The Big Ten Conference has been playing baseball since 1896. From 1896 to 1980 the conference champion was determined by the team or teams with the best record. In 1981 the Big Ten Conference baseball tournament was established to decide its champion. The conference also split the 10 schools into two divisions: East and West. In 1988 the conference went back to a single division but still used the tournament to determine the champion. In 1993 the conference returned to using the regular season to name its champion while the team that wins the tournament receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
These are the official Big Ten champions based on standings, the system used from 1896 to 1980 and from 1993 to the present. (From 1981 to 1992, the champion was determined by the conference tournament.)
| Year | Champion | National Championship | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Only,,, and compete. | |||
| Chicago | ||||
| Chicago | First season competed. | |||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | First season,,, and competed. | |||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Purdue | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| Chicago | First season competed. | |||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan Ohio State | ||||
| Indiana | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois Iowa | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Indiana | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Indiana Iowa | ||||
| Iowa | ||||
| Illinois Northwestern | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Iowa Michigan | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Wisconsin | Last season Chicago competed. | |||
| Illinois | Tie games began counting as 1/2 a win and 1/2 a loss. | |||
| Illinois Michigan | ||||
| Indiana Iowa Michigan | ||||
| Michigan Wisconsin | ||||
| Ohio State | First season competed. | |||
| Illinois Michigan | ||||
| Illinois Michigan | Michigan | |||
| Michigan State | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Minnesota | Minnesota | |||
| Northwestern | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | Minnesota | |||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | Michigan | |||
| Illinois | ||||
| Minnesota | Minnesota | |||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Ohio State | Ohio State | |||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan State | ||||
| Iowa | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota Iowa | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan State | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | Big Ten tournament winner declared conference champion. | |||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Ohio State | Last season Wisconsin competed. | |||
| Minnesota | First season competed. | |||
| Ohio State | Regular season winner declared conference champion. Big Ten tournament used to determine NCAA automatic qualifier only. | |||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Penn State | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Michigan | ||||
| Ohio State | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Michigan State Illinois | ||||
| Purdue | First season competed. | |||
| Indiana | ||||
| Indiana | ||||
| Illinois | First season and competed. | |||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Nebraska | ||||
| Minnesota | ||||
| Indiana | ||||
| Season cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | ||||
| Nebraska | ||||
| Maryland | ||||
| Maryland | ||||
| Illinois | ||||
| ,,, and will begin league play.[1] |
| School | Big Ten Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 35 | 1899, 1901, 1905, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| Illinois | 31 | 1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1922, 1927, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1953, 1962, 1963, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2024 |
| Minnesota | 24 | 1933, 1935, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2018 |
| Ohio State | 15 | 1917, 1924, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2009 |
| Iowa | 7 | 1927, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1949, 1972, 1974 |
| Indiana | 7 | 1925, 1932, 1938, 1949, 2013, 2014, 2019 |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 1902, 1912, 1930, 1946, 1950 |
| Chicago | 4 | 1896, 1897, 1898, 1913 |
| Michigan State | 4 | 1954, 1971, 1979, 2011 |
| Northwestern | 2 | 1940, 1957 |
| Purdue | 2 | 1909, 2012 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 2017, 2021 |
| Maryland | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| Penn State | 1 | 1996 |
| Rutgers | 0 | |
Italics indicates a team no longer competing in baseball in the Big Ten.
Bold indicates an outright Big Ten championship.
List of Big Ten Conference softball champions