can you imagine?
The Big Ten really could go all the way: football, men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, and baseball, all in the same college sports cycle.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Big Ten rules college sports as Michigan, UCLA win basketball titles
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