The Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the women's college basketball regular season in the United States. The tournament has been played each year since 1995. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The tournament is typically held the first week of March with games played Wednesday through Sunday.
The Big Ten did not begin sponsoring women's basketball until the 1982–83 basketball season. In February 1982 during the 1981–82 season, the conference held a tournament at Michigan State in which Ohio State defeated Illinois 69–66 in the championship game. The conference has listed this in some publications as a regular season championship.
Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference for the 2014–15 season, bringing the conference to 14 teams. The 2015 Big Ten Conference tournament was the first for each school, with Maryland winning its first tournament title in its debut season.
The Big Ten expanded to 18 teams for the 2024–25 season with the arrival of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
Originally, Big Ten Network broadcast the first round, second round, quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament, with the championship game on the ESPN family of networks. Starting in 2024, the first round will air on Peacock and the final will air on CBS.
Results Year Champion Score Runner-up Most Outstanding Player Location1995Penn State68–63Ohio StateMissy Masley, Penn State Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana1996Penn State71–69PurdueAngie Potthoff, Penn State1997Iowa63–56IllinoisAngela Hamblin, IowaRCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana1998 Purdue59–49Penn StateAndrea Garner, Penn State1999 Purdue80–76IllinoisStephanie White, Purdue2000Purdue71–63Penn StateHelen Darling, Penn StateConseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 2001 Iowa75–70PurdueCara Consuegra, IowaVan Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2002 Indiana75–72Penn StateHeather Cassady, IndianaConseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2003Purdue67–65Ohio StateShereka Wright, Purdue2004Purdue59–58Penn StateShereka Wright, Purdue2005Michigan State55–49MinnesotaKristin Haynie, Michigan State2006 Ohio State63–60PurdueBrandie Hoskins, Ohio State2007Purdue64–52Ohio StateKatie Gearlds, Purdue2008Purdue58–56IllinoisFahKara Malone, Purdue2009Ohio State 67–66PurdueJantel Lavender, Ohio State2010Ohio State66–64IowaJantel Lavender, Ohio State2011Ohio State84–70Penn StateJantel Lavender, Ohio State2012Purdue74–70NebraskaBrittany Rayburn, PurdueBankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2013Purdue62–47Michigan StateDrey Mingo, PurdueSears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois2014Nebraska72–65IowaRachel Theriot, NebraskaBankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2015Maryland77–74Ohio StateLexie Brown, MarylandSears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois2016Maryland60–44Michigan StateShatori Walker-Kimbrough, MarylandBankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2017Maryland74–64PurdueBrionna Jones, Maryland2018Ohio State79–69MarylandKelsey Mitchell, Ohio State2019Iowa90–76MarylandMegan Gustafson, Iowa2020Maryland82–65Ohio StateAshley Owusu, Maryland2021Maryland104–84IowaDiamond Miller, Maryland2022Iowa74–67IndianaCaitlin Clark, IowaGainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2023Iowa105–72Ohio StateCaitlin Clark, IowaTarget Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota2024Iowa94–89OTNebraskaCaitlin Clark, Iowa2025 UCLA72–67 USCLauren Betts, UCLAGainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana2026 UCLA96–45 IowaKiki Rice, UCLA2027T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada2028Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Championship game results by school Appearances School Wins Losses Last Championship Last Appearance 3 Illinois 0 3 N/A 2008 2 Indiana 1 1 2002 2022 10 Iowa 6 4 2024 2026 7 Maryland 5 2 2021 2021 3 Michigan State 1 2 2005 2016 1 Minnesota 0 1 N/A 2005 3 Nebraska 1 2 2014 2024 11 Ohio State 5 6 2018 2023 7 Penn State 2 5 1996 2011 14 Purdue 9 5 2013 2017 2 UCLA 2 0 2026 2026 1 USC 0 1 N/A 2025 Michigan, Northwestern, Oregon, Rutgers, Washington and Wisconsin have not made an appearance in a championship game. Ohio State's 2018 championship was later vacated by the NCAA due to sanctions imposed for impermissible benefits provided by an assistant coach.
See also
Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball regular season champions Big Ten men's basketball tournament Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball regular season champions
References
External links 2007 Bracket showing seed matchups and television schedule