Polzin: Welcome to the four Big Ten newbies. Here's a primer on what to expect around the conference (2024)

Hello, Oregon, Southern Cal, UCLA and Washington. It’s Aug. 2 — your official start date — and we can officially welcome you to the Big Ten.

It’s going to take time for some of us to completely embrace you. We’re traditionalists, after all, so expect various levels of resistance. Please be patient.

One helpful tip: Take a hint from the three most recent Big Ten newbies — Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers — and lose more football games than you win.

You’re probably a little nervous, too. There are a lot of new opponents, new cities and new fan bases to get to know.

No fear. Here’s a school-by-school primer from someone who’s spent a lot of time in Big Ten country while mostly covering football and men’s basketball the past 2½ decades:

Illinois

Speaking from experience, here’s one thing I can guarantee: Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema is going to annoy and/or anger you at some point. He’s going to say something that makes you want to throw the remote control at your television or computer.

But he’s harmless, I promise. Some of us even find him entertaining.

Champaign/Urbana has a middle-of-nowhere feel to it and, yes, I understand that’s ironic coming from a guy who grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. Just be prepared for miles of corn and grain.

Road trip scale: 3/10. Forget a football trip, save up your money for a game at the State Farm Center, one of the best basketball venues in the Big Ten.

Indiana

You’ll quickly learn that this fan base cares about basketball, basketball … and basketball.

Here’s all you need to know about Indiana football: One of the most dynamic players in the last three decades of the program, Michael Penix Jr., ended up transferring to Washington and developing into a top-10 pick in the NFL draft. Maybe Curt Cignetti changes the direction of the program, but he’s got a tough job in front of him.

Road trip scale: 5/10. Same as Illinois — skip football and attend a game at Assembly Hall instead. And if you really want to do this right, stay in Indianapolis, have a steak at St. Elmo or Harry & Izzy’s and commute to Bloomington on gameday.

Iowa

A good, solid college town that ranks high in terms of game-day atmosphere.

Kirk Ferentz and Co. will frustrate you with great punting and defense. There’s a good chance the final score ends up with both teams in the teens. It’s a stark contrast from a basketball team that scores a lot and plays no defense.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena can get rowdy — just not as rowdy as the man behind the Frantrums that are inevitable but highly entertaining to everyone but Big Ten officials.

Road-trip scale: 7/10. Admittedly easier travel for someone like myself, who can get to Iowa City in three hours, than a visitor arriving via airplane. But once you get there, there’s some good food and drinks.

Maryland

This is an ACC school trapped in Big Ten country. Ten years into their membership, it still feels like the Terrapins don’t belong here (and may not want to be here, if we’re being honest.)

In other words, those of you from the Pac-12 may relate to Maryland.

The annual Flash Mob by Maryland students at men’s basketball games is cool, but that program, as a whole, has been a bit underwhelming since joining the conference.

Road-trip scale: 5/10. College Park won’t wow you, but Baltimore and Washington D.C. are good landing spots a short drive away. Crab cakes and mediocre football. Enjoy.

Michigan

We here in the Midwest are generally kind folks, so it’d be inappropriate to call Michigan fans arrogant and sensitive.

Hail to the Wolverines for winning a national title* in football, becoming the first Big Ten team to accomplish that feat since Ohio State in 2014.

Michigan is a whole lot more boring now that Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard are gone, but it’s still one of the marquee athletic programs in the Big Ten and, if I had to guess, the most hated in this conference and maybe even nationally.

Road-trip scale: 3.5/10. Here’s a secret: The Big House is overrated. Bonus points because the Detroit airport is sneaky good.

Michigan State

Who could have known that the men’s basketball national championship won by Tom Izzo and the Spartans in 2000 would be followed by an epic drought in that department for this league?

Izzo’s program is still good, but not great, and nobody else in the Big Ten has stepped up to pick up the slack and win a natty.

Michigan State football had a great run from 2010 to 2015 — going 39-9 in Big Ten play — but a sharp decline followed and the Spartans are in the midst of another transition.

From a neutral perspective, grab some popcorn and enjoy the big-brother/little-brother banter between Michigan and Michigan State fans.

Road-trip scale: 5/10. Two-point deduction after the Knight Cap — a great steak joint in downtown Lansing — closed in 2017.

Minnesota

The Golden Gophers get lost in the shuffle in a great city where professional sports dominate conversation.

Self-promoter P.J. Fleck has made the football program relevant-ish, but the Minnesota men’s basketball program is a wreck.

