How do the head coaching jobs in the Big Ten stack up? If every job in the conference were to open up today, how would they rank in order of the most attractive to the top candidates? Let's take a look.
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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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1. INDIANA
The Big Ten, at least at the top of the league, has easily been the toughest conference to rank. The top five jobs are pretty easy to pick out, but the order is the tricky part.
Let’s start with Indiana at the top. The Hoosiers are in a state with other high-major programs, but they still are the biggest draw and can generally get who they want within their own borders in a state that is pretty strong for recruits. The fan support and the tradition are among the best in the country, and that allows a coach to recruit anywhere in the country, if needed. Expectations are sky high, and the Hoosiers have come up short more often than not in the last 25 years, but if there is one program in the league that has the potential to go on a historic run, it’s Indiana.
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2. OHIO STATE
Right behind Indiana, Ohio State is also a really good job and a place where you can win national titles. It’s arguably the biggest college brand in the country, which allows you to recruit nationally, but it’s also in a state that is generally pretty good at producing talent and the Buckeyes are really tough to beat for those kids. The Buckeyes were edged out by the Hoosiers because they don’t have the same level of winning tradition or the level of passion in the fan base.
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3. MICHIGAN
Michigan is another top-level job in college hoops with a lot of the same attributes as Ohio State. The Wolverines have proven they can win a national championship, have a national brand, a strong recruiting base and an academic reputation that can push them over the top with some recruits.
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4. MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State is a tough one to evaluate because the question is this: Is it a really good job or is Tom Izzo just that good of a coach? That’s an answer we probably won’t know for some time. I land on the side of believing Izzo probably elevates it beyond what it really is, although there is a passionate fan base, a strong recruiting base and a tradition of winning.
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5. MARYLAND
Having Maryland this low on the list shows just how many good jobs there are in this conference, because there are likely people who would argue it’s the best in the league. The Terrapins were probably a better fit in the ACC, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have as many top recruits within 100 miles of their campus as any school in the country - and they can get those kids. They also have a passionate fan base and a tradition of winning. Since joining the league six seasons ago, the Terps are third in conference wins.
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6. WISCONSIN
Making calls to different college coaches and scouts in preparing this list, the one response that kept coming up was, “You know what’s a really underrated job? Wisconsin.” It’s hard to disagree. Badgers fans love their team, they always win and the state produces some pretty good players that like to stay home. Plus, as a college town, Madison gets rave reviews.
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7. ILLINOIS
Illinois is a tricky one to evaluate as well. Chicago always has top recruits, but rarely do they end up going to Illinois. And if you can’t get Chicago kids, it’s tough to go over to St. Louis, because of Kansas, Missouri and a number of other schools. The expectations are high and probably unrealistic, but multiple coaches have proven you can win there. It just doesn’t stack up with the jobs higher on this list.
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8. PURDUE
If a school has only two coaches in the span of 40 years and they both have experienced great success, it tells you the school has some strong attributes. It means the school is patient with its coaches and gives them the support they need to win. Purdue has done just that. Gene Keady and Matt Painter both have records over .500 in over 150 games and are the only head coaches at the school since 1980. It can be a challenge to beat out other Big Ten schools for the top recruits, which puts a ceiling on the program, but you can certainly win enough recruiting battles to have real success.
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9. MINNESOTA
Multiple coaches said Minnesota was a better job than most think. Going back to Tyus and Tre Jones to more recently with Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren, the state has produced some high-end talent over the past decade. It’s the only Division I school in the state, and the fans will support their team. It just can be hard to keep elite prospects home, and it’s hard to go far outside the state to attract top recruits. The winter weather doesn’t help, either.
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10. IOWA
Iowa has a really strong fan base, and by most accounts is the bigger brand in the state. The standards to get players into school is a little looser than its peers in the Big Ten. The problem becomes the lack of a real recruiting base.
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11. NEBRASKA
Fan support and the facilities at Nebraska would put the Cornhuskers toward the top of the Big Ten. However, the lack of a recruiting base and a lack of a winning tradition make it a real uphill battle for head coaches.
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12. NORTHWESTERN
When it comes to the last three schools, they are all really tough places to sustain success. With Northwestern, the academics open doors around the country with higher-level students, but it also limits who the Wildcats can recruit.
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T13. RUTGERS, PENN STATE
Rutgers and Penn State don’t really have a strong pitch that gives them a chance to beat out anyone else in the league. Both have a lot of players not too far from campus, but there are so many other schools in the area that make it really hard to get any of the difference-makers.
