Big Ten
The Big Ten is the oldest conference established in 1896 for universities located in Midwest of USA. The conference competes in Division 1 of NCAA and its football teams in FBS. This is the only conference with all members from Association of American Universities. The conference competes in Division 1 of NCAA and its football team in FBS. Even though Pennsylvania State University joined as eleventh member the conference continued to be called Big 10. The conference is based at Park Ridge. The Big Ten store sell merchandise for the teams in the conference. The members of the conference include University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University and University of Wisconsin.
The Fighting Illini (also called The Illini) is the team of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Memorial Stadium (Champaign) is the home ground of the football team. The University has 10 men’s and 11 women’s teams and the Fighting Illini store sell gears for fans and supporter of the Illini. Ron Zook is the head coach in fifth year with a record of 18-30. The team has 5 national titles to its credit and 15 conference titles (last in 2001). It has played 15 Bowl games with a record of 6-9 including 2007 Rose Bowl against which it lost to USC. The Illinois finished eighth in 2008 season with an overall tally of 5-7and conference tally of 3-5. After a brilliant run to Rose Bowl in 2007, the Fighting Illini performance in 2008 was not up to the mark and left its fans disappointed. With players like Arrelious Benn and Juice William in the offense they should do better and an early win will help their cause. Who will replace Brit Miller? Is it going to be Martez Wilson or Jevon Kearse? Their game on Sept 26th with Ohio State will definitively be a decider after they have played Illinois in week 2. Ohio Buckeyes have lots of firepower; can Fighting Illini get better of them? This could decide their standing in Big Ten.
Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana team is called Indiana Hoosiers. The team home ground is called Memorial Stadium. The team’s all time record is 433-591-44 and it has won two conference titles, the last one being in 1967. The team finished last in 2008 in the Big Ten standing with an overall tally of 3-9and conference tally of 1-7. Indiana Hoosiers store sells the jersey and all possible gears for its supporters and fans. Bill Lynch is the head coach in his 2nd year with a 9-5 record. Indiana hopes to bounce back after a dismal 2008 campaign by staying healthy as injuries was one of the reasons of last season’s failures. The schedule is not easy but a good start can build their confidence and the team definitely has the talent and ability to perform.
Iowa Hawkeye is the name of the team of University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa Hawkeye finished fourth in Big Ten standing of 2008 with an overall tally 9-4 of and conference tally of 5-3. The home ground is called Kinnick Stadium. Iowa has won Big Ten championship 11 times, last being in 2004.The team has 23 Bowl appearances with tally of 12-10-1, last being the Outback Bowl in 2008, in which they defeated South Carolina. The head coach is Kirk Ferentz in his 10th year. He has a record of 70-53. The coming season is tough for the coach Kirk as he needs to replace tailback Shonn Greene, defensive tackle Mitch King and Matt Kroul. The team is at number 20 in the preseason polls, which shows the confidence in the team to deliver better this season. Iowa Hawkeye store carries some great products and gears for the Hawkeye fans. The games to watch will be the one in Iowa at Penn state on Sept 26th. The Iowa Hawkeye broke Penn State Nittany loin’s heart last season derailing their dream for a national title. This is a crucial game for both teams. Will Hawkeye do it again in Lion’s den? The second important game is on Oct 17th with Wisconsin. This time it is time for Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema to prove himself and his team. This match will decide the fate of both the teams in the 2009 season.
The Northwestern Wildcats football is the team representing Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. The home ground is called Ryan Field with a capacity for seating 49,256 people. The head coach is Pat Fitzgerald who is in his third year as a coach for the team with a record of 19-17. The team has won 8 Big Ten championships, the last being in 2000. The team’s standing was fifth in Big Ten in 2008 with an overall tally of 9-4 and conference tally of 5-3. The Northwestern Wildcats store is a great place to buy gift for Wildcats fan. The coach is confident that he can get the team back in reckoning; though in preseason polls they are not in the Top 25. There is an opportunity for Northwest as the Big Ten schedule this year does not include the three time defending champions, the Ohio State but much depends on Wildcats talented but inexperienced players ability to be the game changers.
Purdue University’s football team is called Purdue Boilermakers. The home ground is Ross-Ade Stadium with a capacity of 62,500 persons The team has won 8 conference titles , the last one was in 2000; the team has an all time record in the 2008 season of 566-479-48. The team standing in 2008 Big Ten was ninth with overall tally of 4-8 and conference tally of 2-6. Under the new coach Danny Hope the team looks forward to get a better position for Boilermakers in 2009. Purdue Boilermakers store are best place to buy gears and other accessories for the fans and supporters of the team. 13 starters from the team were ravaged by injuries last season and therefore the Boilermakers finished 4-8.With the return of all these players, the task of rebuilding the team is much easier. The coach still needs to fill important positions like quarterback. As it stand in 2009 Purdue may still find it difficult to reach bowl eligibility this year as the coach has too many holes to fill.
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