It has been a wild and exciting 2024 across the Big Ten landscape.

We saw Jim Harbaugh land that elusive national championship at his alma mater, the league expand westward and Caitlin Clark draw tons of eyeballs to televisions across the country.

Here are the B1G’s 10 biggest moments of 2024:

10. Illinois men’s golf gets another top-5 finish

The Fighting Illini men’s golf team’s chase for a national title ended in a tight battle with Georgia Tech, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif. The Illini entered the week as the No. 11 seed, but they stormed through the field by a 16-stroke margin to earn the top seed in the match play bracket after 72 holes of stroke play. They started off hot against Tech, but the Yellow Jackets came back for the victory. Despite the loss, though, the program still notched its 9th top-5 national finish under head coach Mike Small since the current format was adopted in 2009 — a record that ties for 1st nationally with Oklahoma State.

9. Oregon wins the B1G football title in Year 1 in the league

The Ducks made a seamless transition from the blown-up Pac-12 to their new league by defeating Penn State, 45-37, to claim the B1G crown and a 1st-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel threw 4 touchdown passes, and a late interception sealed the victory for the Ducks and the top seed in the 1st 12-team CFP as they chase their 1st-ever national championship. Dan Lanning did a fantastic coaching job battling new teams in a new league, intentionally running 12 players onto the field to help preserve a 32-31 victory over Ohio State in mid-October, surviving a 16-13 scare at Wisconsin in mid-November and beating the Nittany Lions after nearly blowing a 15-point lead in the final 4 minutes. Oregon extended the FBS’ longest active winning streak to 14 and will look to extend it in a rematch against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

8. Northwestern field hockey claims another national championship

On Nov. 24, the Wildcats beat Saint Joseph’s for the NCAA field hockey title in Ann Arbor. Maddie Zimmer and Ilse Tromp each had 2 goals and an assist in the 1st half to help pace a 5-0 victory. It was the 2nd national championship for the 2nd-seeded Wildcats (23-1-0), who played for the title for a 4th straight season but came up short against North Carolina the past 2 campaigns after defeating Liberty 2-0 in 2021. The ‘Cats joined UNC — which has won the championship in half of its 22 trips to the final — and Old Dominion as the only schools to reach the championship match in 4 straight years.

7. Illinois men’s basketball reaches the Elite 8

The Fighting Illini had the most efficient offense in the country during the 2023-24 season, but they picked the worst time for a clunker of a performance. In an Elite Eight matchup against defending national champion UConn, the Illini allowed the Huskies to score 30 straight points to power them to a 77-52 victory — a March Madness-record 10th straight double-digit victory for the top-seeded Huskies. Brad Underwood’s squad shot just 25 percent (17-of-67) from the field, and Illinois set a season low for points. But that should not put a damper on a wonderful season. The Illini finished 29-9 and earned their 1st Elite Eight appearance since advancing to the 2005 national title game. By the end of the season, they were the conference’s winningest team in league play over the last 5 seasons (.690), and they were 1 of only 3 B1G teams — and 1 of just 14 teams nationally — to earn a bid in each of the past 4 NCAA Tournaments.

6. Penn State women’s volleyball wins the national title

The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament that recently wrapped up had a slew of upsets early. But in the end, all four No. 1 seeds — Pittsburgh, Louisville, Nebraska and Penn State — advanced to the final 4 in Louisville. When all was said and done, it was the Nittany Lions who staked claim as being a volleyball powerhouse by defeating Louisville 3-1 (25-23, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17) to capture the program’s 8th national championship. It was an historic win, as Katie Schumacher-Cawley became the 1st female head coach to claim the NCAA Division I volleyball title. PSU was led by All-American outside hitter Jess Mruzik, who had 29 kills in the championship match. Mruzik earned the Most Outstanding Player award, while a national-record crowd of more than 21,000 fans at the KFC Yum! Center saw setter Izzy Starck record 55 assists and the Nittany Lions’ defense limit Louisville to a .196 hitting percentage.

5. All B1G women’s ice hockey national title game

The 2024 NCAA women’s ice hockey tournament enjoyed its 3rd year featuring an expanded field of 11 teams. The Frozen Four was played on March 22 and 24 at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. No. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Wisconsin 1–0 to claim its 2nd national championship in 3 years. Freshman Joy Dunne’s 3rd-period goal ended up being the game-winner thanks to a 26-save shutout from goaltender Raygan Kirk. Dunne led OSU with 23 goals and 38 points to earn WCHA and NCAA Rookie of the Year honors. The Buckeyes (34-4-0) made their 3rd straight appearance in the final and avenged the previous year’s 1-0 loss to the Badgers. Wisconsin (35-5-0) won a record 7th championship in 2023 to break a tie with fellow B1G squad Minnesota.

4. Matt Painter finally breaks through

Purdue had a chance to win its 1st national championship ever as well as break the league’s national championship drought — no team from the conference had won since 2000. While it didn’t happen, head coach Matt Painter — 1 of 2 coaches over the past 44 years for the program (Gene Keady being the other) — delivered the program its 1st Final Four during that span. And he ran his offense through Zach Edey, who had a historically dominant NCAA Tournament in an offense that isn’t exactly modern. In the 72-66 win over Tennessee that clinched the Final Four berth, Edey had a career-high 40 points and added 16 rebounds. He scored 14 consecutive points late in the 2nd half to help stop multiple runs by the Volunteers. With studly play from one of the best players in recent college basketball, the Boilers were able to put behind them their loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the previous tournament.

3. The B1G officially expands to 18 teams

The news was made both in 2022 and 2023 that the B1G would further expand after adding Maryland and Rutgers in a previous round. But on Aug. 2, 2024, Pac-12 members USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington were made official members of the B1G. The league, which has expanded 4 times since 2010 after adding no schools the previous 21 years, became the largest major athletic conference with 18 members. Oregon and Washington gave the league a pronounced West Coast presence and potential travel partners for USC and UCLA. While USC was the most decorated Pac-12 program, Oregon and Washington are the only Pac-12 teams to have appeared in the CFP. Before Michigan played for a natty, only Ohio State had won or played for a national championship during the CFP or BCS era.

2. Caitlin Mania

Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes star, was the record-breaking face of women’s college basketball and was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The 6-foot guard and West Des Moines, Iowa, native became a 2-time national player of the year, ended her collegiate career with 3,951 points and helped the Hawkeyes go to back-to-back national title games. The 3-point machine was also known for her highlight-reel assists, and she averaged 31.6 points as a senior. Clark drew sellout crowds in Iowa City and on the road, and she became must-see TV. She helped women’s basketball break TV ratings records and propel it to the forefront of the national sports landscape.

1. Michigan football wins the College Football Playoff national championship

After being on suspension and dealing with a sign-stealing controversy, Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines beat Washington 34-13 in the CFP title game. The Wolverines finished 15-0 to seal their 1st national title since 1997. After 9 seasons of coaching at his alma mater and in his 3rd consecutive Playoff appearance, Harbaugh was able to claim the title for the Ann Arbor school despite missing 6 regular-season games while serving separate suspensions. The Wolverines used steady QB play and a lethal ground-and-pound offense to claim a national title for a team loaded with veterans. Harbaugh, of course, would leave Ann Arbor to return to the NFL and coach the Los Angeles Chargers. But he went 86-25 at Michigan and restored college football’s winningest program to national relevance.