This is a hockey school. What’s hockey, you say? Maybe another time.

Road-trip scale: 6/10.

Nebraska

Newbies, if we could ask anything of you, it’s this: Be better than Nebraska. Please.

The Cornhuskers somehow have a great football brand despite not being good in over two decades. The Big Ten thought it was getting something that could return to powerhouse status; instead, Nebraska has gone 50-61 in conference play since joining in 2012.

Maybe Matt Rhule can change all that.

Nebraskans are some of the nicest people in the world, though. Well, most of them anyway.

Road-trip scale: 8/10. Top-notch food scenes in both Lincoln and Omaha. Excellent atmospheres at both Memorial Stadium and Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Northwestern

If any school in the Big Ten is going to get sick of the direction of college athletics and pull the plug on sports altogether, it’ll be Northwestern.

Academics are important to these people. That’s probably a healthy perspective, but it makes it difficult for the Wildcats to win consistently in the major sports.

Road-trip scale: 5/10. Any points awarded are strictly based on everything Chicago has to offer, not on experiences at Northwestern athletic venues.

Ohio State

Ohio State’s football program has done a lot of heavy lifting for this conference’s reputation over the years.

The Buckeyes also have been involved in their share of scandals — but, they’ll tell you, not the biggest. (Looking at you, Penn State and Michigan State.)

The men’s basketball program has been an underachiever for about a decade.

Road-trip scale: 8/10. Columbus is big but doesn’t feel too big. The gameday atmosphere for football is terrific.

Penn State

If you’re a nervous flier — slowly raises hand — the descent into State College Regional Airport can be a doozy in the winter. But the scenery is tops in the Big Ten, which, let’s be honest, isn’t saying a whole lot.

Beaver Stadium is a great place to watch a game, with a great tailgating scene. The Bryce-Jordan Center is interesting if you’re a curtain enthusiast.

Road-trip scale: 6/10.

Purdue

Great basketball venue with a passionate fan base.

Ordinary football stadium with an indifferent fan base.

As for the town? Consider this excerpt from a 2004 Capital Times story written by longtime Wisconsin men’s basketball beat writer Rob Schultz:

When Stu Jackson arrived (in West Lafayette) for the first time as the University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach in 1993, he looked around in dismay at the small community that didn't come close to matching the amenities he was accustomed to as a National Basketball Association coach and executive.

“Now I know why there isn’t an East Lafayette,” Jackson said with a shake of his head.

Road-trip scale: 1/10.

Rutgers

Meet the outcast of the Big Ten.

Jim Delany wanted the New York market, and that made sense. The tradeoff is a football program that is 16-72 — a .182 winning percentage — since the Scarlet Knights’ arrival in 2014.

Rutgers’ men’s basketball (.344 in that span) at least has become competitive under Steve Pikiell.

Two draws: New York, obviously, and some great Italian food in New Jersey.

Road-trip scale: 3/10.

Wisconsin

Pay no attention to the alphabetical order nature of this list. This is all about saving the best for last (bias alert).

The best at what? Well, not everything.

Let’s start with our biggest flaw: no baseball program. Listen, it’s a long story and no matter how often a small-but-vocal group of fans demands its return, there’s no chance the sport will be resurrected from the dead at Wisconsin.

Is it really America’s pastime anymore anyway? I digress.

The lakes here are beautiful, our cheese curds will clog up your arteries but are absolutely delicious, and Jump Around is one of the best traditions in college football.

The athletic department, as a whole, is good but not great, and that’s a good segue into a scouting report on a Wisconsin fan base that can be split in two for the most part: The 30-and-unders who might be a tad bit spoiled because bowl games and NCAA Tournaments basically are an annual occurrence in these parts; and those of us who lived through the dark days of football and men’s basketball and realize that 7-6 seasons or an occasional NIT appearance aren’t the end of the world.

Road-trip scale: 8.5/10. (Call me a homer, whatever.)

A personal bone to pick with one newcomer in particular: I’m sure you’re nice and all, Washington, but thanks a lot for being the more popular UW in internet search engines. Perhaps our readers haven’t noticed, but we here at the Wisconsin State Journal and BadgerExtra have stopped using “UW” in favor of “Wisconsin.” That’s seven extra letters to type out per reference, time we’ll never get back!

But, hey, we’ll get over it. Welcome aboard to the Bruins, Ducks, Huskies and Trojans. Your addition certainly makes this conference bigger; let’s hope it makes the Big Ten better, too.