Iowa

Where some Big Ten athletic programs excel in one area, they fall far short in others.

Take Ohio State, for example. The Buckeyes have consistently produced one of the strongest college football programs ever, including a national championship in 2014 and the likes of Nick Bosa and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the NFL.

But beyond that, to name a few:

• The men’s basketball team hasn’t produced a solid season since the early-2010s
• The women’s basketball team has made one Elite Eight in 30 years
• The baseball team hasn’t appeared in the NCAA Tournament in five years

This is not the case, however, for the University of Iowa.

The Hawkeye football team has been consistently ranked over the last decade, including No. 21 after the first game of the season and as high as No. 2 in 2021, with a reliable bowl appearance rate. The program has produced a solid slate of NFL players each year, too, including some of the best in the league.

While the men’s basketball team has had its fair share of mediocrity under the tenure of Fran McCaffery, a consistent NCAA Tournament team that won the Big Ten Tournament in 2022 is still a solid program — especially as it produced Naismith Player of the Year Luka Garza and current Sacramento Kings young gunner Keegan Murray.

Of course, much of the starlight that makes Iowa the best Big Ten athletics school is the women’s basketball program.

The fact that Megan Gustafson’s Naismith Player of the Year win is overshadowed by Caitlin Clark — debatably the greatest female collegiate athlete of all time — tells you everything you need to know about where Iowa stands athletically.

And that’s not to mention back-to-back NCAA National Championship appearances that currently leave this program in a beautiful spot to continue to recruit four- and five-star players.

Although the softball team struggles, Iowa baseball has produced a handful of postseason appearances lately. The gymnastics team as well as a handful of track and field units are consistently ranked among the top 25 in the nation. Both men’s and women’s wrestling programs are also national champions this decade.

When you combine each sport, it’s hard to find an athletic department as versatile as Iowa’s.

Nebraska

To pick the best athletics program in the Big Ten is no easy process. The addition of the four West Coast schools only makes it that much harder for me to make a conclusive decision.

Iowa certainly makes a strong case for the title — no bias involved. We’re certainly one of the best all-around athletic schools in the conference.

And as much as I don’t want to say it — as much as I don’t want to give this school praise — I have to go with Nebraska on this one.

I know, I know. How can I pick Nebraska over schools like Ohio State and Michigan? Let me explain.

The argument is deciding the best athletics program right now. I looked into the past year of Big Ten athletics and found Nebraska to be the only team in the top half of all sports, most of which were in the top five.

Take football, for example. Nebraska isn’t in the top five in football, but it’s well into the top half of the conference right now. That’s as low as it gets for all of its major sport programs throughout the past year.

In conference play throughout the 2023-24 school year, Nebraska finished first in women’s volleyball, second in baseball, third in men’s basketball, third in men’s wrestling, fourth in softball, and fifth in women’s basketball.

Nebraska defends well against the best of the best.

Now, Michigan was up there because of football, but both of its basketball programs and its volleyball program are subpar at best.

But the Wolverines are very good at track and field — the only major sport that Nebraska isn’t strong in.

Ohio State was also very close to being my top choice, mainly because of football and women’s basketball, but it’s not consistently among the top teams in each sport like Nebraska is. UCLA and USC had strong resumes as well.

I hope someone fact-checks me on this because, even for myself picking Nebraska, it’s hard for me to believe Nebraska’s athletic program is top-tier.

Because honestly, who the heck wants to be a Cornhusker?