2001 Big Ten Conference football season

September 2026 August 2023 2001 Big Ten Conference football season #193980 #FFFFFF NCAA Division I-A football BigTen.png 125px 11 Illinois Champions Football 2000 2002 The 2001 Big Ten Conference football season was the 106th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. Regular season No. 12 Illinois won the 2001 Big Ten football championship with a 7–1 conference record and going 10–2 overall.2025 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE Big Ten Conference November 4, 2025 https://img.boostsport.ai/2025_BIG_TEN_FOOTBALL_MEDIA_GUIDE.pdf 91–99 PDF This was the first championship for the Fighting Illini since 1990 and their first outright title since 1983. The Big Ten champion is usually invited to the Rose Bowl, however the 2002 Rose Bowl was the designated BCS National Championship Game for 2001, so Illinois was instead invited to the 2002 Sugar Bowl. Michigan came in second place at 6-2 (8–4 overall), being denied a co-championship by losing to rival Ohio State in their regular season finale. Ohio State came in third with a 5–3 record (7–5 overall). With 4-4 Big Ten marks, there was a four-way tie for fourth place between Iowa, Purdue, Penn State, and Indiana. Michigan State and Wisconsin tied for eighth place at 3–5 in Big Ten play, while Minnesota and Northwestern tied for tenth by going 2–6 in the conference. Bowl games 2001–02 NCAA football bowl games Five Big Ten teams played in bowl games, with the conference going 1–4 overall:https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2001-bowls.html 2001 College Football Bowl Games Sports-Reference.com November 5, 2025 Sugar Bowl: LSU 47, Illinois 34 Alamo Bowl: Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 Sun Bowl Washington State 33, Purdue 27 Outback Bowl South Carolina 31, Ohio State 28 Florida Citrus Bowl: Tennessee 45, Michigan 17 References