Big Ten Conference is the name of one of the most popular and oldest conferences of the First Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It was founded at the end of the 19th century, and today consists of 14 teams, taking part in 28 sports disciplines. The Big Ten is headquartered in Illinois, USA.
In most cases, modifications of the Big Ten logo have been connected with the changing number of the participating schools.
Before the 1990s, the Big Ten Conference used a roundel logotype. The names of the participating schools formed a circle, which, in its turn, was placed inside a red circle frame. In the center, there was the map showing where the teams were located and the lettering “Big Ten Conference”.
When Pennsylvania State became one of the members, the number of schools reached 11. However, the name of the organization remained unchanged. Instead, the logotype was altered to include the number eleven in the negative space of the wordmark.
The first emblem for the network was designed in 2007, and stayed for a few years, though established the color palette; which is still being used by the company for its visual identity. It was a massive yet elegant (due to the inclination of the elements) badge, which was evoking a sense of motion and progressiveness. The upper part of the banner was taken by a stylized slanted logotype, executed in a bold custom typeface with both arched and straight lines and a thick black outline of the letters. Under the wordmark, there was a light blue banner with the white “Network” in a simpler, yet not less strong, serif font with square contours. The banner was resembling a ribbon due to the small delicate elements in black set on its sides. The whole badge was accompanied by a line of eleven solid five-pointed stars in blue.
The redesign of 2020 simplified the Big Ten logo, making it laconic and clean. Now the badge only features two lines of lettering: the upper one in black and blue, and the bottom part in gray. The enlarged stylized “BIG” had its black letter followed by two blue ones, and the uppercase sans-serif “Network”, set on the ground floor of the logo, was colored medium-gray, a color evoking a sense of stability and professionalism.
The Big Ten Conference wordmark features custom letters. It is perfectly natural, taking into consideration the need to embed the numeral “10” in the logo.
The two dominant colors of the Big Ten logo are black and sky blue, while white serves as the background.