Ranking Big Ten schools by most NCAA national championships across all sports. Where does Ohio State land?
A national title. It’s the ultimate goal for any college team that competes in the NCAA. At a place like Ohio State, football and its eight national championships are often touted everywhere there’s space, but the athletic department has had its fair share of national titles across multiple sports throughout history.
In fact, the women’s ice hockey team just took home its first national title in 2022 — and yeah — we were here to brag about it for you.
But what about the rest of the Big Ten? Some schools are known as football schools, some as basketball, but some should probably have a reputation for another sport based on how many trophies and awards it has for being the best in the country.
We decided to take a look at each Big Ten athletic program and rank them based on the total number of national championships each has won across all NCAA sanctioned events. Keep in mind, that doesn’t include sports like synchronized swimming which isn’t an NCAA sanctioned sport.
And a couple of other disclaimers: There are official and unofficial national championships that have to be taken into account so it gets a little tricky. But hey, we’re game in trying to figure it all out.
So which Big Ten program has the most cumulative NCAA championships? Where does Ohio State fall? Let’s get into it.
No. 14 - Rutgers University
A Big 10 logo in the Hale Center lobby is shown before the football media day availability Wednesday, July 31, 2019. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
1
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Fencing (1)
No. 13 - Purdue Boilermakers
1 April 2001: Head coach Muffet McGraw holds the NCAA championship trophy after Notre Dame beat Purdue 68-66 to win the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game at the Savvis Center in St.Louis, Missouri. Credit: Elsa/ALLSPORT
Total Number of NCAA national championships
3
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s golf (1), Women’s golf (1), Women’s basketball (1)
No. 12 - Northwestern Wildcats
May 28, 2021; Towson, Maryland, USA; Erin Coykendall (2) of Northwestern is introduced before a semifinal NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship against Syracuse at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Layton-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
9
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Women’s lacrosse (7)
No. 11 - Illinois Fighting Illini
Apr 19, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois’ Jordan Kovach performs on the rings during Session II Qualifier at State Farm Center. Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
18
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s gymnastics (10)
No 9 (tie) - Nebraska Cornhuskers
Aug 1994; E. Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne talks to quarterback Tommie Fraizer during the 1994 season at Giants Stadium. Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
19
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s gymnastics (8)
No. 9 (tie) - Minnesota Golden Gophers
HAMDEN, CT- MARCH 23: Meghan Lorence #20 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers is stopped by Carley Mercer #18 of the Clarkson Golden Knights in the second period during the 2014 NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Championship at TD Bank Sports Center on March 23, 2014, in Hamden, Connecticut. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Total Number of NCAA national championships
19
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Women’s ice hockey (6)
No. 8 - Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, left, and Ohio State coach Thad Matta talk before the start of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 72-68 in overtime. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Total Number of NCAA national championships
20
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s cross country (8)
No. 7 - Indiana Hoosiers
Jan 1987; Unknown Location, USA; FILE PHOTO; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bobby Knight (right) talks to guard Keith Smart (23) during the 1986-87 season. Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
24
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s soccer (8)
No. 6 - Iowa Hawkeyes
The 2021 NCAA national championship trophy of the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team is flanked by Big Ten Conference titles for the regular season and tournament trophies from 2020 and 2021 are displayed during FRYfest, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa. Credit: USA TODAY Sports Network
Total Number of NCAA national championships
25
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s wrestling (23)
No. 3 (tie) - Wisconsin Badgers
Apr 22, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers congratulate the Texas Longhorns on the win at CHI Health Center Arena and Convention Center. Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
31
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s boxing (8)* | Sport discontinued after 1960
*Includes four unofficial titles
No. 3 (tie) - Ohio State Buckeyes
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones (12) and mascot Brutus celebrates with the College Playoff trophy after the game against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
31
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s swimming (11)
No. 3 (tie) - Maryland Terrapins
May 26, 2019; Baltimore, MD, USA; Maryland celebrates on the field after defeating Boston College in the women’s NCAA lacrosse national championship game at Homewood Field. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
31
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Women’s lacrosse (14)
No. 2 - Michigan Wolverines
Michigan’s Gal Groumi competes in the 200 individual medley during the second day of the 2022 Big Ten Men’s Swimming Championship, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in West Lafayette. Credit: USA TODAY Sports Network
Total Number of NCAA national championships
39
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Men’s Swimming (12)*
*Includes seven unofficial titles
No. 1 - Penn State Nittany Lions
Apr 15, 2012; Virginia Beach, VA, USA; Nicole Ross (USA) (right) fences against Grace Hartman (USA) during the Division I National Championships at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Total Number of NCAA national championships
52
Sport(s) with the most national championships
Fencing (14)
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